§ 14-903. Creation of an NCD; Amendment.

   (1)   An NCD shall be created by ordinance. The ordinance shall set forth the boundaries of the NCD, and shall adopt design guidelines for the NCD meeting the provisions of § 14-904.

   (2)   An NCD shall consist of an area of at least two blocks by two blocks, no part of which is contained within an Historic District designated under § 14-2007, or for which a notice of proposed designation has been sent pursuant to § 14-2007 (6)(b).

   (3)   At least seventy percent (70%) of the NCD's area must be of residential use and zoned residential, and no more than twenty percent (20%) of the NCD's area shall consist of vacant lots or vacant buildings.

   (4)   No NCD shall be created unless Council finds that the NCD is an area that possesses a consistent physical character as a result of a concentration of residential buildings of similar character or a continuity established by an overall plan.

   (5)   A petition requesting that the Planning Commission initiate the process towards creating an NCD shall be filed with the Planning Commission either:

      (a)   by a neighborhood association located within the proposed NCD accompanied by proof that the filing was duly authorized and adopted; or

      (b)   containing the signatures of at least thirty percent (30%) of all property owners and at least thirty percent (30%) of all owners of owner-occupied housing units located within the proposed NCD.

   (6)   The Planning Commission shall then be given no more than six months to draft and review proposed design guidelines and to prepare a proposed enabling ordinance that would establish the NCD in an area whose boundaries are clearly delineated on a map attached to the proposed ordinance, and shall also include as an attachment the proposed set of design guidelines meeting the requirements of § 14-904. The Planning Commission shall work with the residents and neighborhood association and those District Councilpersons representing the NCD's proposed boundaries to assist in the development of the proposed design guidelines.

   The Planning Commission shall convene at least one public meeting within the NCD's proposed boundaries in order to seek public comment on the proposed ordinance.

   (7)   The proposed ordinance as drafted by the Planning Commission will be forwarded to the District Councilpersons representing the NCD's proposed boundaries to be introduced at their discretion.

   (8)   The Clerk of Council shall submit any proposed ordinance to create an NCD to the Planning Commission and the Historical Commission immediately upon its introduction. The Planning Commission and the Historical Commission shall then submit their recommendations on the proposed ordinance to Council, provided that Council shall not be bound by such recommendations. The approval of the Planning Commission and Historical Commission shall be presumed unless their recommendations are received within sixty (60) days after introduction of the proposed ordinance.

   (9)   At least sixty (60) days before a public hearing is held on a proposed ordinance creating an NCD, the Clerk of Council shall send written notice of the date, time and place of the public hearing to the owners of all properties located within the proposed NCD, and to any persons who signed the petition requesting the Planning Commission to initiate the process to create the NCD. Such notice shall set forth a location where interested parties may review the proposed map and proposed design guidelines for the NCD. Council shall not enact any ordinance creating an NCD if by the date of such public hearing, at least fifty-one percent (51%) of all property owners or fifty-one percent (51%) of all owners of owner-occupied housing units located within the proposed NCD have filed in writing with the Clerk of Council a statement of opposition to creation of the NCD. Such written statements may include petitions with multiple signatures opposing the creation of the NCD.

   (10)   Council may revise the proposed design guidelines attached to the proposed ordinance submitted by the Planning Commission creating an NCD, and it may reduce the boundaries of the NCD as proposed in the map attached to the proposed ordinance, but it shall not include any areas within the NCD that were not included in the proposed boundaries of the NCD as set forth in the map attached to the proposed ordinance.

   (11)   Once an NCD is created, the Clerk of Council shall send written notice to the owner of each property within the NCD and to all neighborhood organizations that serve such area. Such notice shall detail the boundaries of the NCD, shall describe the type of activities that are regulated under this Chapter and the method to obtain approvals for such activities, and shall set forth a location at which interested parties may review or obtain copies of the design guidelines adopted for the NCD.

   (12)   The boundaries or design guidelines of an NCD may be amended under the same procedures governing the creation of an NCD.