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Participating as a Witness

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Participating as a Witness

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Participating as a Witness

Zoning Commission

The Zoning Commission (ZC) is holding virtual public meetings and hearings. With virtual public hearings, no in-person testimony will be taken, but there are several alternative ways that you can provide comments or testify on any of the public hearing items scheduled:

All individuals, organizations, or associations wishing to testify in any case before the Zoning Commission (ZC) are strongly encouraged to sign up to testify no later than 24 hours prior to the public hearing. 

If you have not signed up 24 hours prior to the hearing, you must call (202) 727-0789 to sign-up to testify and to receive WebEx login or call-in instructions. 

The order of a public hearing for a contested case is as follows:

  1. Preliminary Matters
  2. Applicant’s Case
  3. Report of the Office of Planning
  4. Report of other Government Agencies (if any)
  5. Report of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC)
  6. Parties in Support (if any)
  7. Organizations and Persons in Support
  8. Parties in Opposition (if any)
  9. Organizations and Persons in Opposition
  10. Organizations and Persons who are Undeclared
  11. Rebuttal and Closing by the Applicant

The order of a public hearing for a rulemaking case is as follows:

  1. Preliminary Matters
  2. Presentation by the Petitioner (or the Office of Planning)
  3. Reports of Other Government Agencies (if any)
  4. (If applicable) Report of the ANC
  5. Organizations and Persons in Support
  6. Organizations and Persons in Opposition

The following maximum time limits for oral testimony shall be adhered:

  • Applicants/Petitioners     up to 60 minutes
  • Organizations                 5 minutes each
  • Individuals                      3 minutes each

The Commission intends to adhere to the time limits as strictly as possible in order to hear the case in a reasonable period of time; however, the Commission reserves the right to change the time limits for presentations if necessary and notes that no time shall be ceded.

The decision of the Commission in all cases must be based exclusively on the public record. 

All public hearings can be viewed by Webex or on YouTube Live and will be available on video-on-demand the day after the hearing.

If you need special accommodations or need language assistance services (translation or interpretation), please contact Zee Hill at (202) 727-0312 or [email protected] at least five days in advance of the hearing. These services will be provided free of charge.

For more information on testifying virtually, please see the Virtual Hearing FAQs. 

Board of Zoning Adjustment

When you arrive at a Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) public hearing all individuals, organizations, or associations wishing to testify in a case before the BZA, please use the sign-in kiosk located near the door to register prior to testifying. 

You will also be required to fill out two witness cards. These cards are located on the table near the door. Upon coming forward to speak to the BZA, please give both cards to the reporter sitting to the right of te dais before taking a seat at the table. When presenting information to the Commission, please turn on and speak into the microphone, first stating your name and home address. When you are finished speaking, please turn your microphone off so that your microphone is no longer picking up sound or background noise. 
 

The order of a public hearing for special exceptions and variances is as follows:


  1. Preliminary Matters
  2. Statement of the Applicant and the Applicant’s witnesses;
  3. Report and recommendation from the Office of Planning;
  4. Reports and recommendations from other public agencies;
  5. Report of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) for the area within which the property is located;
  6. Parties and persons in support of the application;
  7. Parties and persons in opposition to the application;
  8. Undeclared witness; and
  9. Rebuttal and Closing Statement by the Applicant.
  1. The Applicant – up to 60 minutes
  2. Organizations – 5 minutes
  3. Individuals – 3 minutes


The order of a public hearing for an appeal is as follows:


  1. Preliminary Matters
  2. Statement of the Appellant and the Appellant’s witnesses;
  3. The Zoning Administrator or other government official’s case;
  4. Case for the owner, lessee, or operator of the property involved, if not the Appellant;
  5. The ANC for the area within which the property is located;
  6. Intervenor’s case, if intervention is permitted by the Board; and
  7. Rebuttal and Closing Statement by the Appellant.

 

The BZA intends to adhere to the time limits as strictly as possible in order to hear the case in a reasonable period of time; however, the BZA reserves the right to change the time limits for presentations if necessary and notes that no time shall be ceded. If you wish to file written testimony or additional supporting documents at the public hearing, please submit one original and 8 copies to the Secretary for distribution. 

The decision of the BZA in all cases must be based exclusively on the public record. To avoid any appearance to the contrary, the BZA requests that persons present not engage the members of the BZA in conversation during any recess or at any time. In addition, there should be no direct contact whatsoever with any BZA member concerning case matters, be it written, electronic, or by telephone. Any materials received directly by a BZA member will be discarded without being read, and any calls will be ignored. The staff will be available throughout the hearing to discuss procedural questions. 

When in the hearing room, please turn off all electronic devices so as not to disrupt the proceedings. 

At the beginning of the hearing, all individuals wishing to testify will be asked to rise to take the oath.

If You See Something, Say Something Report Fraud, Waste, Abuse, and Mismanagement in the Government of the District of Columbia to the Office of the Inspector General 
 717 14th Street, N.W., Suite 500 | Washington, D.C. 20005 

CALLS ARE CONFIDENTIAL Toll Free Hotline 

1-800-521-1639 | 202-724-TIPS (8477) | Email: [email protected] | Web Page: www.oig.dc.gov

 

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