Section 11-3203. CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY

 

3203.1Except as provided in §§ 3203.7, 3203.8, 3203.9, or the second sentence of this subsection, no person shall use any structure, land, or part of any structure or land for any purpose until a certificate of occupancy has been issued to that person stating that the use complies with the provisions of this title and the D.C. Construction Code, Title 12 DCMR. The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to:

 

(a)A one-family dwelling; or

 

(b)A community based residential facility to be occupied by six or fewer persons with a handicap plus resident supervisors, as permitted by right in residence and commercial districts pursuant 11 DCMR §§ 201.1 (f) and 330.5(d).

 

3203.2Certificates of occupancy shall not be required for separate apartments or bachelor apartments in an apartment house, tenements or apartments in a tenement house, or offices in an office building, if a certificate of occupancy is issued for the entire structure.

 

3203.3Except in the case of a church, all certificates of occupancy shall be conspicuously posted in or upon the premises to which they apply so that they may be seen readily by anyone entering the premises.

 

3203.4If the erection or alteration of a structure is contemplated, a certificate of occupancy for that structure shall not be issued until the erection or alteration is completed to the point of availability of occupancy for use, except as provided in § 3203.5.

 

3203.5Where an alteration to a structure is required by law in order to effect compliance with regulations adopted pursuant to the Means of Egress Law, approved December 24, 1942 (56 Stat. 1083, as amended; D.C. Official Code §§ 6-703.03 to 6-703.09 (2001 ed.)(formerly codified at D.C. Official Code §§ 5-518 to 5-524 (1994 Repl.))), a certificate of occupancy for that structure may be issued prior to the alteration; Provided, that the use of the structure for which a certificate of occupancy is desired, if a new use, is not one that would require a greater amount of egress or fire protection facilities under the Means of Egress Law than is required for the use existing prior to the alteration.

 

3203.6Any certificate of occupancy issued under the terms of §§ 3203.4 or 3203.5 shall be subject to compliance with regulations adopted pursuant to the Means of Egress Law.

 

3203.7If an application for a certificate of occupancy is filed when the Zoning Commission has pending before it a proceeding to consider an amendment of the zone district classification of the site of the proposed use, the processing of the application, and the establishment of the occupancy, shall be governed as follows:

 

(a)If the application is filed on or before the date on which the Zoning Commission makes a decision to hold a hearing on the amendment, the processing of the application and completion of the work shall be governed by § 3203.8;

 

(b)Except as otherwise provided in § 3203.11, if the application is filed after the date on which the Zoning Commission has made a decision to hold a hearing on the amendment, the application may be processed, and any use authorized by the certificate of occupancy may be established and maintained only in accordance with the most restrictive provision of the zone district classifications being considered for the site or in accordance with the zone district classifications of the site pursuant to the final decision of the Zoning Commission in the proceeding;

 

(c)For purposes of paragraph (b) of this subsection, the phrase "zone district classifications being considered for the site" shall include any zone district classification that the Zoning Commission has decided to notice for adoption and the zone district classification that is in effect on the date the application is filed;

 

(d)The limitation in paragraph (b) of this subsection shall not apply to a decision to hold a hearing on an application to amend the Zoning Regulations or Zoning Maps filed by an owner of property pursuant to § 102.2(a) of this title; and

 

(e)The limitation in paragraph (b) of this subsection shall not apply to an application for a certificate of occupancy that only changes the identity of the owner or occupant and that does not change a use authorized by a certificate of occupancy that was issued either before the decision to hold a hearing on the amendment or pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subsection.

 

3203.8Any use that is authorized by a certificate of occupancy may be established and continued pursuant to the terms of the certificate and the provisions of this title in effect on the date that the certificate is issued, subject to the following conditions:

 

(a)The use shall be designated on the certificate of occupancy in terms of a use classification that is established by this title;

 

(b)The use shall be established within six (6) months of the date on which the certificate is issued; and

 

(c)Any amendment of the use authorized by the certificate shall comply with the provisions of this title in effect on the date that the certificate is amended.

 

3203.9Applications for certificates of occupancy authorized by orders of the Board of Zoning Adjustment may be processed in accordance with the Zoning Regulations in effect on the date the orders were promulgated; provided, that all applications for certificates of occupancy shall be accompanied by information sufficiently complete to permit processing without substantial change or deviation.

 

3203.10Certificates of occupancy issued in accordance with §§ 3203.7, 3203.8, or 3203.9 shall not be renewable if permitted to lapse unless processed in accordance with all provisions of this title.

 

3203.11This subsection shall govern the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the use of a structure, or part thereof, if the establishment of the use is dependent upon the erection, construction, conversion, or alteration of the structure, or part thereof; provided:

 

(a)The use authorized shall be designated as a proposed use at the time of application for the building permit on which the use depends;

 

(b)A building permit shall be issued in compliance with § 3202;

 

(c)At the time of issuance of the building permit that is required by this subsection, the proposed use shall be designated in a provisional certificate of occupancy; and

 

(d)The use designated in the provisional certificate of occupancy shall comply with all provisions of this title in effect on the date on which the building permit required by this subsection is issued.

 

3203.12An Electronic Equipment Facility (EEF) that occupied at least fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area of the space owned or leased within a building by the EEF for EEF use on October 16, 2000, pursuant to a valid certificate of occupancy, but for which a building permit or certificate of occupancy has not yet been issued for the entire owned or leased space, shall be permitted to complete construction and occupancy within the entire owned or leased space as a matter-of-right, provided that the use is registered with the Zoning Administrator within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this section.

 

 

authority

§§ 1 and 3 of the Zoning Act of 1938, approved June 20, 1938 (52 Stat. 797, 799; D.C. Official Code §§ 6-641.01 and 6-641.0).

source

§§ 8104.1 through 8104.10 of the Zoning Regulations, effective May 12, 1958; as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 34 DCR 433 (January 16, 1987); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 36 DCR 653, 654 (January 20, 1989); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 36 DCR 7827 (November 10, 1989); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 9741-43 (December 8, 2000), incorporating by reference the text of Proposed Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 8335, 8575-76 (October 20, 2000); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 48 DCR 9830, 9841 (October 26, 2001); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 55 DCR 761 (January 25, 2008); as amended by Final Rulemaking and Order No. 09-16 published at 57 DCR 2961 (April 2, 2010).