4982228 Transportation, District Department of - Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - For the use of US Reservations Transferred to DC
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DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Director of the District Department of Transportation (“Department”), pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 4(a)(5)(A) (assigning authority to coordinate and manage public space permits and records to the Department Director), 5(4)(A) (assigning duty to review and approve public space permit requests to the Department Director), and 6(b) (transferring the public right-of-way maintenance function previously delegated to the Department of Public Works (DPW) under Section III (F) of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1983 to the Department) of the Department of Transportation Establishment Act of 2002 (“DDOT Establishment Act”), effective May 21, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-137; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-921.03(5)(A), 50-921.04(4)(A), and 50-921.05(b) (2012 Repl.)), and Section 604 of the Fiscal Year 1997 Budget Support Act of 1996, effective April 9, 1997 (D.C. Law 11-198; D.C. Official Code §§ 10-1141.04 (2012 Repl. & 2013 Supp.)), which was delegated to the Director of DPW pursuant to Mayor’s Order 96-175, dated December 9, 1996, and subsequently transferred to the Director of the Department in Section 7 of the DDOT Establishment Act (transferring to the Director of the Department all transportation-related authority previously delegated to the Director of the Department of Public Works) (D.C. Official Code § 50-921.06 (2012 Repl.)), hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt amendments to Chapter 1 (Occupation and Use of Public Space) and Chapter 33 (Public Right-of-Way Occupancy Permits) of Title 24 (Public Space and Safety) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
These proposed rules will revise the definition of the term “public parking”, as that term is used in Chapters 1 and 33 of Title 24, to explicitly exclude U.S. reservations which have been transferred jurisdictionally to the District of Columbia. Additionally, the proposed rules will establish the Department’s policies and procedures to obtain a public right of way occupancy permit for the purpose of making private improvements to U.S. reservations that are controlled by the Department. The proposed rules will also make explicit the Department’s authority to modify or remove private improvements made to such reservations.
Final rulemaking action to adopt these amendments shall be taken in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Title 24, PUBLIC SPACE AND SAFETY, is amended as follows:
Chapter 1, OCCUPATION AND USE OF PUBLIC SPACE, is amended as follows:
Section 102, PUBLIC PARKING: UPKEEP AND PLANTINGS, is amended by repealing Subsection 102.8.
Section 199, DEFINITIONS, is amended by adding a new definition after the definition of “Personalized Marker”, to read as follows:
Public parking -- the area of public space devoted to open space, greenery, parks, or parking that lies between the property line, which may or may not coincide with the building restriction line, and the edge of the actual or planned sidewalk that is nearer to the property line, as the property line and sidewalk are shown on the records of the District; except, the term “public parking” does not include United States reservations.
Chapter 33, PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY OCCUPANCY PERMITS, is amended as follows
A new Section 3314 is added to read as follows:
3314 PRIVATE IMPROVEMENTS TO CERTAIN UNITED STATES RESERVATIONS UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE DISTRICT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
3314.1 It is the policy of the Department that the United States reservations that are triangle parks under the Department’s jurisdiction should be preserved as publicly accessible neighborhood amenities in addition to maintaining them for the purpose for which the reservation was transferred to the District.
3314.2 No person shall make a landscaping or hardscaping improvement, such as the removal or planting of shrubbery or trees or the installation of paving, fencing, benches, or other fixtures, to a United States reservation that is a triangle park under the Department’s jurisdiction without first obtaining a public right of way occupancy permit from the Director.
3314.3 Notwithstanding § 3314.2, a person may mow grass or perform other landscape maintenance to existing grass areas or planting beds on, or may clean up, a United States reservation that is a triangle park under the Department’s jurisdiction without the need to first obtain a public right of way occupancy permit from the Director.
3314.4 The Director shall not issue a permit to make a landscaping or hardscaping improvement to a United States reservation that is a triangle park under Department’s jurisdiction unless the proposed improvement:
(a) Does not change the real or implied function of the park as a public open space;
(b) Preserves public access to the park;
(c) Promotes the public enjoyment and use of the park; and
(d) Avoids the use of impervious surface coverings to the maximum extent practicable.
3314.5 Before issuing a permit for a landscaping or hardscaping improvement to a United States reservation that is a triangle park under the Department’s jurisdiction, the Director shall send the permit application to the affected Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) for its review and recommendations. The Director shall provide the ANC thirty (30) business days to perform its review and provide its recommendations.
3314.6 The recommendations, if any, of the affected ANC shall be given great weight, as that term is described in Section 13(d)(3)(A) of the Advisory Neighborhood Councils Act of 1975, effective March 26, 1976 (D.C. Law 1-58; D.C. Official Code § 1-309.10(d)(3)(A)).
3314.7 The Director may modify or remove any public or private improvements made to a United States reservation that is a triangle park under the Department’s jurisdiction.
3314.8 Notwithstanding §§ 3310.3 and 3310.4 of this chapter, the Director may revoke any permit issued pursuant to this section at any time.
Section 3399, DEFINITIONS, is amended as follows:
A new definition is added, after the definition of “Personalized paver”, to read as follows:
Public parking -- the area of public space devoted to open space, greenery, parks, or parking that lies between the property line, which may or may not coincide with the building restriction line, and the edge of the actual or planned sidewalk that is nearer to the property line, as the property line and sidewalk are shown on the records of the District; except, the term “public parking” does not include United States reservations.
A new definition is added, after the definition of “Stand-alone conduit”, to read as follows:
Triangle park – an area of open space, generally triangular in shape, that is located at the intersection of two (2) streets (generally, one of which is orthogonal and one of which is diagonal) and that has been set aside for public ownership. Examples of triangle parks include United States Reservations 142 and 143, located at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and 20th Street, NW; United States Reservation 230, located at the intersection of Independence Avenue and North Carolina Avenue, SE; and United States Reservation 61, located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and P Street, NW.
All persons interested in commenting on the subject matter in this proposed rulemaking may file comments in writing, not later than thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register, with Samuel D. Zimbabwe, Associate Director, District Department of Transportation, 55 M Street, S.E., 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20003. An interested person may also send comments electronically to publicspace.policy@dc.gov. Copies of this proposed rulemaking are available, at cost, by writing to the above address, and are also available electronically, at no cost, on the District Department of Transportation’s website at www.ddot.dc.gov.
