Section 10-B2299. DEFINITIONS

 

2299.1When used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed:

 

Act - the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1894; Public Law 91-646).

 

Agency - the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency.

 

Agreement - the Relocation Cooperation Agreement entered into between the District of Columbia and the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency (D.C.F.A. 2610), dated December 8, 1964, as amended December 5, 1969, and as the same may be further amended from time to time.

 

Comparable replacement dwelling - a dwelling which is the following:

 

(a)Decent, safe, and sanitary;

 

(b)Functionally equivalent and substantially the same as the acquired dwelling, but not excluding newly constructed housing;

 

(c)Adequate in size to meet the needs of the displaced family or individual or, at the option of the displaced person, which exceeds his or her needs when the replacement dwelling has the same number of rooms or the equivalent square footage as the acquired dwelling;

 

(d)Open to all persons regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin, consistent with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968;

 

(e)Located in an area not generally less desirable than the one in which the acquired dwelling is located, with respect to the neighborhood conditions, including but not limited to, municipal services and other environmental factors, public utilities, and public and commercial facilities;

 

(f)Reasonably accessible to the displaced person's place of employment;

 

(g)Within the financial means of the displaced family or individual; and

 

(h)Available on the market to the displaced person.

 

If housing that meets the requirements of this definition is not available on the market, and upon a proper finding of the need for that housing, available housing exceeding these basic criteria may be considered as meeting this definition.

 

Decent, safe, and sanitary housing - housing that is in sound, clean, and weather-tight condition, in conformance with the D.C. Housing Code (Title 14 DCMR), or other housing regulations comparable to the D.C. Housing Code, and other District laws or regulations.

 

Deed of Trust (mortgage) - that class of liens given to secure advances on, or the unpaid purchase price of, real property under the laws of the District, together with credit instruments, if any, secured by those liens.

 

Displaced by local code enforcement - families and individuals who are owners or occupants of real property who have been notified by the District to vacate the premises either because the premises are in violation, or are being used in violation, of District laws and regulations relating to housing.

 

District - the government of the District of Columbia.

 

Displaced person - any of the following:

 

(a)Any person who moves as a result of acquisition;

 

(b)Any person who is in occupancy at the initiation of negotiations for of the acquisition real property, in whole or in part, or is in occupancy at the time he or she is given a written notice by the District that it intents to acquire the property by a given date, and moves from the real property or moves his or her personal property from the real property, and the real property is subsequently acquired; or

 

(c)Any person who is in occupancy at the time he or she is given a written notice to vacate by the District (except in the case of local code enforcement) and moves from the real property or moves his or her personal property from the real property, whether or not the real property is subsequently acquired.

 

Dwelling - any single family house, a single-family unit within a multi-family building (including a non-housekeeping unit), a unit of a condominium or cooperative housing project, or any other residential unit.

 

Economic rent or Fair rental value - the amount of rent a displaced family or individual would have to pay for a comparable dwelling unit in an area similar to the neighborhood in which the dwelling unit to be acquired is located.

 

Initiation of negotiations - the date the District makes the first personal contact with an owner of property, or his or her designated representative, and furnishes him or her with a written offer to purchase the real property.

 

Mayor - the Mayor of the District, or his or her designated agents.

 

Owner - any individual(s) who own(s), legally or equitably, a fee simple estate, a life estate, a ninety-nine (99) year lease, or other proprietary interest in the property, or interest in a cooperative; who is the contract purchaser of any of these estates or interests; or who has succeeded to any of the foregoing interests by devise, bequest, inheritance, or operation of law. The tenure of ownership of one who obtains real property by devise, bequest, inheritance, or operation of law shall include the tenure of the preceding owner.

 

Person - any individual, family, partnership, corporation, or association. The term specifically includes the following:

 

(a)"Business" - any lawful activity conducted primarily as follows:

 

(1)For the purchase, sale, lease, and rental of personal and real property, and for the manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, or any other personal property;

 

(2)For the sale of services to the public;

 

(3)By a nonprofit organization; or

 

(4)Solely for the purpose of payments relating to moving and related expenses as provided in this chapter, for assisting in the purchase, sale, resale, manufacture, processing, or marketing of products, commodities, personal property, or services by the erection and maintenance of an outdoor advertising display or displays, whether or not such display or displays are located on the premises on which any business activities are conducted;

 

(b)"Family" - two (2) or more individuals, one (1) of whom is the head of a household, together with all other individuals regardless of blood or legalities who live with and are considered a part of the family unit. Two (2) or more individuals who occupy the same dwelling with no identifiable head of a household, shall be treated as one (1) family for replacement housing payment purposes;

 

(c)"Individual" - a person who is not a member of a family; and

 

(d)"Nonprofit organization" - a corporation, partnership, individual, or other public or private entity engaged in a business, professional, or institutional activity on a non-profit basis, necessitating fixtures, equipment, stock in trade, or other tangible property for carrying on of the business, profession, or institutional activity on the premises.

 

Personal property - tangible property which is situated on the real property vacated or to be vacated by a displaced person and which is considered personal property and is noncompensable (other than for moving expenses) under applicable District law of eminent domain, and, in the case of a tenant, fixtures and equipment, and other property which under District law are considered real property, but which the tenant may lawfully remove.

 

The determination as to whether an item of property is personal or real shall depend upon how it is identified in the acquisition appraisals or the closing or settlement statement with respect to the real property acquisitions, except that no item of property which is compensable under the District law to the owner of real property in the real property acquisition shall be treated as tangible personal property in computing actual direct losses of tangible personal property as provided in this chapter.

 

Relocation Office - the District of Columbia Relocation Assistance Office established within the District of Columbia Redevelopment Land Agency, pursuant to §4 of the Act approved October 6, 1964 (78 Stat. 1004, D.C. Code §5-831 (1981)).

 

source

§201 of the Relocation Regulations, Regulation No. 73-4, 19 DCR 599, 601 (February 21, 1973).