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Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and WorksRelease 119-73not60

§8732 Acquiring Land Subject to Limited Rights Reserved to Grantor and Limited Permanent Rights in Land Adjoining Park Property

Title 40 › Subtitle 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 IV— ACQUIRING AND DISPOSING OF LAND › § 8732

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The National Capital Planning Commission may get land or land rights for the federal government by gift, will, purchase, or condemnation. It can take full ownership of land even if the seller keeps some limited personal rights (but not for business use), and it can buy permanent rights on land next to parks to stop uses that would damage the park. Any limited rights must end when the original owner (the grantor) dies, and the Commission must find that those limits won’t harm the park’s public purposes and that buying the land with limits saves a substantial amount versus buying it free of limits. The Commission must also find that buying permanent rights is cheaper than buying the whole parcel, and every contract to buy land or rights needs the President’s approval.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §8732

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

(a)The National Capital Planning Commission in accordance with this chapter may acquire, for and on behalf of the Federal Government, by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation—
(1)fee title to land subject to limited rights, but not for business purposes, reserved to the grantor; and
(2)permanent rights in land adjoining park property sufficient to prevent the use of the land in certain specified ways which would essentially impair the value of the park property for its purposes.
(b)(1)The reservation of rights to the grantor shall not continue beyond the life of the grantor of the fee. The Commission must decide that the permanent public park purposes for which control over the land is needed are not essentially impaired by the reserved rights and that there is a substantial saving in cost by acquiring the land subject to the limited rights as compared with the cost of acquiring unencumbered title to the land.
(2)The Commission must decide that the protection and maintenance of the essential public values of the park can be secured more economically by acquiring the permanent rights than by acquiring the land.
(c)All contracts to acquire land or rights under this section are subject to the approval of the President.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 8732(a)40:72a (1st par., last par. less provisos).Dec. 22, 1928, ch. 48, § 1, 45 Stat. 1070. 8732(b)40:72a (last par. 1st–3d provisos). 8732(c)40:72a (last par. last proviso). In subsection (a), the text of 40:72a (1st par.) is omitted as unnecessary.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 8732

Title 40 — Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60