Ever since Congress granted home rule to the District of Columbia in 1973, the relationship between the city’s elected leaders and the denizens of Capitol Hill have been somewhat antagonistic. So it’s noteworthy when Mayor Vincent Gray, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton and Rep. Darrell Issa, the Republican chairman of the House committee that oversees the district, all agree on something. In this case, it is that city planners should be freed from century-old building height restrictions. Congress should take advantage of this rare instance of bipartisan accord and grant their wish.

In 1899, Congress passed the Heights of Buildings Act, capping commercial buildings in the District at 110 feet and residential buildings at 90 feet. It came after residents complained about the Cairo, a 164-foot residential “skyscraper” designed by architect Thomas Franklin Schneider at 1615 Q St. NW.