Code of the District of Columbia

§ 1–309.15. Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions; appointment of Executive Director.

(a) There is hereby established an Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions to provide technical, administrative, and financial reporting assistance to the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. Subject to appropriations beginning in Fiscal Year 2001, the OANC shall be funded by an annual budget allocation. The OANC is intended to support the efforts of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, review Commission quarterly financial reports, and approve or disapprove the release of Commission quarterly allotments pursuant to § 1-309.13.

(b) The OANC shall be headed by an Executive Director who shall be appointed by the Council.

(c) The duties of the OANC shall include:

(1) Developing and implementing new programming and services to assist Commissioners in serving District residents;

(2) Responding to requests from Commissioners in a timely manner and acting upon those requests in a timely manner;

(3) Organizing and overseeing a task force of Commissioners every 2 years, charged with assisting the OANC in updating the ANC Handbook;

(4) Coordinating with the Office of Open Government ("OOG") to maintain and improve public transparency, including coordinating with OOG to assist Commissions in fulfilling Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA") requests;

(5) Developing and directing no fewer than 2 training sessions for Commissioners per year, one of which shall take place no later than January 31 of each year, which shall include information on the statutory mandates and responsibilities of Commissions, Robert's Rules of Order, conflict resolution, and any training or informational material provided by OOG concerning Commission duties related to FOIA;

(6) Creating, updating, and distributing to all Commissions templates for bylaws;

(7) Creating and updating templates for staff payroll forms, grant applications, and expense reimbursement applications, and distributing those templates to all Commissions;

(8) Increasing public awareness of the work of the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions;

(9) Providing Commissioners with technical assistance related to government email accounts;

(10) Creating a standard Advisory Neighborhood Commissions logo that Commissions may use on official documents and materials;

(11) Serving as the primary source of advice for Commissioners with respect to their official statutory responsibilities;

(12) Providing electronic or in-person briefings, as requested by a Commission, on legislation under review by the Council, using OANC personnel or through coordination with Council staff, as necessary;

(13) Advising Commissions on judicial and administrative decisions particularly affecting Commission duties or activities, and seeking advice from the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia on behalf of Commissions, where necessary and appropriate;

(14) Advocating on behalf of Commissions with respect to District agencies;

(15) Providing technical assistance, as needed, to Councilmembers, and committees and staff of the Council with respect to Commission matters;

(16) Reviewing Commission quarterly financial reports, and approving or disapproving the release of Commission quarterly allotments pursuant to § 1-309.13;

(17) Advising Commissioners on issues including zoning, planning, design, development, and negotiations related to Planned Unit Developments as defined in 11-B DCMR § 100.2, or successor regulations;

(18) Coordinating with other agencies to provide training and guidance on zoning, planning, and development issues to Commissions upon request;

(19) Providing resources, analyses, and support to Commissions upon request, subject to availability, to support their work on issues including zoning, development, and negotiations on Planned United Developments as defined in 11-B DCMR § 119.1; and[ ]

(20) Maintaining a publicly accessible database of all community benefit agreements negotiated by Commissions and concluded after October 1, 2022.

(d) Funds may be transferred from the OANC through an intra-District transfer for the operations of the OANC.

(e) The OANC may issue rules to implement the provisions of this section.