ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
25-184
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
June 20, 2023
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Business
Improvement Districts Act of 1996 to authorize the establishment and administration of
the Friendship Heights Business Improvement District.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the “Friendship Heights Business Improvement District Emergency
Declaration Resolution of 2023”.
Sec. 2. (a) The Business Improvement Districts Act of 1996, effective May 29, 1996
(D.C. Law 11-134; D.C. Official Code § 2-1215.52), authorizes the establishment of a Business
Improvement District (“BID”).
(b) The Friendship Heights neighborhood extends across the District and Maryland.
Despite the cross-jurisdictional nature of the neighborhood, the Friendship Heights Alliance, a
nonprofit corporation, has dedicated its services to enhancing and improving the Friendship
Heights neighborhood.
(c) The Friendship Heights neighborhood has not experienced growth at rates similar to
the surrounding areas. For example, while the population in Montgomery County and in the
District in recent years has grown by 7% and 17%, respectively, the population in Friendship
Heights has only increased by 2%. Further, there were only 120 new units built in Friendship
Heights between 2010 and 2021. In addition to its slow population growth, the neighborhood
has been experiencing negative retail absorption since 2017.
(d) In an effort to revitalize and help foster a healthy thriving neighborhood, the
Friendship Heights Alliance created the Friendship Heights Urban District, analogous to
Business Improvement Districts in the District, on the Maryland side of the neighborhood.
(e) The Friendship Heights Alliance now seeks to establish the Friendship Heights BID in
the District. With the establishment of a Friendship Heights BID, the entire neighborhood will
be able to contribute to the mission of revitalizing Friendship Heights in a cohesive and
community-based manner rather than treating the neighborhood as 2 separate places. The
establishment of the Friendship Heights BID, working alongside the Friendship Heights Urban
District, will serve as a steward for growth in one of the region’s most dynamic, walkable urban
locations.
(f) To establish the Friendship Heights BID in a timely manner to issue taxes at the start
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 ENROLLED ORIGINAL
of the 2024 tax year, the Office of Tax and Revenue requires the BID’s tax roll in July 2023 so
that it may issue taxes in August 2023. Consequently, the Council needs to act on an emergency
basis.
(g) A hearing was held on Bill 25-149, the permanent legislation, on Thursday, June 8,
2023, by the Committee of Business and Economic Development, which plans to move the
permanent legislation in the near future.
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute
emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Friendship Heights Business
Improvement District Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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