Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), D.C.’s delegate to Congress, introduced the District of Columbia Zoning Commission Home Rule Act on Monday, renewing efforts to give the nation’s capital complete local control over its Zoning Commission by eliminating two federally appointed positions.
The five-member Commission currently includes the Architect of the Capitol and the director of the National Park Service, neither of whom is accountable to the more than 670,000 residents of the District. Norton’s bill would allow the mayor, with D.C. Council approval, to appoint all five members.
“Land use is a local matter in every situation, no matter the context,” Norton said in a statement. “This bill is an essential step to increase home rule in the District of Columbia. The federal government loses nothing because the interests of the federal government in land use in the nation’s capital are protected by federal law.”
The Commission creates zoning maps and regulations that must align with the Comprehensive Plan for the National Capital. While the mayor and the D.C. Council control the local elements of the plan, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) maintains authority over federal components.
Norton’s bill would not change the NCPC’s role or the process for developing the plan.
The architect of the capitol and the director of the National Park Service, who serve as federal members of the Zoning Commission, currently vote on zoning decisions that affect neighborhoods in the District of Columbia. Although they have no authority over federal property, their participation in decisions on local development has been criticized by residents and officials as an outdated holdover from the city’s limited governance structure before the 1973 Home Rule Act.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) has called the federal role in local zoning decisions unjustified, stating that D.C. residents deserve full autonomy over their own planning policies.
“Zoning decisions should be made by and for the people who live here,” he said.
Norton, the long-serving delegate, previously introduced a similar measure during the 118th Congress, where it was referred to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee but did not advance. The newly introduced version has been designated H.R. 6215 and again heads to the same committee.
This legislation is one of several Norton has introduced as part of her “Free and Equal D.C.” series, which aims to increase self-governance in the District. Other bills in the package propose removing federal control from D.C.’s courts, parole authority, and the National Guard while establishing a locally appointed prosecutor.
The legislation comes as several Republican lawmakers continue to push efforts to repeal key provisions of the Home Rule Act. In February, Rep. Andy Ogles (R) of Tennessee and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah (R) introduced bills to strip D.C. of its limited legislative powers.
In May, Congress passed a resolution blocking D.C.’s law that allowed non citizen residents to vote in local elections.
Local autonomy advocates see Norton’s zoning legislation as part of the District’s long-standing campaign to be treated as more than a federal jurisdiction.
“Home rule isn’t real when nearly half of the Zoning Commission is made up of federal officials,” Norton said. “This bill corrects that imbalance and affirms our residents’ right to self-determination.”
