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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, on an emergency basis, due to congressional review, the Department of Housing 15
and Community Development, to make a grant to the Neighborhood Assistance 16
Corporation of America, to implement measures to provide financial relief and other 17
assistance to the current owners of condominium units at the River East at Grandview 18
Condominiums (“Property”), including the authority to forgive loans originating from the 19
Housing Production Trust Fund and the Home Purchase Assistance Program associated 20
with the purchase of condominium units at the Property and to provide the condominium 21
unit owners with assistance to secure permanent housing solutions; and to amend the 22
Skyland Town Center Omnibus Act of 2014 to permit the Deputy Mayor for Planning 23
and Economic Development to issue a grant up to $15 million from the Benning Road 24
Transfer Station Modernization project in the Department of Public Works capital budget 25
to the operating budget of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic 26
Development for the purpose of funding a grant to Skyland Holdings, LLC. 27
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, 29
That this act may be cited as the “Relief for River East at Grandview Condominium Owner s 30
Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2024”. 31
TITLE 1. RELIEF FOR RIVER EAST AT GRANDVIEW CONDOMINIUM 32
OWNERS. 33
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Sec. 101. Definitions. 35
For the purposes of this act, the term: 36
(1) “ADU” means affordable dwelling unit, which is a for-sale or for-rent housing unit 37
that is locally restricted, but not federally restricted, for occupancy to a household whose income 38
falls within a certain range and that is generally produced in exchange for zoning relief, tax 39 incentives, public financing, the right to purchase or lease District-owned land, or other relief, as 40
described in Mayor's Order 2009- 112. 41
(2) “CA” means the River East at Grandview Condominium Association. 42
(3) “DHCD” means the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community 43
Development. 44
(4) “HPAP” means Home Purchase Assistance Program. 45
(5) “HUD” means the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 46
(6) “Inclusionary Development” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 47
101(2) of the Inclusionary Zoning Implementation Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 14, 48
2007 (D.C. Law 16- 275; D.C. Official Code § 6–1041.01(2)). 49
(7) “Inclusionary unit” shall have the same meaning as provided in section 101(3) of the 50
Inclusionary Zoning Implementation Amendment Act of 2006, effective March 14, 2007 (D.C. 51
Law 16-275; D.C. Official Code § 6–1041.01(3)). 52
(8) “IZ” means the Inclusionary Zoning Program. 53
(9) “NACA” means the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America . 54
(10) “OTR” means the Office of Tax and Revenue. 55
(11) "Property” means the River East at Grandview Condominiums located at 1262 56
Talbert Street, S.E., Washington, DC, 20020, known for tax and assessment purposes as Lots 57
2047 through 2092 in Square 5807, which may also be known as River East at Grandview, 58
Grandview Estate, Grandview Estates, Grandview Estates II, Gardenview, River East, RiverEast, 59
River East at Anacostia, River East at Anacostia Metro Station, River East at Grandview, and 60
Talbert Street. 61 (12) “Property O wner” means an individual who owns one of the 46 condominium units 62
at the Property. 63
Sec. 102. DHCD grant authority. 64
(a) Notwithstanding the Grant Administration Act of 2013, effective December 23, 2013 65
(D.C. Law 20- 61; D.C. Official Code § 1- 328.11 et seq.) or its implementing rules under 1 66
DMCR § 5000 et. seq. , DHCD is authorized to enter into a grant agreement with NACA to 67
provide financial relief for Property Owners seeking to obtain permanent housing. 68
(b) The grant agreement may include that NACA : 69
(1) Provide housing counseling services to Property Owners , including assessing 70
Property O wners’ permanent housing options and working with Property Owners to meet 71
NACA’s mortgage eligibility criteria; 72
(2) Provide recommendations to the Mayor about the financial need for gap 73
financing based on the assessments of the Property Owners; 74
(3) Alongside the Mayor, seek relief for Property Owners’ existing mortgages on 75
the Property; 76
(4) Provide affordable mortgage options to eligible Property Owners ; 77
(5) Waive any requirements against a Property Owner having an existing 78
mortgage; provided, the existing mortgage is on the Property; and 79
(6) Not use credit score as the deciding factor for approving a Property Owner’s 80
mortgage. 81
Sec. 103. A dditional relief. 82
(a) Notwithstanding Chapter 9 of Title 47 of the District of Columbia Official Code and 83
the District of Columbia Sales Real Estate Deed Recordation Tax, approved March 2, 1962 (76 84 Stat. 110; D.C. Official Code § 42- 1001 et seq.), or its implementing rules under 9 DCMR § 500 85
et. seq., OTR shall : 86
(1) Not assess or charge any taxes against a Property Owner related to the 87
Property Owner’s first purchase of real property following a Property Owner’s purchase of the 88
Property, including transfer taxes and deed recordation taxes, so long as the purchase is made by 89
December 31, 2028; and 90
(2) Forgive all real property taxes, including interest, penalties, fees, and other 91
related charges, assessed against the Property from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2025, and 92
provide a refund of all real property taxes paid from October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2025, 93
pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 47- 811.02; except, that D.C. Official Code § 47- 811.02(b) shall 94
not apply. 95
(b) Notwithstanding the Housing Production Trust Fund Act of 1989, effective March 10, 96
2015 (D.C. Law 20- 190; D.C. Official Code § 42- 2802.02 et. seq. ): 97
(1) The Mayor may: 98
(A) Waive the requirements of section 3b of the Housing Production Trust 99
Fund Act of 1989, effective March 10, 2015 (D.C. Law 20- 190; D.C. Official Code § 42- 2802.02 100
or its implementing rules under 10 DCMR § B4100 et. seq. ); and 101
(B) Forgive all outstanding debt secured by a Property Owner pursuant to 102
a Housing Production Trust Fund loan that financed development costs of the Property . 103
(2) Any forgiveness of debt under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall not 104
include any outstanding indebtedness of River East At Anacostia, LLC, or Stanton View 105
Development, LLC incurred in connection with the development of the Property. 106 (c) Notwithstanding any provisions of the Home Purchase Assistance Fund Act of 1978, 107
effective September 12, 1978; (D.C. Law 2-103; D.C. Official Code § 45- 2601 et seq.), or its 108
implementing rules under 14 DCMR § 2500 et. seq. : 109
(1) The Mayor may forgive the balance of any HPAP loan provided to a Property 110
Owner to support the purchase of a Property condominium unit; 111
(2) A Property Owner may be eligible for HPAP assistance of at least $70,000, 112
subject to available funds through DHCD; and 113
(3) DHCD may waive the HPAP income requirements if the Property Owner’s 114
income no longer meets the affordability criteria; provided, that the Property Owner would have 115
qualified for HPAP on the date that DHCD certified the Property Owner to purchase a Property 116
condominium unit. 117
(d) Any debt or loans forgiven pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) shall not be considered 118
income for tax purposes in the District. 119
(e) By May 15, 2024, DHCD shall provide written notice to each Property Owner that 120
includes whether the Mayor will forgive Housing Production Trust Fund loans and Home 121
Purchase Assistance Program loans, and, if so, the amount of each loan that will be forgiven and 122
the date by when the loans will be forgiven. 123
(f)(1) Notwithstanding the Inclusionary Zoning Implementation Amendment Act of 2006, 124
effective March 14, 2007 (D.C. Law 16- 275; D.C. Official Code § 6- 1041.01 et seq. ) or its 125
implementing rules under 14 DCMR § 2200 et. seq. , or any Inclusionary Development or 126
affordable housing covenant, a Property Owner who meets the criteria for a compliant 127
inclusionary unit or ADU may have access to an inclusionary unit or ADU set aside for non-128
lottery sale or rental on a first-come, first-served basis. 129 (2) Property O wners are exempt from attending the IZ orientation and from 130
completing the 8- hour homebuyer class as part of the IZ program. 131
(3) DHCD may waive the household income requirements for an inclusionary 132
unit, pursuant to 14 DCMR § 2225, or ADU if the Property Owner’s income no longer meets the 133
affordability criteria; provided, that the Property Owner would have qualified for an IZ rental or 134
for-sale unit on the date that DHCD certified the Property Owner to purchase a Property 135
condominium unit. 136
(g) DHCD may prioritize Property Owners on waitlists or encourage the owners of 137
properties whose waitlists DHCD does not manage to prioritize Property Owners on their 138
waitlists for DHCD funded properties or other Low Income Housing Tax Credit properties; 139
provided, that selections shall be made pursuant to the HUD Handbook 4350.3 REV-1 Ch. 3. 140
(h) DHCD may update the grant agreement executed between the CA and the District, by 141
and through DHCD, with an effective date of May 22, 202 3, through September 30, 2023, to 142
provide up to $150,000 to the CA to cover operations and expenses. 143
(i) The Mayor shall create a program for providing Property Owners who choose to rent 144
or who do not qualify for homeownership with a rental option . DHCD shall provide written 145
notice to each Property Owner of the details of a rental option program by May 1, 2024. 146
(j) The Mayor may allocate $300,000 to covered property owners for moving expenses 147
and, if allocated, shall distribute the funding in equal amounts among the Property Owners. 148
TITLE II. SKYLAND GRANT 149
Sec. 201. The Skyland Town Center Omnibus Act of 2014, effective June 21, 2014 (D.C. 150
Law 20-110; D.C. Official Code § 2- 1217.35a et seq. ), is amended as follows: 151
(a) Section 203 (D.C. Official Code § 2- 1217.35d) is amended by striking the phrase “not 152 to exceed $40 million to fund the project” and inserting the phrase “not to exceed $25 153
million to fund the project” in its place. 154
(b) A new section 203a is added to read as follows: 155
“Sec. 203a. Grant authorization. 156
“Notwithstanding the Grant Administration Act of2013, effective December 24, 2013 157
(D.C. Law 20- 61; D.C. Official Code § 1- 328.11 et seq.), the Deputy Mayor for Planning and 158
Economic Development may issue a grant in an amount not to exceed $15 million to the 159
Developer for the purpose of supporting the completion of the project.”. 160
Sec. 202. Reprogramming. 161
(a) Pursuant to section 47- 363of the District of Columbia Official Code, the Mayor 162
transmitted to the Council a reprogramming request in the amount of $15 million to be 163
transferred from the Benning Road Transfer Station Modernization project in the Department of 164
Public Works capital budget to the operating budget of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for 165
Planning and Economic Development for the purpose of funding a grant to Skyland Holdings, 166
LLC. 167
(b) The Council approves the $15 million reprogramming request. 168
TITLE III. APPLICABILITY; FISCAL IMPACT; EFFECTIVE DATE. 169
Sec. 301. Applicability. 170
This act shall apply as of July 14, 2024. 171
Sec. 302. Fiscal impact statement. 172
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 173
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 174
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1- 301.47a). 175 Sec. 303. Effective date. 176
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 177
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30- day period of congressional review as 178
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 179
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813: D.C. Official Code § 1- 206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 180
Columbia Register. 181