Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-04-01
FAVOR BUILDING BILL
Senate Committee Acts on
Measure Regulating Height.
.FIREPROOFING ENCOURAGED
Would Make Four Stories the Limit
for Structures of Combusti-
BILE Material.
FIREPROOFING ENCOURAGED

Favorable action on the bill provid-
ing new regulations regarding the height
of buildings in the District was taken
by the Senate District committee this
morning. and despite requests for some
changes by local business men, the meas
ure will be reported to the Senate with
out amendment.
The main object of the bill is to en-
courage the construction Of fireproof
buildings and discourage the building of
non hreproof ones by allowing greater
height than at present for the fireproof
structures and less height than at pres
ent for the combustible kind.
The proposed regulations differ in many
particulars from the present law regard
ing the height of buildings. which per-
mits the erection of non-fireproof build
ings to height of five stories, or sixty
| feet above the sidewalk The proposed
measure permits ,nly four stories. or fifty
| feet Non-freproof buildings used for
business purposes now can be built to a
height of seventy-five feet. while the pro-
posed law will reduce this height to sixty
| feet.
| The proposed act requires all hotels,
apartment houses and tenement houses
| three stories in height, over. to be of
| freproof construction up to and including
the main floor. and increases the floor
area that must be inclosed by ireproof
| partition walls to $500 square feet. The
present law makes no such requirement.
but the building regulations require that
an area of Loo square feet must be COM
pletely Enclosed by fireproof partition
walls.
Regulation for Public Halls.
! Under the proposed act every building.
4 rhrr With hal
seating capacity of more than 300 per-
sons shall be Of fireproof construction
up to and including the auditorium floor
| The present law has such requirement
| for all churches and the building regu-
| lations make this requirement for build
| ings other than churches.
| The proposed act provides that tow
ers, spires and domes constructed more
| than sixty feet above the sidewalk mus.
be fireproof throughout. while the pres
ent law is silent on this matter. The
| proposed law will require, in more spC-
| cific language than is now required by
the building regulations that every
theater and any part Of a building used
as theater must be fireproof.
! Under the proposed law the erection
| of a fireproof building on a business
street to a height of twenty feet in ex-
cess of the limit permitted by the pres
ent law will be allowed. except that no
| building can exceed in height the pres
ent extreme limit Of 100 feet 1t also Is
proposed to allow the erection, on a
! residence street ninety feet or more in
width. of building to the height OF
teighty-fiv feet at the highest part of
| the floor. five feet more than is allowed
at present.
Gives Commissioners Power.
One Of the most novel Of the provisions
in the bill is that which gives the Com
missioners power to make specific sched
| ules governing the height to which build
| ings can be erected on blocks Immediately
| adjacent to public buildings The Com
| missioners have attempted to dc this on
! the streets near the patent office and the
| Treasury buildings iii the building regu-
lations. but desire specific authority of
| Congress
| The proposed act permits spires, towers
pent houses, ventilation shafts. and the
| like to be erected to a greater height than
any limit prescribed in this act when
| approved by the Commissioners, provided
that such structures shall be freproof.
| not used for human occupancy and that
| they shall set back from the exterior
walls distances equal to their respective
| heights above the adjacent roofs. The
present law permits the erection of these
structures to a height greater than the
permissible roof height of the building,
but does not require them to be freproof
nor to set back from the exterior walls.
To Measure Height.
The act says the height Of a building is
to be measured from the sidewalk oppo-
site the middle Of the front of the struc-
ture to the highest point of the roof. If
the building has more than one front, the
| height is to be measured from the sidewalk
| opposite the middle of the front that will
permit of the greater height.
The bill also provides that any struc-
| lures erected or altered not in accord
f,I,oJ1 rf1
nuisances and upon conviction in the
| Police Court the person responsible is
| to be subject to a fine Of from $40 to
500 day for every day the nuisance"
/ is continued The present law has no
| similar provisions.
/ The committee also agreed to report ia
vorably a bill, s. 5S43. to authorize the ex-
| tension of Van Buren, street northwest
| from Piney Branch road to its present
| western terminus, east of Sd street west,
| at width of ninety feet. 1t was recon-
mended by the committee. however, that
| the bill be amended to provide that the
| condemnation of the land necessary to
| open the street shall not be undertaken
| until after 50 per cent of the necessary
| land has been dedicated to the District.
| The Commissioners expect that about 81
| per cent of the land will be donated.
Similar action was taken in the case
of the bill. s. 5S44. to authorize the ex-
tension of Underwood street from it's
present western terminus east of Piney
a width of ninety feet In this case Is
per cent of the land must be dedicated
before the proceedings for the opening
| Of the street are begun.
| To Extend Princeton Place.
The committee authorized a favorable
report on the bill, H. r. 1885, which has
passed the House. for the extension OF
| Princeton place northwest from Georgia
avenue to Rock Creek Church road, with
| q width Of sixty feet.
| The committee authorized a favorable
| report on a substitute to bill which has
| passed the House providing for a tax of
| 4 per cent on the gross earnings Of tele-
| graph companies on business transacted
| in the District.
The bill, as it passed the House. had
| a similar purpose. But other changes
| than the addition of the taxation OF tele-
graph companies were proposed to the
| present law taxing national banks, in
| corporated banks, trust companies, gas,
electric lighting and telephone companies.