Evening star., 1937-05-02
PLANNERS BACK
D. c. z0N|NG BILL
Restrictions on So-CaIIed
Nuisance Making In
dustries Urged.

Secretary of the Interior Ickes, who
II opposing extension of local packing
house and stock yard activities, YES
terday made public letter received
from the American Planning and Civic
Association in support of the King
bill, which would establish rigid zoning
restrictions against So-called nuisance
making industries in Washington.
Soliciting Secretary Ickes' active
support to obtain prompt passage of
the bill, Miss Harlean James, execu-
tive secretary of the association, wrote:
The American Planning and Civic
Association, including its committee
Of 100 on the Federal city, is in
thorough accord with your courageous
opposition to nuisance industries in
tho City of Washington as exemplified
IN the proposal to remodel and enlarge
An existing packing house plant into a
regional abattoir
Senator King, chairman of the
Senate District Committee, on April
~. introduced into Congress bill
which would protect the Nations
Capital from nuisance industries
from certain enumerated chemical
plants, from certain explosive in
dustries, from stock yards and slaugh-
ter houses, from fertilizer plants from
incineration Of refuse and from tan
neries.
Obnoxious Industries"
These are all industries which are
dangerous or obnoxious to those who
must live or work near them. They
should be excluded from the Capital
City.
The provision of the King bill
(Senate 2286) would place the ad-
ministration of the act in the hands
of the Zoning Commission of the Dis
trict OF Columbia. 1t would put exist
Ing nuisance industries in a position
where they would be required to
demonstrate to the Zoning Commits
sion that operation had not been and
would not be unduly injurious, OBJ
noxious or offensive by reason of
noise, smoke, odor, gas, dust or other
Objectionable feature The industry
in order to operate would be required
to show that the use of the premises
was solely for the purpose of supplying
the needs of the inhabitants of the
District of Columbia and the sur
rounding territory within a distance
Of not more than five miles from the
nearest boundary of the District. This
latter provision, Of course, is to pre-
vent nuisances industries from locat-
ing and operating in Washington in
order to serve a large territory or
region. Naturally the Federal City
is not a proper location for such in
dustries
The bill also contains a clause
which would prevent existing nui-
sance industries from expanding their
business more than 25 per cent of the
average extent of the use Of the prem
ises during any u consecutive calen-
dar months of the five years preceding
the enactment of this act.
Seek Secretary's Help.
''We write to you to enlist your in
terest in securing the prompt passage
Of Senator Kings bill. We need not
call to your attention the obvious fact
that industries which emit odors pol
Lutte the air not only in the immed-
late vicinity but for many miles around,
dependent upon the changing breezes
The enjoyment of residence property
Is distinctly curtailed when slaughter
house or tannery smells infeSt the
air. We observe that values of resi-
dence property affected by disagree
able odors shrink in proportion to
the intensity of the smell. This means
that nuisance industry which emits
odors, in the end, has depreciating
influence on surrounding residence
property out of all proportion to the
taxes contributed by the industry it
self In other words, part of the
cost of such a nuisance plant to the
District of Columbia would be the
ultimate loss in amount of taxes from
large areas of residence properties.
When nuisance plant is located
near a public park it reduces the en-
toyment of that park by the people
and tends to curtail the value Of the
investment of the public in the park
I'VE hope. therefore, that you will
Join us in giving support to Senator
King to secure the prompt passage
Of his bill which would set up a
permanent protection of the Nations
Capital from recognized nuisance in
dustries"