The first elections for Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4A were held on February 3, 1976, resulting in the Commission being established. The Commission serves the Ward 4 communities of Brightwood, Colonial Village, North Portal Estates, the Parks at Walter Reed, and Shepherd Park, in NW DC.

ANC 4A consists of single-family homes, apartment buildings, businesses, places of worship, schools and notable locations such as the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are advisory boards made up of neighborhood residents who consider a wide range of policies and programs affecting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and the District’s annual budget.

The ANCs present their positions and recommendations on issues to various District government agencies, the Executive Branch, and the Council. They also present testimony to independent agencies, boards, and commissions, usually under the rules of procedure specific to those entities. By law, the ANCs may also present their positions to Federal agencies.

Although they are not required to follow the ANCs’ advice, District agencies are required to give the ANCs’ recommendations “great weight.” Moreover, District law says that agencies cannot take any action that will significantly affect a neighborhood unless they give the affected ANCs 30 days’ advance notice. This includes zoning, streets, recreation, education, social services, sanitation, planning, safety, budget, and health services.