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WASHINGTON, DC-Development plans for a 12-story office that could be as much as 200,000 sf have run into a bit of interference, as the US Congress weighs in on the structure's proposed height of 130 ft. That height that is 20 feet over Washington, DC's standard maximum.

Calling on the District of Columbia Office of Zoning for a height variance, project developer the JBG Cos. submitted its plan to erect the facility--which will occupy a site that is currently home to a parking facility adjoining the company's 205,000-sf office building at 51 Louisiana Ave. NW--and won the office's approval. But now, Congress has expressed its concerns over potential security issues that the building would pose because it's across from the US Capitol. To that end, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Minority Leader Harry M. Reid recently introduced SA 1022--an amendment to the US Department of the Interior's appropriations bill--preventing the District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustments and the District of Columbia Zoning Commission from granting the variance until specified conditions have been met.

In the amendment the Senate leaders call for the zoning approval to be voided unless the US Capitol Police Board concludes that the variance will not compromise congressional security, nor result in increased government spending for increased security; Frist, Reid, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the US House of Representatives, sign off on the Police Board's assessment; and the Police Board submits its approval in writing to the Board of Zoning Adjustments and the Zoning Commission.