Agency overview | |
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Formed | 1974 |
Jurisdiction | District of Columbia |
Headquarters | John A. Wilson Building, Washington DC |
Parent agency | Council of the District of Columbia |
Website | anc |
Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) are bodies of local government in the District of Columbia, the capital city of the United States. The ANC system was created in 1974 through a referendum (73 percent voted "yes") in the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. [1] The first elections for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners were held in the fall of 1975, and commissions began operating in 1976. [2] Congressman Don Fraser (D-Minn) and D.C. resident Milton Kotler helped to draft the ANC language in the Home Rule Act based on the success of Adams Morgan Organization (AMO) in Adams Morgan and on a 1970 report of the Minneapolis Citizen League, as well as on related neighborhood corporations in Pittsburgh; Brooklyn, New York; Chicago; and Columbus, Ohio. [3] [4] [5]
ANCs consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the district's annual budget. Commissioners serve two-year terms and receive no salary, but commissions do receive funds for the general purpose of improving their area and hiring staff. [6] This policy has come under scrutiny because of the misuse of funds by commissioners and their employees. [7] Candidates can accept campaign donations up to $25 per person. [8]
As of 2023, ANCs represent more than 100 neighborhoods. [9]
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The powers of the ANC system are enumerated by the DC Code § 1–207.38:
The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the council. They also present testimony to independent agencies, boards, and commissions, usually under the rules of procedure specific to those entities. By law, the ANCs may present their positions to Federal agencies. One of the most common cases of ANC involvement is in the giving of liquor licenses, where the approval or disapproval of the commission, despite having no legal power, represents a veto to the district government. [10]
Each ANC Commissioner is nominated and elected by the registered voters who reside in the same Single Member District as the candidate. The ANC Commissioner is an official representing her or his neighborhood community (Single Member District) on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
In order to hold the office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, an individual must be a registered voter (or must be able to register to vote within two years) in the District, as defined by DC Code Section 1-1001.02; have resided continuously in the Single Member District from which they are nominated for the 60-day period immediately preceding the day on which the nominating petition is filed; and hold no other public office. In order to enter the public ballot, they must receive 25 signatures from registered voters in their district. [11]
The basic area of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are Single Member Districts. There are 299 Single Member Districts, [12] which in turn are subdivisions of 39 'Commission Districts', [13] which are in turn subdivisions of Wards. Each Commissioner represents about 2,000 residents in their Single Member District (SMD) area.
Due to population growth and redistribution, these boundaries often change, causing shifts in power and election turnout. [14]
Single Member Districts are named according to Ward, Subdivision, and then Single Member District. For instance, 3B05 is Ward 3, subdivision B, and SMD 05.
The 345 commissioners as of March 28,2024 [update] are: [15]
ANC 1B
ANC 1C
ANC 1D
ANC 1E
ANC 2A
ANC 2B
ANC 2C
ANC 2D
ANC 2E
ANC 2F
ANC 2G
ANC 3A
ANC 3B
ANC 3C
ANC 3D
ANC 3E
ANC 3F
ANC 3/4G
ANC 4A
ANC 4B
ANC 4C
ANC 4D
ANC 4E
ANC 5A
ANC 5B
ANC 5C
ANC 5D
ANC 5E
ANC 5F
ANC 6A
ANC 6B
ANC 6C
ANC 6D
ANC 6E
ANC 6F/8F
ANC 7B
ANC 7C
ANC 7D
ANC 7E
ANC 7F
ANC 8A
ANC 8B
ANC 8C
ANC 8D
ANC 8E
Adams Morgan, commonly abbreviated as AdMo, is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Adams Morgan is noted as a historic hub for counterculture and as an arts district. It is also known for its popular entertainment district and culinary scene, centered on both 18th Street and Columbia Road.
Northwest is the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city, and it includes the central business district, the Federal Triangle, and the museums along the northern side of the National Mall, as well as many of the District's historic neighborhoods.
Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The neighborhood is an important retail hub for the area, as home to DC USA mall and to numerous other restaurants and stores, primarily along the highly commercialized 14th Street. Columbia Heights is home to numerous historical landmarks, including Meridian Hill Park, National Baptist Memorial Church, All Souls Church, along with a number of embassy buildings.
Neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, are distinguished by their history, culture, architecture, demographics, and geography. The names of 131 neighborhoods are unofficially defined by the D.C. Office of Planning. Neighborhoods can be defined by the boundaries of wards, historic districts, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, civic associations, and business improvement districts (BIDs); these boundaries will overlap. The eight wards each elect a member to the Council of the District of Columbia and are redistricted every ten years.
Philip Heath Mendelson is an American politician from Washington, D.C. He is currently Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia, elected by the Council on June 13, 2012, following the resignation of Kwame R. Brown. He was elected to serve the remainder of Brown's term in a citywide special election on November 6, 2012, and re-elected to a full term in 2014 and 2018.
Streetcars in Washington, D.C. transported people across the city and region from 1862 until 1962.
Florida Avenue is a major street in Washington, D.C. It was originally named Boundary Street, because it formed the northern boundary of the Federal City under the 1791 L'Enfant Plan. With the growth of the city beyond its original borders, Boundary Street was renamed Florida Avenue in 1890.
Brightwood is a neighborhood in the northwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C. Brightwood is part of Ward 4.
Park View is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The neighborhood is primarily residential with its main commercial corridor of shops and restauarants located along Georgia Avenue.
Lanier Heights is a small urban neighborhood located in the northwest section of Washington, D.C. It was one of the early planned subdivisions which were created inside the District of Columbia, but which lay outside of the original, officially planned City of Washington. Situated two miles north of the White House, Lanier Heights is within the larger and newer neighborhood of Adams Morgan, and is usually considered to be a part of that more prominent locale.
New Hampshire Avenue is a diagonal avenue in Washington, D.C., beginning at the Kennedy Center and extending northeast for about 5 miles (8 km) and then continuing into Maryland, where it is designated Maryland Route 650. New Hampshire Avenue is not contiguous. It stops at 15th and W Streets NW, and resumes again on the other side of Columbia Heights at Park Road NW, a few blocks from Georgia Avenue.
Greenway is a residential neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. The neighborhood is bounded by East Capitol Street to the north, Pennsylvania Avenue SE to the south, Interstate 295 to the west, and Minnesota Avenue to the east.
Sixteenth Street Heights is a large neighborhood of rowhouses, duplexes, and American Craftsman and American Foursquare detached houses in Northwest Washington, D.C.
Randle Highlands is a neighborhood in Southeast Washington, D.C., east of the Anacostia River.
The District of Columbia holds general elections every two years to fill various D.C. government offices, including mayor, attorney general, members of the D.C. Council, members of the D.C. State Board of Education, and members of its Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. Special elections may be held to fill vacancies at other points in time. Additionally, citywide ballot measures may be proposed and voted on.
Fort Stevens Ridge is a neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C. built during the 1920s. The neighborhood comprises about 50 acres (0.20 km2) and is very roughly bounded by Peabody Street, Fifth Street, Underwood Street, and Ninth Street. As of the 2010 census, the neighborhood had 2,597 residents. It was named for nearby Fort Stevens, a Civil War-era fort used to defend the nation's capital from invasion by Confederate soldiers.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the District of Columbia:
The Grant Road Historic District is located in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The two-block historic district is what remains of a former settlement in rural Washington County in the District of Columbia. It includes 13 contributing buildings and the road itself, a narrow remnant of a country road that was used by soldiers in the Civil War. Following the war, the road was named after Civil War general and President Ulysses S. Grant. Grant Road developed into a residential street lined with mostly small, two-story homes for working-class people.
Joel Castón is an American politician and convicted murderer who is currently serving on the Washington, D.C. Sentencing Commission. In 2021, Castón was elected to serve as the commissioner for Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) district 7F07 while imprisoned in the D.C. Jail for murder, where he completed his sentence of over 20 years prior to being paroled. He became the first incarcerated person to win an election in the city and served on the ANC from June 2021 to January 2023. The election was the first in U.S. history where both the electorate and winning candidate were incarcerated. In February 2024, Castón was appointed to the D.C. Sentencing Commission, which helps shape sentencing guidelines for judges and prosecutors in D.C. Superior Court.