If, in the opinion of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the value of the land to be conveyed to the District is in excess of the value of the land to be conveyed by the District, the Mayor is authorized to pay, within the limitation of appropriations therefor, to the abutting property owner the amount of such excess as determined by the Mayor, on the basis of an appraisal, and, if the value of the land to be conveyed by the District is in excess of the value of the land to be conveyed to the District, the Mayor shall require the abutting property owner to pay such excess as determined by the Mayor, on the basis of an appraisal, as part of the consideration for the said exchange.

(Aug. 1, 1951, 65 Stat. 150, ch. 283.)

1981 Ed., § 9-504.

1973 Ed., § 9-404.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.