NOTICE OF SECOND PROPOSED RULEMAKING

The Department of Housing and Community Development, pursuant to authority set forth in Section 2062 of the Tax Abatements for Affordable Housing in High-Needs Areas Amendment Act of 2020, (the “Act”), effective December 3, 2020 (D.C. Law 23-149; D.C. Official Code § 47-859.06), and Mayor’s Order 2021-040, dated March 24, 2021, hereby gives notice of the intent to adopt a new Chapter 64 (Tax Abatements For Affordable Housing In Areas With High Needs of Affordable Housing) of Subtitle B (Planning and Development) of Title 10 (Planning and Development) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”) in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

The purpose of the rulemaking is to implement the provisions of the Act, which authorizes tax abatements as incentives for the production of new affordable housing in the Rock Creek West, Rock Creek East, Capitol Hill, and Upper Northeast planning areas, identified in the District’s Housing Equity Report, released in October 2019, as areas in high-need for affordable housing.

Specifically, the rulemaking would establish the conditions precedent to receiving a tax abatement, the process for applying and receiving one, and requirements for on-going compliance.

An initial Notice of Proposed Rulemaking was published in the District of Columbia Register on April 9, 2021. The thirty (30) day comment period was extended to May 23, 2021 at the request of multiple stakeholders and by written notice on the DHCD website. In response to comments received after the issuance of those notices, changes were determined necessary or desirable to implement the Act.

All persons desiring to comment on the proposed regulations should file comments in writing no later than Sunday, December 19 OR thirty (30) days after the publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Comments should identify the commenter and be clearly marked “Comments for Rules on Tax Abatement for Affordable Housing in High-Needs for Affordable Housing Areas Rules.” Comments may be (1) mailed or hand-delivered to DHCD, 1800 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave, SE, Washington, D.C. 20020, Attention: DHCD HANTA Proposed Rule Comments, Director’s Office or (2) sent by e-mail to [email protected] with the subject indicated as “Comments on HANTA Proposed Rules.”