Evening star., 1924-03-19
CITY HEADS DEFEND
CONTRACT AWARDS
AND zON|NG POLICY
Make Full Reply to Senator
King-DecIare D. C. Work
Let to Lowest Bidder.

! While assistant Attorney General
/ Rush l.. Holland continued his
friendly investigation" into the ad-
ministration of Commissioners Cuno
II. Rudolph and James F. Oyster, the
Commissioners themselves, in a let
ter to Senator King of Utah, explain
ed and defended their administration
of the zoning law and the contracts
which have been let to the National
Electric Supply Company, w. P Gal
liner and Brothers, and Rudolph and
West Company.
| The letter, which was in answer
to request for information by SEN
ator King administration Of the zon-
ing laws and District contracts let
to the three companies named, was
made public by Senator King.
| Bids Competitive.
The Commissioners transmitted a
statement by the purchasing officer
of the District, NJ. c. Hargrove, ex-
planning that contracts have been let
to the National Electric Supply
Company, w. P. Galliher and Brother
and Rudolph and West Company, but
only as the result of competitive bid
ding. In each case where award was
recommended to either of the three,
Mr.. Hargroye said. it was because
their bid was the lowest.
Mr. Hargrove said that ample no.
tice of propesaisfor supplies on which
bids are asked always is given; that
a definite hour is set for receipt of
bids, and that they are opened and
| publicly read. y
The Commissioners point out that
| the District is divided into eight
building inspection districts, each of
! which is assigned to an assistant in
| spector of buildings. The approprfa- =
I; tions do not permit of increasing the
; lumber of inspectors or allowances
Commissioners. said careful study of
/ building operations is conducted and
| whenever violation of coming regu-
! lations is discovered the inspector of
/ with those regulations within ten
days. In the event of failure to obey
! the notice, the matter is referred to
/ the corporation co ,nsel. There are
! now eight coming cases in the hands
of the corporation counsel.
Demand Law BE Met.
The Commissioners said no permits
| for the erection, alteration or repair
| of any structure, nor for the occu-
pancy Of any structure is issued un-
| less such cases comply with all zon-
| ing requirements With regard to
| the suggestion that the beauty Of the
| city is being marred by non-enforce-
ment Of the coming regulation the
! Commissioners said:
! eff the beauty of the city is being
! marred. the cause cannot concievably
| be laid to coming. Zoning pertains
exclusively to private property, which
| comprises about SO per cent of the
area of the District. and which, until
I August 80, 1920, was left to develop
F., largely as the individual owners saw
! fit. subject only to the usual limita-
! ton upon character Of building ma
! terials and construction and regula-
The plan Of Washington until
| August 80. 1920. was concerned al
! most entirely with public property.
F, Therefore, it cannot be said with rea-
! son that a zoning plan-a plan of
regulating the height, zone and use
of all new private buildings or the
alterations of old privately owned
buildings, a plan of orderly growth
I and expansion based upon study of
what has been done in the, past
4
! three years, mar the beauty of city
\ that for over a hundred years-from
| 1892, when the L'Enfant plan embrac-
| ing only that portion of the District
south of. Florida avenue was approved,
to 1893. when the present highway
plan extending to the District line
was adopted-struggled to confine
| itself to a garment too restricted to
| permit 1t to grow in keeping with the
| subsequent vast expansion and great
| growth of the nation.
| ZoninE Law Antedated.
| What mistakes could possibly oc-
cur in three years of orderly control
of private property that would COM
pare with those that might happen in
| 130 years of uncontrolled private de-
velopment. The mistakes that have
| occurred antedate coming and pertain
to the plan for public property, but it
| is believed that even these mistakes
are minor and have failed to seriously
| affect the larger aspects of the plan
of Washington, and that substantial
improvements to the beauty of the
city have been and are being accom-
plished.
Specific instances where it is be-
flieved the beauty of the city Is being
marred will be~carefully considered
The Commissioners deny specifically
the suggestion contained in Senator
Kings letter that buildings are being
CONSTRUCTED here at height in excess
of that permitted by law.
| To the suggestion in Senator King 8
letter that the regulations them
| selves permit the construction of
apartment and other houses of such
form and height as to be at varia nee
with the national and proper building
policy, the Commissioners said: If
this general statement means that
the forms and heights permitted by
zoning regulations are not good ar
chitecture,. then it is suggested that
reference be made to the Washington
Chapter, American Institute of Ar
| effects, that has always so strongly
supported zoning, and which is a
/ "(Continued on Page Q. Column Q. \ =