The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-09-09
SUGGESTS CITY
PLANNING OFFICE
Robert WhittG0 Discusses Con-
troll Of Municipal Growth.
HARMONIOUS DEvELOqMENT

Organization Of City Plan Authority
Should DO Within the Powers of Ev-
cry City, but les Creation Should Be
Permissve and Net Mandatory.
The necessity of organizing the
growth of cities under some sort of
city plan and the possible functions of
Il city planning office co-ordinated with
the city government as tie best means
Jf assuring harmonious development
were discussed by Robert Written,
secretary Of the committee on the city
Plan of the board Of estimate, in an
address on THE Constitution and Pow
ers of Il City Planning Authority at
the national conference on city plan
ming recently held in Detroit. He said
III part:
city planning involves the creation,
adoption and revision of u tentative
comprehensive plan for the physical
development Of the city and the cor
relation of particular improvements by
whatever authority originated with the
requirements of the comprehensive
plan. The comprehensive tentative
plan should include at least the follow
ing: Streets, parks. Fairgrounds, trans
it, grouping of public buildings. rail
roads. waterways, terminals, markets
and the districting OF the city for the
purpose of regulating the height, area
and use of buildings.
The creation of comprehensive ten
tative plan involves, first of ill, care
full study OF future growth and re-
qulremcnts. In order TO plan for the
present aud for the future a picture
is needed of what the city VIII or
should look like in twenty-five. fifty or
Il hundred years when il has several
times its present population.
"A comprehensive tentative plan hav-
ing been worked out and tentatively
adopted, the next step is to secure the
correlation of particular improvements,
By whatever authority originated, with
the requirements of the comprehensive
plan. AS this comprehensive plan
touches so many phases of municipal
activity, an efficient administrative or
caniZation 10 secure the desired cor
relation is n most difficult problom.
provision must also bc made for
40 81 ~ In tom
hensivc plan. No amount of planning
can avoid the necessity for u consid-
cradle amount OF reconstruction and
change. When invention and discoy-
cry are changing the methods of work
and of living throughout the world il is
idle to think that we can so Judge the
future that our present plans for the
City's development VIII not require
ollanyo and modification.
'l'hc ultimate development in any
large city may we'll be a city plan Of
iicb that will have primary control of
the development and administration,
but not of the adoption or coniirlua-
ton of the city plan This city plan
Office may be an executive department
in one city and Il bureau or the board
of estimate or other governing com
mission in another city. The city plan
office may have associated with it an
advisory commission of citizens or of
iti2ens and officials. The city plan
office will develop the data required
for comprehensive planning, will ere
ate Il plan showing the future phys
ical development of the city and will
submit TO the regularly constituted
governing authorities of the city such
parts Of the plan as seem desirable for
adoption and confirmation MS the tenla-
tive official plan of the city. All mat
tors affecting the city plan will be re-
ferrcd to the city plan Office for In
ycstigation and report before being
acted upon by the general governing
authority. The city plan Office will
make recommendations for the con-
tinuc development and revision of
the tentative official plan.
"rhe organization of Il city plan au-
ihority shoul1 q within the powers of
every city, Iut its creation should be
rermissive and not mandatory. More
over, The composition and DGwers of
the city plan authority should not be
limited by state statute except In the
most general terms. The city should
have the utmost freedom to enact.
amend or abolish its city planning or
ganization. This freedom of action
and Capitalization of responsibility are
even more essential to efficient city
government than is city planning it.
SELF
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