Evening star., 1942-09-12
MbA President Urges
Permanent Revision Of
'0utworn' Zone Rules
Statement Preliminary
To Body's 18th Meeting
At Chicago Sept. 2o

Preliminary to the 29th annual
meeting of the Mortgage Bankers
Association of America opening Sep.
tember 80 in Chicago. Frederick p
Champ, president, has issued q
statement declaring that now is the
time to work for permanent revision
OF "outworn" coming laws.
The meeting this year will be
devoted to discussions of wartime
mortgage finance. A large part OF
the sessions will be given to the
study Of present war housing and
its effects on postwar urban rehab-
tlitation.
Mr.. Champs statement follows in
part:
ANY problem is insignificant COM
pared with the Nations immediate
task of winning the war, yet it must
be admitted that some postwar
problems, such as the long NEGLECTED
need for urban rehabilitation, ought
to be carefully studied now because
the guide to much of what will be
done later is being established in
war housing now.
Zoning Laws Overturned.
"zoning laws in many cities. long
hamstrung by restrictions that made
no sense whatever, have been over
turned by the immediate needs of
war housing. 1t will be to the ever
lasting benefit of the Nation if we
can keep them overturned. Too
,a,,yrf, of fJ,a ouoraoo Az, er;oox, oifx,
is zoned for commercial properties.
A great deal of it must be turned
back for residential use. This should
cut down small retail business fall
ures, help the municipal tax picture
and aid in retaining city populations
in cities.
Some authorities now contend
that one store for every IS families
is about right on an average and
for food stores, for example, the
ratio ought to run around one for
every 50 families.
Municipal authorities can make
an important wartime contribution
by revising their outworn zoning
ordinances now. Fortunately, many
are doing so. In some, restrictions
against row type houses have been
lifted, in others dry wall construc-
tion-long banned-is now permit
ted. The FHA has performed fine
public service in suggesting build
ing code reforms and urging mini
mum constructions standards for
war housing. The wisdom of the
agency's scientific and sensible sug-
gestions should not be lost on pub
lie ofiicials in the postwar period.
Important Postwar Job.
THE property in that fifth of the
urban United States, now under the
dead hand influence of blight, will
have to be rehabilitated sooner or
later If the American city is not
to suffer really serious disintegra-
tion-and it looks as though it will
be the Nations most immediate and
important postwar job. 1t certainly
holds the greatest employment po-
tentialities. The Federal Govern
ment's assistance may be necessary
in acquiring large areas Of slum Sec
tions for retaining because, from
what we can see now, this step may
require too much financial backing
for any private group. From then
on private enterprise can do the job.
"One thing almost certain to be
needed is some national agency,
probably Government-spo and
operated, to study new construction
methods, investigate new building
materials and generally act as an
unbiased fact-flnding medium to
enable us to reach the great mass
market with houses they can afford
to buy"