Evening star., 1948-10-12

dPp1VVCu OAAC kA0&A0S 4AC dppOuAo . de
Room 104, goes to. Room is, back
to Room 10s again, to Room l20 to
pay the fee for the permit and then
back to Room l08 to get the permit. !"
Bootleg Construction"
One very bad result, frankly ad-
mitted by responsible men in the
local building industry. was the ex-
istence Of bootleg construction
i.e., jobs done without building per-
mits. Some builders became SO dis
gusted with the delay and red tape
Of getting q permit that they simply
went ahead and built without one.
The grave danger OF such uncon-
trolled building need not be empna-
sized. But equally serious was the
annoyance, delay and financial loss
imposed upon the great majority Of
builders who continued to obey the
law, and had to obtain their permits
through the clumsy system in vogue.
I want TO emphasize that all this
was not the fault Of any one in
particular. The system had simply
grown up through the years. But
radical measures were needed to cor
rect it.
In June of 1s47 the Commissioners
approved my recommendation for
appointing a special committee to
study the whole picture and recon-
mend a solution which would be
In accordance with our fundamental
laws. would not require an excessive
amount Of our taxpayers funds, ana
would meet the legitimate needs OF
our citizens. The committee con.
sisted Of Messrs. Harrison, Handiboe.
Ilgenfritz and Press, key men in va
rious District departments; G. T..
Santmyers, an architect; L. L. Kemp.
a builder; c. j. Harnett, also a
builder and past president Of WASH
ington Home Builders; J. L. Bate
man. q plumbing contractor, and
J. A. Stone, an electrical contractor.
Months on Problem.
The committee worked for some
months on its extraordinarily in
tricate problem. Finally it came
up with detailed recommendations
They involved an additional annual
expense Of $4,000, plus remodeline
costs. However, we calculated that
this could be met by an increase
in permit fees, and such an In
crease was recommended by repre-
sentatives OF Washington's building
industry, on the understanding that
1t would be utilized to improve serv-
ice. On this basts,> and after care
ful hearings. Congress approved the
idea. From the foregoing sprang
the new Central Permit Bureau,
located on the first floor of the Dis
trict Building at Fourteenth and
= streets NV.
The ideal we are seeking to at
tain at the new bureau Is that any
one seeking . permit for a con-
struction or repair job need come
to the bureau only twice: Once
when he submits his application,
and again tafter receipt Of post
card notification when he comes
to get his permit and pay for it.
In the case Of simple permits,
we seek to 60 q step further, and
arrange matters 50 that applicant
can submit his application and re-
ceive the permit on the same day
and without leaving the room.
We have not yet attained this
ideal 100 per cent. Perhaps we
never will: for there are always
complex and special cases which
call for special treatment. But that
Is what We are shooting at.
The establishment Of the new
system has been in the able hands
Of B. H. Benson, formerly in charge
of the Underground Construction
Section Of the city's Sewer Divi-
sion, and now superintendent Of the
bureau. He Is aided by Mr.. Denver
w. Warnock, 0ormerly Of the De-
partment Of Highways, assistant
superintendent, and by group Of
"a carefu1Iv selected assista nts