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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 2
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A BILL 8
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 11
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To authorize the Department of Housing and Community Development, on an emergency basis, 15
to make a grant to the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, to implement 16
measures to provide financial relief and other assistance to the current owners of 17
condominium units at the River East at Grandview Condominiums (“Property”), 18
including the authority to forgive loans originating from the Housing Production Trust 19
Fund and the Home Purchase Assistance Program associated with the purchase of 20
condominium units at the Property and to provide the condominium unit owners with 21
assistance to secure permanent housing solutions. 22
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 24
That this act may be cited as the “Relief for River East at Grandview Condominium Owner s 25
Emergency Act of 2024”. 26
Sec. 2. Definitions. 27
For the purposes of this act, the term: 28
(a) “CA” means the River East at Grandview Condominium Association. 29
(b) “DHCD” means the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community 30
Development. 31
(c) “HPAP” means Home Purchase Assistance Program. 32
(d) “IZ” means inclusionary zoning. 33
(e) “NACA” means The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America . 34
(f) “OTR” means Office of Tax and Revenue. 35 (g) "Property” means the River East at Grandview Condominiums located at 1262 36
Talbert Street, S.E., Washington, DC, 20020, known for tax and assessment purposes as Lots 37
2047 through 2092 in Square 5807, which may also be known as River East at Grandview, 38
Grandview Estate, Grandview Estates, Grandview Estates II, Gardenview, River East, RiverEast, 39
River East at Anacostia, River East at Anacostia Metro Station, River East at Grandview, and 40
Talbert Street. 41
(h) “Property O wner” means an individual who owns one of the 46 condominium units at 42
the Property. 43
Sec. 3. DHCD grant authority. 44
(a) Notwithstanding the Grant Administration Act of 2013, effective December 23, 2013 45
(D.C. Law 20- 61; D.C. Official Code § 1- 328.11 et seq.) or its implementing rules under 1 46
DMCR § 5000 et. seq. , DHCD is authorized to enter into a grant agreement with NACA to 47
provide financial relief for Property Owners seeking to obtain permanent housing. 48
(b) The grant agreement may include that NACA : 49
(1) Provide housing counseling services to Property Owners , including assessing 50
Property O wners’ permanent housing options and working with Property Owners to meet 51
NACA’s mortgage eligibility criteria; 52
(2) Provide recommendations to the Mayor about the financial need for gap 53
financing based on the assessments of the Property Owners; 54
(3) Alongside the Mayor, seek relief for Property Owners’ existing mortgages on 55
the Property; 56
(4) Provide affordable mortgage options to eligible Property Owners ; 57 (5) Waive any requirements against a Property Owner having an existing 58
mortgage; provided, the existing mortgage is on the Property; and 59
(6) Not use credit score as the deciding factor for approving a Property Owner’s 60
mortgage. 61
Sec. 4 A dditional relief. 62
(a) Notwithstanding the District of Columbia Sales Tax Act effective March 2, 1962 63
(87 P.L. 408, 76 Stat. 10, D.C. Official Code § 47- 1001 et seq.), or its implementing rules under 64
9 DCMR § 500 et. s eq., OTR shall : 65
(1) Not assess or charge any taxes related to a Property Owner’s first purchase of 66
real property following a Property Owner’s purchase of the Property , including transfer taxes and 67
deed recordation taxes, so long as the purchase is made by December 31, 2028; and 68
(2) Forgive all real property taxes, interest, penalties, fees, and other related 69
charges assessed against the Property Owners at the Property for the tax years beginning October 70
1, 2023, and ending September 30, 2025. 71
(b) Notwithstanding the Housing Production Trust Fund Act of 1989, effective March 10, 72
2015 (D.C. Law 20- 190; D.C. Official Code § 42- 2802.02 et. seq. ): 73
(1) The Mayor may: 74
(A) Waive the requirements of section 3b of the Housing Production Trust 75
Fund Act of 1989, effective March 10, 2015 (D.C. Law 20- 190; D.C. Official Code § 42- 2802.02 76
or its implementing rules under 10 DCMR § B4100 et. seq. ; and 77
(B) Forgive all outstanding debt secured by a Property Owner pursuant to 78
a Housing Production Trust Fund loan that financed development costs of the Property . 79 (2) Any forgiveness of debt under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not 80
include any outstanding indebtedness of River East At Anacostia, LLC, or Stanton View 81
Development, LLC incurred in connection with the development of the Property. 82
(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of the Home Purchase Assistance Fund Act of 1978, 83
effective September 12, 1978; (D.C. Law 2-103; D.C. Official Code § 45- 2601 et seq.), or its 84
implementing rules under 14 DCMR § 2500 et. seq. : 85
(1) The Mayor may forgive the balance of any HPAP loan provided to a Property 86
Owner to support the purchase of a Property condominium unit; 87
(2) A Property Owner may be eligible for HPAP assistance of at least $70,000, 88
subject to available funds through DHCD; and 89
(3) DHCD may waive the HPAP income requirements if the Property Owner’s 90
income no longer meets the affordability criteria; provided, the Property Owner would have 91
qualified for HPAP on the date that DHCD certified the Property Owner to purchase a Property 92
condominium unit. 93
(d) Any debt or loans forgiven pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) shall not be considered 94
income for tax purposes in the District. 95
(e) By May 15, 2024, DHCD shall provide written notice to each Property Owner that 96
includes whether the Mayor will forgive Housing Production Trust Fund loans and Home 97
Purchase Assistance Program loans, and, if so, the amount of each loan that will be forgiven and 98
the date by when the loans will be forgiven. 99
(f) Notwithstanding the Inclusionary Zoning Implementation Amendment Act of 2006, 100
effective March 14, 2007 (D.C. Law 16- 275; D.C. Official Code § 6- 1041.01 et seq. ) or its 101
implementing rules under 14 DCMR § 2200 et. seq. , Property Owners who meet the criteria for a 102 compliant IZ unit may have access to an IZ unit set aside for non-lottery sale or rental on a first-103
come, first-served basis. 104
(1) Property O wners are exempt from attending the IZ orientation and from 105
completing the 8- hour homebuyer class as part of the IZ program. 106
(2) DHCD may waive the IZ income requirements if the Property Owner’s 107
income no longer meets the affordability criteria; provided, the Property Owner would have 108
qualified for an IZ rental or for-sale unit on the date that DHCD certified the Property Owner to 109
purchase a Property condominium unit. 110
(g) DHCD may update the grant agreement executed between the CA and the District, by 111
and through DHCD, with an effective date of May 22, 202 3, through September 30, 2023, to 112
provide up to $150,000 to the CA to cover operations and expenses. 113
(h) The Mayor shall create a program for providing Property Owners who choose to rent 114
or who do not qualify for homeownership with a rental option . DHCD shall provide written 115
notice to each Property Owner of the details of a rental option program by May 1, 2024. 116
(i) The Mayor may allocate $300,000 to covered property owners for moving expenses 117
and, if allocated, shall distribute the funding in equal amounts among the Property Owners. 118
Sec. 5. Fiscal impact statement. 119
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 120
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 121
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 122
Sec. 6. Effective date. 123
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 124
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30- day period of congressional review as 125 provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 126
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813: D.C. Official Code § 1- 206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 127
Columbia Register. 128