D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 12, r. 12-A118

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 44, November 1, 2024

Rule 12-A118 - ADDRESSES OF PREMISES

Insert new Section 118 in the Building Code to read as follows:

118.1

Purpose. The purpose of the provisions of this Section 118 shall be:

(a) to establish a formal, legally-based District of Columbia-wide system of assigning addresses to premises in order to facilitate their identification;

(b) to facilitate protection of the public health and safety by enabling a quicker response time by police, fire, ambulance, and other emergency services;

(c) to provide for the efficient delivery of public services, including building inspections, health inspections, property mapping, and property tax administration; and

(d) to establish the minimum requirements for providing address numbers on lot.

118.2

Administration. The code official is authorized to and shall administer the provisions of this Section 118, including, but not limited to:

(a) assigning addresses to all lots, new and existing; and

(b) administering the naming of new private thoroughfares within the District of Columbia. Address numbers are required on all lots, new and existing, and the code official shall have authority to approve all address number assignments on any lot. The code official is also authorized to order changes in the numbering of any lot previously numbered if it is determined that the address number being used may endanger the public health and safety.

118.3

Responsibility. When an address number is assigned to a lot, the owner of a lot shall provide and maintain the address number in compliance with these requirements. A lot, which is required to have an address number pursuant to the provisions of this Section 118, but for which no number has been applied for or issued, or where issued the us e or posting thereof does not comply with the requirements of this section, shall not be occupied.

118.4

Definitions. The following words and terms are defined in Chapter 2.

ADDRESS NUMBER (for Section 118)

ADDRESS NUMBER RANGE (for Section 118)

ADDRESS NUMBER SUFFIX (for Section 118)

CONDOMINIUM LOT (for Section 118)

BLOCK FACE (for Section 118)

LOT (for Section 118)

MAIN ENTRANCE (for Section 118)

PRIMARY ADDRESS (for Section 118)

PRIVATE THOROUGHFARE (for Section 118)

PUBLIC THOROUGHFARE (for Section 118)

RECORD LOT (for Section 118)

SECONDARY ADDRESS (for Section 118)

THOROUGHFARE QUADRANT (for Section 118)

TAX LOT (for Section 118)

THOROUGHFARE (for Section 118)

THOROUGHFARE NAME (for Section 118)

THOROUGHFARE SEGMENT (for Section 118)

THOROUGHFARE TYPE (for Section 118)

118.5

Addressing Rules - General. The following general addressing rules shall apply to thoroughfares in the District of Columbia.

1. The District of Columbia has an existing scheme for addressing and naming of thoroughfares that is historic in nature. To the greatest extent possible, this Section 118 seeks to maintain that scheme while eliminating conditions created over time that are detrimental to the public safety and welfare of the citizens of the District of Columbia.

2. The existing pattern of alphabetically named and numbered thoroughfares found in the District of Columbia shall be maintained.

3. When facing a thoroughfare quadrant dividing line (North Capitol Street, East Capitol Street, South Capitol Street or the Mall), the even number addresses are on the right side of the thoroughfare and the odd numbers are on the left side of the thoroughfare. Diagonal thoroughfares have even and odd sides that match the parity of the grid direction they most closely resemble; those at 30° angles are generally numbered as east-west thoroughfares, those at 60° angles to the Mall are numbered as north-south thoroughfares. The 45° angle thoroughfares are variable, and should be maintained in their current form.

4.Address number ranges are determined based on a numeric progression from the point of origin, which is the United States Capitol, and the four thoroughfare quadrant dividing lines listed in Section 118.5.3. Each standard block was initially give n an address number range of one hundred (100), progressing outward from the Capitol. Streets that commence away from the street quadrant dividing lines are examined and the address number ranges determined based upon the surrounding thoroughfares.

5.Address number ranges shall not overlap or create any opportunities for the assignment of duplicate addresses on a given thoroughfare within a single thoroughfare quadrant. There should be no gaps in the address number ranges if the thoroughfare to which the address number ranges are applied is continuous.

6. Breaks in address number ranges may occur where a thoroughfare with a given name is broken into distinct thoroughfare segments by a park, water body, or other physical barrier. In these cases, the integrity of the address grid shall be maintained, and a gap in the address number range created, to signify the break in the thoroughfare's continuity.

118.6

Administration of Addresses.

118.6.1

Master Address File. The code official shall maintain a master file of assigned addresses and maintain a master address mapping database, with the assistance of the Office of the Chief Technology Officer.

118.6.2

Code Official Responsibility. The code official shall be responsible for determining whether an address is required for any lot and also the conditions under which an address or addresses are to be assigned to any lot, including how that address is to be posted and displayed.

118.6.3

Assignment of New Addresses. The code official shall be responsible for assigning a new address in the following instances:

1. A new record lot is created through the subdivision process of the Subdivision Regulations of the District of Columbia, a new condominium lot is established or a new tax lot is created through the process of the Office of Tax and Revenue and no address number was previously assigned to the prior land parcel or is no longer appropriate for the addressing of the new lot;

2. Where a new building or other structure is constructed on a lot, and a new address is requested for the lot to reflect the main entrance of the building or other structure located on the lot;

3. The owner of a building or other structure on a lot with multiple entrances to the exterior submits an application that meets the requirements of this Section 118 regarding the assignment of one or more secondary addresses;

4. A new building or other structure is constructed on a lot already assigned an address and the lot already that contains one or more buildings or other structures;

5. An existing building or other structure is renovated to relocate the main entrance to a different thoroughfare frontage of the lot or to a different location on the current thoroughfare frontage of the lot on which that building or other structure has frontage;

6. A condominium lot where the unit has direct access to a public thoroughfare separate and apart for any main entrance to the building on the lot;

7. Where there is a separate occupiable space on the ground floor of a building on a lot and that space has direct access to the adjacent public thoroughfare, that space may be assigned an address separate from the address of the lot and displayed on the main entrance of the building within which the space is located; and

8. Such other instances where it is deemed appropriate by the code official that an address be assigned and then displayed.

118.6.4

Authority to Waive Addressing Provisions. The code official is authorized to grant a waiver of the provisions of Section 118, based upon the evidence presented, if the code official finds that the waiver:

1. Benefits the public health, safety and welfare;

2. Does not create conflicts or duplicate addresses; and

3. Is in the best interest of the District of Columbia.

118.7

Thoroughfare Naming.

118.7.1

General. The following general rules shall apply to naming of thoroughfares in the District of Columbia.

1. No thoroughfare shall be given a name that duplicates or nearly duplicates the name of a then-existing or previously existing thoroughfare within the same thoroughfare quadrant of the District of Columbia.

2. No thoroughfare shall be given a name that duplicates or nearly duplicates the name of an existing or previously existing thoroughfare within the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia.

3. A thoroughfare name may be changed according to the separate procedures for naming public thoroughfares and private thoroughfares. Historical and commonly used names for thoroughfares shall be maintained where possible, and linked to newer names where necessary.

118.7.2

Naming of Public Thoroughfares. The code official shall forward a recommendation on the name of any proposed new public thoroughfare to the Council of the District of Columbia for its action. A proposed public thoroughfare shall be assigned a name by the Council of the District of Columbia pursuant to Sections 401 through 410 of the Street and Alley Closing and Acquisition Procedures Act of 1982, effective March 10, 1983 (D.C. Law 4-201; D.C. Official Code §§ 9-204.01et seq. (2013 Repl. & 2019 Supp.)).

118.7.3

Naming of Private Thoroughfares. The following rules shall apply to naming of private thoroughfares.

1. A property owner, developer, surveyor, or plat proprietor shall make application to the code official for approval of a proposed thoroughfare name of a new private thoroughfare consistent with the existing historic thoroughfare addressing and thoroughfare naming scheme as required by Section 118.5.

2. Upon receipt of the thoroughfare name application for a new private thoroughfare, the code official shall review the proposed name with the District Department of Transportation, the District Office of Planning, and the District E-911 Coordinator to ensure that no duplication occurs and that no private thoroughfares are created with names that sound alike, or could create confusion for the delivery of emergency and non-emergency services.

3. The code official is authorized to recommend to the applicant a list of the existing approved thoroughfare names within the District of Columbia for the convenience of the applicant.

4. The code official shall approve the naming of newly established private thoroughfares within the District of Columbia, including private thoroughfares in proposed plats of condominium developments.

5. The code official shall notify the applicant within 30 days of the acceptance or rejection of the proposed thoroughfare name along with the reasons for the decision, if applicable.

6. The decision of the code official regarding the thoroughfare name for each private thoroughfare shall be final.

7. An unnamed private thoroughfare shall be named when two or more addresses exist or are established on such private thoroughfare. If the existing addresses are numbered off of the adjoining public thoroughfare, then the addresses shall be changed to appropriate addresses using the thoroughfare name of the private thoroughfare.

8. An owner shall consult with the code official before a name for the private thoroughfare is selected and shall thereafter obtain t he code official's approval before the name is displayed in accordance with Section 118.10, item 10, below.

9. The code official shall recommend changes in a thoroughfare name where, in the code official's opinion, a valid reason exists for the change of thoroughfare name. Such reasons include, but are not limited to:

a. Duplicate thoroughfare names;

b. Confusion of thoroughfare names that sound alike;

c.Thoroughfare names that are extremely difficult to spell or pronounce;

d.Thoroughfares that have more than one commonly used name; and

e.Thoroughfare names shall not be changed to reflect changes in property ownership or for personal reasons of the adjoining owners.

10. When a thoroughfare name change or designation is proposed, the code official shall provide notice to the property owners abutting the thoroughfare segment(s) to be named or changed. If the change is designed to remedy existing duplicate names or confusing names, the property owners may be consulted on suggested names for the thoroughfare.

11. Before changing a thoroughfare name, the code official shall consider the official thoroughfare name as recorded on plats and deeds of adjacent property, and the most accurate historical name of the thoroughfare in question.

12. The existing legal documents shall be of primary consideration in determining the single thoroughfare name when two or more names are commonly used.

118.8

Address Number Assignment. The following rules shall apply to address number assignments.

1. Every lot that is legally capable of supporting a building or other structure shall have an address regardless of whether that lot is occupied by a building or other structure or vacant.

2. Every condominium lot, building or other structure with an entrance fronting on and directly accessible from a public thoroughfare or a private thoroughfare shall have a thoroughfare address.

3. No address shall be assigned to a driveway. Where a lot is improved by a building or other structure and has a driveway associated with that building or other structure, whether on the same lot or different lot, then the driveway shall have the same name and the numbering sequence of the thoroughfare assigned to the lot on which the building or other structure is located.

4. No address number shall be assigned to a lot, and no building or other structure on that lot shall display an address where the lot has as its only access an unnamed thoroughfare. If an address is required for a lot that fronts on an unnamed thoroughfare, that thoroughfare shall first be named according to the process described in Sections 118.7.2 or 118.7.3, applicable.

5. An address number for a lot, or for premises on a lot where there are multiple premises on lot that could be assigned an address number, shall be determined based upon the address range of the block face, the location of the main entrance of the building or other structure, or, as applicable, the frontage of the lot on a thoroughfare and the existing address numbers that are assigned within that block face of the thoroughfare.

6.Address numbers shall be logically and spatially consistent, increasing in numeric order from the low number end of the block face of the thoroughfare to the high number end of that block face.

7.Address numbers shall be assigned in accordance with the parity (odd/even) designation for the block face of the thoroughfare. Eve n numbers shall not be used on the odd side of a thoroughfare, nor shall odd numbers be used on the even side of a thoroughfare.

8. If a thoroughfare segment or an alley segment exists where both odd and even numbers exist on both sides of the segment, or where only one side contains addresses, and both odd and even numbers have been used, the code official shall issue an address number that is logically consistent with the numbers on the adjoining lots.

9. No address number shall be assigned that duplicates the number for any existing lot on the same thoroughfare.

10. Except as provided for in Section 118.8, item 11, below, an address number may include an address number suffix designated as a letter. Where a new address number suffix is designated, it shall be a letter; the first letter assigned to an address as an address number suffix shall be the letter "B" to distinguish the address assigned to the principal building or other structure on the lot that has been assigned that address.

11. The code official is authorized to maintain an existing address number suffix that is a fraction if there is no available address number in the address sequence for the block in which the address is located. The fraction shall be stored in the address number suffix field.

12. The letter designation of a thoroughfare address shall be maintained in the address number suffix field.

13. No new address number shall be assigned to the site of a proposed building that is to be situated on multiple lots, although the address number assigned to one of the lots may be used as the address number displayed on the main entrance. No new address number shall be assigned to the site of a proposed building where there is a pending subdivision of the site pursuant to the Subdivision Regulations of the District of Columbia (10-B DCMR §§ 2700 et seq.), until the plat of subdivision has been accepted into the records of the Office of the Surveyor of the District of Columbia. No new address number shall be assigned to the site of a proposed building where there is a pending division of lots application being process administered by the Office of Tax and Revenue of the District of Columbia, and an address number may only be assigned in connection with that division of lots process when that Office has issued to the applicant its notice of theoretical creation of one or more tax lots and associated assignment of assessment and taxation lot number(s) to that tax lot or tax lots.

14. The code official shall hear and consider requests for changes in address numbers for existing addresses.

a. The code official is authorized to change address numbers where there are duplicates, or where the address number is out of sequence, or is on the opposite side of the thoroughfare in terms of parity (odd number found on the even numbered side, or vice-versa).

b. The code official is authorized to change address numbers where existing numbers contain an address number suffix, and there is sufficient space in the existing address number range for the block face to support renumbering to remove the address number suffix.

15. The code official shall not change an existing address to one that is not consistent with the addressing of lots and buildings, parity, and sequences that already exist on the applicable public thoroughfare.

16. Where a lot is occupied by a building or other structure that fronts on more than one public thoroughfare, the lot shall be assigned an address number based on the location of the face of the building or other structure containing the main entrance.

118.9

Display Specifications.

118.9.1

Address Number Display. Each lot to which an address number has

been assigned and has a building or other structure located on that lot shall have the number displayed on the building or other structure in conformance with the requirements provided in this Section 118.9.

118.9.1.1

Main Entrance Location. The following requirements shall apply to the main entrance location.

1. The assigned address number of the lot shall be located directly over or near the main entrance in a position easily observed and readable from the opposite side of a public thoroughfare.

2. A multi-tenanted building or other structure having separate exterior entrances with separate address numbers shall post the assigned address numbers near each entrance to the building or other structure in accordance with this section.

3. Where the main entrance of the building or other structure on a lot is not located at and fronting on a public thoroughfare, the owner of a lot shall post the address number on the face of the building or other structure located at or fronting on the public thoroughfare as well as directly above or near the main entrance.

118.9.1.2

Rear Entrance Location. If the rear of a building or other structure on a lot, to which an address number has been assigned, faces a public thoroughfare, the owner shall also place the address number of the main entrance in a position easily observed and readable from the public thoroughfare that serve the rear of that building or other structure.

118.9.1.3

Construction Sites Location.Address numbers shall be posted at construction sites in a position easily observed and readable from any public thoroughfare serving the construction site.

118.9.1.4

Size of Numbers. The minimum size of an address number shall be 3 inches (76 mm) high and one-ha lf inch (13 mm) wide and shall be in Arabic figures on a contrasting background.

118.9.1.5

Private Thoroughfares. The address number of a lot fronting on a private thoroughfare need not be readable from a public thoroughfare if, under the circumstances, this requirement would be impracticable and the approved address numbers are placed in a position on a building or other structure on that lot to be plainly legible and visible from the private thorough fare.

118.9.2

Thoroughfare Name Sign Display Specifications. Thoroughfare name signs shall conform to all of the following specifications as applicable:

1. All thoroughfare name signs for a public thoroughfare or private thoroughfare shall meet the requirements of Section 118.7 above and the requirements of the District Department of Transportation ("DDOT").

2. For public thoroughfares, DDOT shall provide standard thoroughfare name signs showing the name of the public thoroughfare, the thoroughfare type, thoroughfare quadrant, and the starting number for the address range(s) associated with the thoroughfare segment for each public thoroughfare at each intersection.

3. The owner of a private thoroughfare shall provide standard thoroughfare name signs showing the name of the private thoroughfare, the thoroughfare type, thoroughfare quadrant, and the starting number for the address range(s) associated with the thoroughfare segment for each private thoroughfare, based on the approved thoroughfare name issued by the code official.

4.Thoroughfare name signs designating private thoroughfares shall include the word "Private" or "PVT" on them to distinguish them from public thoroughfares.

118.10

Compliance and Enforcement.

118.10.1

Final Building Inspection. Before approval of a final building inspection pursuant to Section 109.3.1.11, all addressing requirements, including obtaining a thoroughfare name, and obtaining and posting of an address number, shall be satisfied in accordance with the requirements of Section 118.

118.10.2

Enforcement. The provisions of Section 118 shall be enforced by the code official pursuant to the enforcement mechanisms set forth in Section 113.

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 12, r. 12-A118

Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 5679 (5/29/2020)