It shall be lawful for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Company to extend and construct, from time to time, branch tracks or sidings from the lines of railroad authorized hereunder, into any lot or lots adjacent to any street or avenue along which said lines of railroad are located, upon the application of the owner or owners of such lot or lots, to enable such owners to use their property for the purpose of coal, wood, or lumber yards, manufactories, warehouses, and other business enterprises; provided, however, that no grade crossing of any street or avenue within the City of Washington shall be thereby created, but such connecting tracks shall be carried across such street or avenue in such manner as not to obstruct the free use thereof, and the plans of such connecting tracks shall in every case be first filed with and approved by the Mayor of the District of Columbia.

(Feb. 12, 1901, 31 Stat. 772, ch. 353, § 10.)

1981 Ed., § 7-1411.

1973 Ed., § 7-1211.

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.