Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-30
new REGULATIONS
FOR CITY ZONING
PUT INTO. EFFECT

TIL Nv " GTEV1
Continued from First Paga)
tached houses. Regulations REQUIRE
only one side yard.
q area, row house area.
e area, apartment house area and
certain classes of business.
ID area, highly developed CONNER
cial and manufacturing area"
Explains Height Regulation.
In explanation of why it adhered to
the height limit of 10 feet for the
downtown district, the commission is
sued the following statement:
Under present law buildings may
be erected on business streets to q
height equal to twenty feet in excess
of the width Of street, but not ex-
ceeding 100 feet except on Pennsyl-
vania avenue northwest between LIST
and 18th streets, where a height Of
$50 feet is permitted. On residence
streets buildings may be erected to a
height equal to ten feet less than the
width of the street, but not exceeding
eighty-five feet. AS the coming COM
mission is bound by the present law,
which forbids any increase in the
heretofore authorized heights, the
suggestion that it permit 1870 feet in
the downtown district in order to
bring about uniformity, as some
buildings were already 100 feet high,
was faulty. OF the total area of the
high value, downtown property which
has been included in the 110-foot dis
trict, but 40 per cent could under any
circumstances have been permitted a
height of 100 feet. and only per cent
Of the 110-foot district is now Occur
pied by buildings in excess Of 10 feet
of the east and west lettered
streets-E, F. G, H. and K-only
on F street could building under ex-
listing law exceed ITO feet, and on F
street the limit is 100 feet. On X
street the heretofore authorized
height has been eighty-five feet,
though it is true a height of 100
feet would have been allowed when
1T was lawfully declared a business
street. So on all the east and west
ulations adversely affect only one,
and that is F street, where the maxi
mum is reduced by but ten feet.
of the north and south streets,
18th, 18th, 18th, 18th and 18th have
had maximum of 100 feet, but few
builders have taken advantage of the
excess, and it is believed that to make
and west streets at a limit Of 40
feet would be to bring about great
uniformity in the sky line How far
in the future that uniformity may be
realized may be guessed from the fact
that in the 110-foot district the av-
erage height of existing buildings is
only q little more than three stories.
Reason for Decision.
But it was not to establish mi
formity or for any other esthetic rea-
son that the coming commission finally
decided upon the maximum limit of
ITO feet. 1t is proceeding under the
act OF Congress. which is based upon
the exercise of police power, and it
was with a due regard for the essen
tial character Of Washington as the
capital of the nation, with consider
alton for its problems as the govern
mental center of the country with an
eye upon it's traffic facilities and it's
living considerations. that the coming
commission acted.
The government itself has elected
to house its employees in relatively
low buildings and has actually pro-
vided that on streets adjacent to the
government buildings in the down.
town section private buildings may
not exceed height of eighty-five
feet. If uniformity were the object
vi Va
feet would have been better than
10 feet, but the commission did not
approach the problem from that
angle.
The one conspicuous instance
where the government has departed
from it's policy of low buildings is
to be found in the war risk building
on the old Arlington site at the
northeast corner of Lafayette Park.
This building. which is 100 feet high,
has been severely and almost univer-
sally criticised, and it is difficult to
agree that it is too high for its sur
roundings, too high for its use, too
high for Washington.
THE coming commission is conf
dent that the maximum height limit
of 10 feet established in the
downtown area will serve every nee
essary purpose, that it will tend to
prevent undesirable congestion of
traffic, that it will extend and stabil-
ize the values of real estate, and thus
in conformity with the intent of the
law will protect the public health.
secure the public safety and protect
property in the District of Colum-
bia'"
Omcials Sign Maps.
The members of the coming commits
sion who declared the city zoned
when they placed their signatures on
the maps this morning are: Col.
Charles w. Kutz. Commissioner
Brownlow, Maj. Clarence S. Ridley.
superintendent of public buildings
and grounds, and Elliott Woods, SUI
permit endent of the Capitol building.
Much of the detail work incident to
the zoning of the city was done by
Mai. Roger G. Powell and Maj. Carey
Brown, assistant Engineer Commits
sioner, and John Oehmann of the
building inspectors Office.
The three officials maps showing,
respectively, the height, use and area
districts were framed this morning
and given a coat of sheilac before
being placed on exhibition in the Of
fice Of the coming commission on the
fifth floor of the District building.
The coming law was not approved
by the President until March /. and
one of it's provisions was that the
city should be declared zoned in six
months. In order to comply with this
provision the commission has had to
work nights and Sundays for several
weeks. It was q happy moment for
the members OF the commission when
they signed tho finished maps this
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