Omaha daily bee., 1919-08-24
z0N|NG PLAN
FOR OMAHA IS
OUTLINED BY
CITY EXPERT
Consulting Engineer Of Plan
ming Commission Tells Of
Results Accomplished
in Other Cities.

Results Accomplished
in Other Cities.
By HARLAND BARTHOLOMEW
Consulting Engineer. City Planning Com
At the last session of the legisla-
ture bill was passed authorizing
Omaha to establish districts for reg
ulating the height area and uses of
all buildings. For the past several
months the city planning commits
sion has been collecting information
preparatory to drafting building
zone plan. 1t is estimated that
the plan will be completed in
its preliminary stages in Oc-
tober, when it will be pub
lished and hearings will be held by
the commission previous to the
adoption of definite restrictions.
Only within the past 10 years
have American cities undertaken
zoning regulations, although Euro
pean cities have had zoning regula-
tons for many years. In 1909 Los
Angeles adopted an ordinance con-
fning industries and commerce to
certain designated areas within the
city limits; all other property being
restricted to residential use. In
1916 New York adopted the first
comprehensive plan for controlling
the height area and use of buildings,
all a., a@1o|I, 1r,{l, IoE 70
plan of city growth. In 1918 St.
Louis adopted a similar plan. At
the present time, Philadelphia, Buff
falo, Cleveland, Detroit, Portland.
Oregon and San Francisco, are all
engaged in preparing comprehen-
sive zoning plans for regulating the
height area and use of buildings,
while Chicago, Pittsburgh, St. Paul
and many of the smaller cities soon
expect to undertake coming work.
Called Economic Fallacy.
There are various reasons why all
of the large cities are undertaking
zoning work. They have come to
realize that unregulated city growth
is an economic fallacy. 1t results in
loss of property values through the
intermingling of inappropriate
structures. The location of a fac
tory in residence district will Of
ten depreciate property values, caus-
ing not merely great loss to the
owners of individual homes, but re-
suit in depleted tax returns to the
city. When this process occurs
over wide area, whole districts de-
preciate and the loss in property
values, as we'll as in tax returns be-
comes serious factor in the de-
velopment of the city.
From these deprecated districts,
people have moved further out into
the suburban territory, where they
have occupied new homes, where
new pavements, new water mains,
new sewers, and all othe utilities
have had to be provided. As cities
grow the greater the tendency be-
comes for the abandonment of the
older residential districts near the
business center, and the greater eco
nomic burden the city must carry
IN the form of having to build the
many new forms of public utilities
to accommodate the shifting from
the older residential districts to the
suburban districts. 1t is extremely
important that the character of the
older districts be preserved and that
they be protected against invasion
OF haphazard and inappropriate
uses OF property, particularly until
such time as they can readily be alb
sorbed by the expanding CONNER
cial district.
Business Expanding Westward.
Omaha has just reached the point
where it may soon experience some
of the evils previously mentioned,
as the business district is expanding
westward, and there is scarcity Of
sites for new industries. Within a
few ye; it is quite possible that
many Of the Older residential dis
tricts east of Thirty-sixth street, will
be invaded by buildings of a COM
mercial or industrial type. and unless
these are confined to certain streets
such as Farnam and Twenty-fourth
streets. they will cause unwarranted
depreciation of property values prev
ious to the time when the natural
expansion of commerce and industry
can absorb all of the territory east OF
Thirty-sixth street
Forty years ago ST. Louis was no
larger than Omaha. 1t had popu-
lation of about 100000 people, All
of the population was located east
Of Grand avenue. which would cor
respond with Forty-6fth street in
Omaha. East of Grand avenue to-
day in St. Louis for a distance cor
responding to the area between Pa
cihc and Cunning streets, the resi-
Dental population has practically
disappeared, having been driven out
by the invasion of comparatively
small number of industrial and COM
mercial institutions. Millions oil
dollars of property values have been
lost, and the city is the loser through
decreased tax returns by hundreds
of thousands of dollars. Such con-
dition in Omaha would be nothing
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