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A RESOLUTION
20-130
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
May 7, 2013
To declare, on an emergency basis, as no longer required for public purposes the District-owned real property located at 5901 9th Street, N.W., commonly known as the Paul School and designated for tax and assessment purposes as Lot 0814, Square 2985.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Paul School Surplus Property Declaration Emergency Resolution of 2013”.
Sec. 2. Findings.
(a) The District is the owner of the real property located at 5901 9th Street, N.W., commonly known as the Paul School and designated for tax and assessment purposes as Lot 0814, Square 2985 (“Property”). The Property is comprised of a building containing approximately 128,400 square feet.
(b) The Property is currently occupied by the Paul Public Charter School (“Paul School”), and has been since 2003, pursuant to a lease that expires on August 31, 2018. The Paul School approached the District through the Department of General Services about entering into a new long-term lease in exchange for completely renovating and remodeling the Property without any District funds and expanding its operation to include a high school program benefiting many of the residents of Ward 4.
(c) The Paul School is the only charter school conversion in the District, which began as a public school. The Property has served as a public school, either traditional or charter, since approximately 1930. Given the current use of the Property as a high-performing charter school, it is not in the best interest of the District to change the use of the Property.
(d) The most viable option for the Property is to maintain its continued use as a public education facility. Declaring that the Property is no longer required for public purposes and disposing of it under a long-term ground lease, or other method, is the most expedient and cost-effective solution to:
(1) Reactivate the Property;
(2) Provide public benefits, such as a charter school;
(3) Allow the District to retain long-term fee-simple ownership of the Property; and
(4) Provide residents with outstanding educational services.
(e) Pursuant to section 1(a-1)(4) of an Act Authorizing the sale of certain real estate in the District of Columbia no longer required for public purposes, approved August 5, 1939 (53 Stat. 1211; D.C. Official Code §10-801(a-1)(4)) (“Act”), a public hearing was held on January 10, 2012, regarding the finding that the real property is no longer required for public purposes.
Sec. 3. Pursuant to section 1(a-1) of the Act, the Council finds that the Property is no longer required for public purposes.
Sec. 4. Transmittal.
The Secretary to the Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its adoption, to the Mayor.
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement of the Chief Financial Officer as the fiscal impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(3)).
Sec. 6. Effective date.
This resolution shall take effect immediately.
