President Bush will propose a comprehensive survey of federal land in the District today, including parks, waterfront property and 182 acres at St. Elizabeths Hospital, to determine whether local officials can take over or redevelop some sites to boost the city's tax base, according to Mayor Anthony A. Williams.
The review of hundreds of properties owned by the federal government, some dating to the establishment of Washington in 1791, would be conducted by the Office of Management and Budget. Williams (D), who lavished praise on Bush for taking a historic step to address the city's fiscal problems, said he was briefed on the plan last week by a federal official. Williams said the plan is included in the White House's proposed budget, which will be released today.
Among properties to be surveyed will be 182 acres at St. Elizabeths Hospital.
(James M. Thresher -- The Washington Post)
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Proposed Budget for the District
District officials expect $103 million in mayoral grants, the amount proposed last year. The budget would increase aid for college students and foster care programs and cut funds for public works projects to clean up the environment.
Highlights include:
• a $7 million installment for a new bioterrorism and forensics laboratory;
• $5 million more for Anacostia River waterfront improvements;
• funding for a $42 million school voucher and public school assistance program;
• maintenance of a $15 million reimbursement fund for District homeland security costs;
• $1 million for the D.C. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
• renewal of President Bush's support for ending Congress's requirement that it approve D.C. spending each year.
Source: D.C. mayor's office
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The federal government is the largest landowner in Washington, with holdings extending well beyond the Mall and into neighborhoods. Since this land cannot be taxed, city officials often cite the federal government as a principal contributor to the District's chronic fiscal imbalance.
Under the proposal, the government would consider changing the use of some properties, through land transfers, revised lease agreements or other means. No timetable has been set, and officials involved said it is too soon to say how much land is involved or how much it could be worth.
But government real estate specialists envision a mini-urban land rush to improve properties large and small, from redeveloping big tracts in Southeast Washington to adding such attractions as restaurants or bike trails to downtown squares and parks. The initiative could make it easier for the city to redevelop the 67-acre D.C. General Hospital site or to build a chain of city walking trails on national parkland along the Anacostia River.
Over a decade, the windfall to the District government in real estate, potential resale, private development, property added to city tax rolls or increased economic activity could extend to tens of millions of dollars, according to a senior city official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he did not know what the federal government would approve.
Overall, Bush's 2006 budget rearranges priorities among District grants but includes no new spending, Williams said. The Republican administration proposed $18 million in new aid for city foster care programs and a popular college tuition aid program, Williams said. But the White House eliminated an annual payment toward a $1.3 billion sewer and water system reconstruction project needed for an environmental cleanup of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.
Williams commended Bush for helping the District take advantage of federal properties and offset the cost of hosting the federal government.
"This commitment has tremendous potential for us as we continue to expand neighborhood development," Williams said. "It is an historic opportunity to reevaluate and rationalize the use of federal land so that it better serves District residents."
District and congressional supporters began protesting in 2001 that the city loses out on $470 million to $1.1 billion a year in tax revenue because of the federal presence, a structural deficit confirmed by Congress's audit arm, the Government Accountability Office, in 2003.
The gap is largely because 42 percent of land in the city is owned by the federal government and other non-tax-paying entities -- such as embassies and nonprofit organizations -- and because Congress exempts nonresidents who work in the District from paying local income taxes, or roughly 66 percent of payrolls.
As the federal government braces for years of deficits and cuts in domestic spending, the Bush administration is seeking alternatives to making direct cash payments, such as adjusting the use of federal land, said District budget specialists in the city and Congress.
A Bush official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied such a connection, cautioning that the land-review process is in the beginning stages and saying there is no basis to gauge the financial impact. Still, the official acknowledged that a restructuring would help the District capitalize on new uses of federal land that is idle or underused.
"We continue to enjoy a good working relationship with the mayor's office on budgeting for the needs of the nation's capital," said Chad Kolton, a spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget. "It's a very productive dialogue about the most effective ways to ensure the city is a place all Americans can be proud of."
