Evening star., 1927-05-11
Suggests Cities Be Given A..
thority to Approve New
Area PlatS.
PROPOSALS INTENDED
FOR ENTIRE COUNTRY
Seven Planks Heralded as Great
Advance in Cooperation
With Realtors.

A big step forward in the city
planning movement was accomplished
today when the Nineteenth National
Conference of City Planning. in ses-
sion at Wardman Park Hotel. unan-
imously approved a comprehensive
platform to bs recommended to the
country on the subject Of laying of
new subdivisions of property.
The program consists Of seven
recommendations. which represent
more than year of careful study by
a committee of city planners and a
committee of the National Association
of Real Estate Boards, The seven
planks in the platform follow:
Pianks Are Adopted.
e"1. That State planning enabling
acts should be enacted, delegatins to
cities and other political subdivisions
the authority to prepare general plans
and to approve subdivisions.
'2 That under the authority OF
such an enabling act a master plan
should be prepared for the area OF
control, showing the location of main
thorOughfares, recommenda tiOnS for
open spaces, and designating land
areas for specific uses.
"3. That the control of the plating
of subdivisions should be authorized
under the act, and this control eXer-
cised by the local planning COM
mission.
Appointive Board Proposed.
"4. That the planning commission
should be an appointive, non-poiitlcal
board, serving without compensation,
and the members should hold no other
municipal office excepting that certain
legislative or administrative officials
should be ex-officio members Of the
commission.
'.5. That the master plan and the
control exercised should extend out
beyond the municipal limits into the
non municipal territory, which VIII
| sooner or later be developed as a por-
ton of the city: this control 10 be
| developed in accordance with a
regional plan in cooperation with
| the adjoining territorial government
Widths of Streets Considered.
sc. That the planning commission
| be authorized TO adopt regulations
providing fer the location, continuity
and width of streets. to safeguard
travel, prevent congestion ana pro-
vide proper drainage, such regulations
to include, where practicable, tne
lots. and the extent TO which street
improvements. such as water and
sewer provision should be made before
the approval of the plats. In some
States bonds are required from the
land owner, guaranteeing the installa-
tion of these Improvements. 1nlS
seems to be practicable.
~. The general requirements for
principal public parks and recreation
al spaces and sites of public buildings
should be included as part or the
master plan. Where land owner
has submitted a plat of his land ana
the authorities have designated in IL
such a principal public park. recrea-
tional space or public building site as
part of the master plan, the munici-
pality should take prompt steps to ac-
ouire such land, or, failing so TO 90,
should act upon the plat, so tnat iile
owner can make use or his property:
The s,lbdividers should be encouraged
TO provide small private recreatiohai
parks"
Report Is Heralded.
Although several delegates on the
floor made suggestions of certain pOr-
tions of this platform that should De
studied further during the coming
wear, they all heralded the report as a
remarkable evidence of progress Ill
bringing about cooperation between
CITY planning officials and realtors in
the task of future development OF
American cities.
In the brief discussion preceding
adoption of the report, Charles w:
Eliot. city planner of the National
capital Park and Planning Commits.
sion, urged further study during the
coming year of the seventh reconl-
mendation in the report, expressing
the belief that it might lead to some
abuse. unless carefully explained and
Suggests Commission Control.
The time has come to give the Fine
Arts Commission control over all build
ines i'm Washington, private as well
as public, Charles III. Cheney. city
planner' of Los Angeles. Calf. declar-
ed at the luncheon of the National
on City Planning at Ward
man Park Hotel this afternoon.
Although he placed Washington at
the head of list Of American cities
in percentage of good architecture, p
Mr.. Cheney asserted that even here
the percentage of good architecture Is
only %. He rated Paris as having
90 per cent good architecture and en-
vironment and London only per cent.
Suppose said Mr.. Cheney. we
rated our cities according to the per-
centage of good architecture and good
environment they offer. A frank and
reasonably liberal and unbiased board
of inquiry would have to report sOme-
what as follows: Washington, % per
cent; Philadelphia, Is per cent; New
York, IL per cent; Los Angeles, 13
per cent; San Francisco, IL per cent.
and Chicaso,.S per cent.
Veto Power Proposed.
''It is time that the powers of the
Fine Arts Commission of Washington
be extended to make it an architec.
turaI board of review with veto power
over all buildings and structures,
private as well as public. and their
color. in the National Capital. Until
that is done Washington can never
be more than 25 per cent of city,
In opening his address Mr.. Cheney
said that proud as we are of many
things in Washington. why is that
after 100 years of building and de-
spite the many millions spent by the
Nation we find in our National Capt..
tai only 25 per cent of city?"
Calls Step Essential.
In the conclusion of his paper Mr..
Cheney predicted that architectural
boards of review, established by
ordinance for the control of all pri-
vate design, will come to be general
during the next 10 years. He said
such step is essential to sound city
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