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Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-110

§8722 Proposed Federal and District Developments and Projects

Title 40 › SUBTITLE II — PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND WORKS › PART D — PUBLIC BUILDINGS, GROUNDS, AND PARKS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA › CHAPTER 87 — PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION › SUBCHAPTER III — PLANNING PROCESS › § 8722

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Federal and D.C. agencies must use the National Capital Planning Commission as the main planner for federal work in the National Capital region. Agencies must give the Commission plans, maps, and data when asked, and the Commission must share related information when asked. Before making construction plans or committing to buy land paid for at least partly with federal or D.C. money, the agency must talk with the Commission during early and later planning steps. The Commission will give a preliminary report and recommendations. If an agency disagrees, it must tell the Commission why, and the Commission will then give a final report. Agencies can proceed after they consider the Commission’s views. Projects in the Capitol grounds and Defense Department wartime projects on existing military reservations are mostly excluded, but defense must consult about traffic or nearby planning. The Commission will also say in advance what kinds of projects do not need review. For projects in the "environs" (areas around the capital), general plans for land acquisition must be sent to the Commission before a final commitment, unless law already approved them. The Commission must consult the local planning agency and give its report and recommendations within 60 days, including any local agency input. The Commission may make agreements with state or local agencies to carry out plans. The Act of June 20, 1938, does not apply to federal public buildings. The Commission must approve the location, height, bulk, number of stories, size, and nearby open space for federal public buildings in the District of Columbia. The same approval rule covers D.C. government buildings in the central area (as jointly defined by the Commission and the D.C. Council), and the Commission must approve or disapprove such proposals within 30 days.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §8722

Public Buildings, Property, and Works, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Agencies To Use Commission as Central Planning Agency.—
Agencies of the Federal Government responsible for public developments and projects shall cooperate and correlate their efforts by using the National Capital Planning Commission as the central planning agency for federal activities in the National Capital region. To aid the Commission in carrying out this function, federal and District of Columbia governmental agencies on request of the Commission shall furnish plans, data, and records the Commission requires. The Commission on request shall furnish related plans, data, and records to federal and District of Columbia governmental agencies.
(b)Consultation Between Agencies and Commission.—
(1)Before construction plans prepared.—
To ensure the comprehensive planning and orderly development of the National Capital, a federal or District of Columbia agency, before preparing construction plans the agency originates for proposed developments and projects or before making a commitment to acquire land, to be paid for at least in part from federal or District amounts, shall advise and consult with the Commission as the agency prepares plans and programs in preliminary and successive stages that affect the plan and development of the National Capital. After receiving the plans, maps, and data, the Commission promptly shall make a preliminary report and recommendations to the agency. If the agency, after considering the report and recommendations of the Commission, does not agree, it shall advise the Commission and provide the reasons why it does not agree. The Commission then shall submit a final report. After consultation and suitable consideration of the views of the Commission, the agency may proceed to take action in accordance with its legal responsibilities and authority.
(2)Exceptions.—
(A)In general.—
Paragraph (1) does not apply to projects within the Capitol grounds or to structures erected by the Department of Defense during wartime or national emergency within existing military, naval, or Air Force reservations, except that the appropriate defense agency shall consult with the Commission as to any developments which materially affect traffic or require coordinated planning of the surrounding area.
(B)Advance decisions of commission.—
The Commission shall determine in advance the type or kinds of plans, developments, projects, improvements, or acquisitions which do not need to be submitted for review by the Commission as to conformity with its plans.
(c)Additional Procedure for Developments and Projects Within Environs.—
(1)Submission to commission.—
Within the environs, general plans showing the location, character, and extent of, and intensity of use for, proposed federal and District developments and projects involving the acquisition of land shall be submitted to the Commission for report and recommendations before a final commitment to the acquisition is made, unless the matter specifically has been approved by law.
(2)Commission action.—
Before acting on any general plan, the Commission shall advise and consult with the appropriate planning agency having jurisdiction over the affected part of the environs. When the Commission decides that proposed developments or projects submitted to the Commission under subsection (b) involve a major change in the character or intensity of an existing use in the environs, the Commission shall advise and consult with the planning agency. The report and recommendations shall be submitted within 60 days and shall be accompanied by any reports or recommendations of the planning agency.
(3)Working with state or local authority or agency.—
In carrying out its planning functions with respect to federal developments or projects in the environs, the Commission may work with, and make agreements with, any state or local authority or planning agency as the Commission considers necessary to have a plan or proposal adopted and carried out.
(d)Approval of Federal Public Buildings.—
The provisions of the Act of June 20, 1938 (ch. 534, 52 Stat. 797) shall not apply to federal public buildings. In order to ensure the orderly development of the National Capital, the location, height, bulk, number of stories, and size of federal public buildings in the District of Columbia and the provision for open space in and around federal public buildings in the District of Columbia are subject to the approval of the Commission.
(e)Approval of District Government Buildings in Central Area.—
Subsection (d) is extended to include public buildings erected by any agency of the Government of the District of Columbia in the central area of the District (as defined by concurrent action of the Commission and the Council of the District of Columbia), except that the Commission shall transmit its approval or disapproval within 30 days after the day the proposal was submitted to the Commission.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 8722(a)40:71d(e).June 6, 1924, ch. 270, § 5, as added July 19, 1952, ch. 949, § 1, 66 Stat. 787; Pub. L. 93–198, title II, § 203(d), Dec. 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 782. 8722(b)(1)40:71d(a) (1st sentence words before proviso, 2d–last sentences). 8722(b)(2)(A)40:71d(b). 8722(b)(2)(B)40:71d(a) (1st sentence proviso). 8722(c)(1), (2)40:71d(d). 8722(c)(3)40:71c(e) (last par.).June 6, 1924, ch. 270, § 4(e) (last par.), as added July 19, 1952, ch. 949, § 1, 66 Stat. 787. 8722(d)(uncodified).June 20, 1938, ch. 534, § 16, 52 Stat. 802. 8722(e)40:71d(c). In subsection (a), the words “including the acquisition of land” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (b)(1), the words “received and” are omitted as unnecessary. In subsection (c)(2), reference to the National Capital Regional Planning Council is omitted as obsolete because the Council was abolished by section 1 of Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1966 (eff. Sept. 8, 1966, 40:71b note). In subsection (c)(3), the word “work” is substituted for “act in conjunction and cooperation” to eliminate unnecessary words. In subsection (d), the word “Commission” [meaning the National Capital Planning Commission] is substituted for “National Capital Park and Planning Commission” because of section 9 of the Act of June 6, 1924 (ch. 270), as added by section 1 of the Act of July 19, 1952 (ch. 949, 66 Stat. 790). See section 8711(f) of the revised title. In subsection (e), the words “the boundaries of” and “and from time to time redefined” are omitted as unnecessary.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Act of
June 20, 1938, referred to in subsec. (d), is act
June 20, 1938, ch. 534, 52 Stat. 797. While the Act was not classified to the Code, section 16 of the Act was repealed and reenacted as subsec. (d) of this section by Pub. L. 107–217, §§ 1, 6, Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1062, 1304. See

Historical and Revision Notes

above.

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 109–284 substituted “52 Stat. 797” for “52 Stat. 802” and “are subject” for “is subject”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 8722

Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110