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

§903 Acquisition and Use

Title 40 › SUBTITLE I — FEDERAL PROPERTY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES › CHAPTER 9 — URBAN LAND USE › § 903

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Before buying land in a city, the head of the General Services Administration must, when possible, tell the local government that controls zoning what land they plan to buy and how they will use it. If telling them first would hurt the purchase, the head must tell them right after the purchase. If that local government objects because the purchase or change to a public building would conflict with local zoning or planning, the GSA head should, when possible, listen to those objections and follow the local zoning and planning rules.

Full Legal Text

Title 40, §903

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

(a)Notice to Local Government.—
To the extent practicable, before making a commitment to acquire real property situated in an urban area, the Administrator of General Services shall give notice of the intended acquisition and the proposed use of the property to the unit of general local government exercising zoning and land use jurisdiction. If the Administrator determines that providing advance notice would adversely impact the acquisition, the Administrator shall give notice of the acquisition and the proposed use of the property immediately after the property is acquired.
(b)Objections to Acquisition or Change of Use.—
In the acquisition or change of use of real property situated in an urban area as a site for public building, if the unit of general local government exercising zoning and land use jurisdiction objects on grounds that the proposed acquisition or change of use conflicts with zoning regulations or planning objectives, the Administrator shall, to the extent the Administrator determines is practicable, consider all the objections and comply with the zoning regulations and planning objectives.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 90340:533.June 30, 1949, ch. 288, title VIII, § 804, as added Pub. L. 90–577, title V, § 501, Oct. 16, 1968, 82 Stat. 1105. In subsection (b), the words “and conform to” are omitted as included in “comply with”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

40 U.S.C. § 903

Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110