Who defines “surplus”

D.C. Council debates use of surplus property

Members of an advocacy group for the poor, Empower D.C., wore T-shirts opposing the sale of public land and told Schwartz that public land should be dedicated to providing public services such as schools, libraries and parks, not supporting economic development. “We feel that public property exists for community needs, not just government needs,” said Parisa Narousi, a co-founder of the group.

But many of the ideas in the legislation would terribly stunt development in the District’s neighborhoods, according to Roderic Woodson, an attorney at Holland & Knight who chairs the government affairs committee for the D.C. Building Industry Association. Woodson said DCBIA supported the idea of separating the process of deeming property surplus from its sale or leasing, but said that requiring the District to hold public meetings before responding to an unsolicited bid for land “will not address the merits of a surplus designation but will instead only mobilize opposition to the proposed disposition.”

Woodson added that the association strongly opposes Thomas’s more stringent bill, saying “its passage as a regulatory over-reach would severely impair the ability of the executive to effectively manage the property assets of the District.”