5535419 Resolution 21-128, Extension of Review Period for the Southwest Small Area Plan Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015

A RESOLUTION

                                                        

21-128

 

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

June 2, 2015         

 

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the District of Columbia Comprehensive Plan Act of 1984 Land Use Element Amendment Act of 1984 to extend by 45 days the Council review period for the Southwest Neighborhood small area action plan.

           

           

            RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Extension of Review Period for the Southwest Small Area Plan Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015”.

 

            Sec. 2. (a) On May 28, 2015, the Committee of the Whole held a public hearing on PR 21-127, the Southwest Neighborhood Plan Approval Resolution of 2015.  At the hearing, multiple Councilmembers raised questions regarding provisions of the Southwest Neighborhood Plan (“Plan”), the meaning of which is not clear as those provisions are currently drafted.

            (b)  As a result of the hearing, the Committee of the Whole has engaged with the General Counsel to the Council to determine whether the Council has the power to clarify the provisions of the Plan within a committee report or, alternatively, within the Plan itself.  The committee seeks guidance from the General Counsel because D.C. Official Code § 1-306.03, which governs small area action plans, does not provide a definitive answer to these questions.

            (c)  By operation of D.C. Official Code § 1-306.03, PR 21-127 will be deemed approved on June 18, 2015 if no action is taken by the Council, which does not provide the committee with enough time to obtain legal advice and respond accordingly.

            (d)  An extension of the review period by 45 days is necessary to ensure that the General Counsel has sufficient time to opine on the legal question regarding amendments to the Plan, and that the Council then may take appropriate action before the plan is deemed approved.

 

            Sec. 3.  The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Small Area Plan Emergency Amendment Act of 2015 be adopted after a single reading.

 

Sec. 4.  This resolution shall take effect immediately.