Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-28
SEPARATE zON|NG
BOARD Of APPEALS
TO Be PROPOSED
Builders Association Wants
Agency Distinct From
Existing Commission.
INFORMATION ON PLAN
COLLECTED BY LUSK
Declares It Would Place Legality
of Ordinance on More
Sound Basis.


of separate coming board of adjust
ment, distinct from the existing Zoning
| Commission, will be laid before the
coming body shortly by the Operative
Builders Association. This will be one
of a number of recommendations from
| the builders, based on information
gathered by Rufus S. Lusk, secretary,
during a recent extended tour of East
ern cities where he surveyed coming
codes and their application.
The recommendation for a separate
board of adjustment, or board Of APP
peals, goes step farther than the
advice OF the coming advisory COM
mittee, composed of representatives OF
local trade bodies, realtors, architects
and builders, which urged that either
board of appeals or an alternative
plan be instituted here.
Just a few days ago 1t was revealed
| that S. G. Lindholm, engineer OF the
Zoning Commission, had presented to
| the commission a recommendation that
| the existing coming body be empowered
officially TO act as a board OF adjust
ment, so as to grant relief to property
| owners in specific cases where the COM
mission does not feel justified in max
| ing a radical change in coming. Lind
holm, however, opposes a separate
| board of adjustment.
Arguments Presented.
| In presenting arguments for sep
arate board of adjustment, Lusk de-
clares that the legality of the zoninG
ordinance will rest on a more SOUND
| basis if provision thus is made TO give
| relief in deserving cases. He points
out also that an adjustment board
would have control over the charac-
| ter of buildings to be erected on site
where the commission has granted an
exception from the strict Interpretation
of the coming rules. The present com
mission. he declares, is denied this
bargaining" power.
Lusk today made public the state
ment of the position OF the Operative
| Builders Association:
When the coming law was passed by
Congress in 1920. $4,000 was appropri'
ated for making the original studies anc
| the employment of experts; from thai
| day to this not one cent has been spe'
officially appropriated for carrying or
! the coming Office. Since coming vitality
affects the value of every piece of prop
erty within the District Of Columbus
and since it also affects the health Of
all its inhabitants, there should GER
! tainly be enough money available II
order to conduct Zoning Office in
proper manner. There should be
permanent coming engineer. an assist
! ant and the necessary clerical help. TT
do this we estimate that at least $4,000
year must be made available.
Set Up in Other Cities.
ITO supplement the work of the pres
| ent coming commission there Shoult
also be set up a separate board o.
coming adjustment, such as practically
| every large city of the country now ha!
or is in process of obtaining. TIT
legality of the coming ordinance rest!
on a more sound basis if there is {
| coming board of adjustment. There Il
always the right to appeal to this boarc
without obtaining the permission o
other property owners; and appeal car
| be made not only for the granting o
an exception, but for an Interpretation
; of the regulations or their enforcement
Such a board handles individual case!
! in which some hardship might be work
ed or injustice done If the zonint
! ordinance was strictly interpreted anC
an exception not granted.
Tine adjustment board cannot change
| the coming: it can only grant exception
! for a particular owner to do partlcula
| thing. An exception is granted onl,
when the owner is ready to go aheaC
| in accordance with plans filed ant
which he must follow. The board con
| trolls exactly what is to be built upor
that lot. Builders submit plans OF VIVA
! they intend to do to our commission
and the commission may grant chang
in coming based upon the plans ant
elevations submitted. but the commits
sion cannot compel the builder to carr.
| out his submitted plans. Naturally, thu
commission is reluctant to grant
change in coming based upon proposed
| building operation, which in itself i
| highly desirable, when they do not havt
| any means of making the builder com
ply with what he has promised to do
But board of adjustment can compe
! him to build just what the submitted
plans call for or the right to build tina
| structure lapSeS after short time.
| Most coming changes concern indi'
! vidual cases. At the last hearing about
| 20 OF the 80 cases concerned individual
| lots which should have been heard by
| a. board of adjustment and not by q
coming commission. doubt If any city
has so many cases coming before it,
zoning body as Washington.
Function Is Defined.
at is the function of a coming con-
| mission to zone large areas, and ther
! when the necessity arises for a change
! in one lot, the matter should be handled
by an adjustment board. That the neec
/ of making exceptions is constantly &C.
curing is demonstrated by the almost
| appalling number Of requests fol
| changes that come before our com
| mission.
"The board of adjustment in mos
! cities is composed of men outside OF the
CITY government, such as architects
builders, lawyers and business men
( There often are city officials on the
board, too. We feel that the board here
should be composed of both city ane
Federal officials together with certain
civilians having outstanding talent tr
the field of architecture, building, etc.
practically every board in Washing
ton, such as the School Board, Wei
fare Board and Public Utilities Com
mission, has on it men who hold office
bv reason of appointment to that spe-
| cial position and not because they hap
pen to have some other District activity
They are usually appointed to the par:
! ticular job because they are fitted FOL
that work.
"The addition of men familiar with
! the problems involved might be of as
| sistance in solving the difficult questions
that continually come to our Zonlne