Evening star., 1949-01-09
|ArchitectsCaI|
Conference on
ID. {. Planning
To Urge c Consideration
Of Needs as Related
To SesquicentennioI


nial Washington" will be held next
Saturday to focus attention on the
1850 observance as a propitious time
to re-examine planning needs Of
Sponsored by the Washington
Metropolitan Chapter of the Ameri-
can Institute of Architects, the meet
ing will be held at 8:15 pm. in the
of the United States
Chamber of Commerce. Authorities
on regional city planning will ex-
change ideas and answer questions
from the floor.
1t was suggested yesterday by
group of architects, acting indepen-
IDENTIFY, that Congress be asked to
create a temporary commission for
the sesquicentennial in somewhat
the same way as the Mcmillan Com
worked in connection with
the 1900 Centennial
The Mcmillan Commission was
formed to revive and extend the
original plans for the downtown
area of Washington as envisioned
by the French Maj. lEnfant, the
cltys first planner. From its studies
resulted the present treatment Of
the Mall and other projects for the
Identification of the city.
Would Assist in Problems.
Ire proposed new study-a COM
prehensive report on Washington
and its environs-would include the
entire range of planning, taxation,
government, and other subjects with
a view to solving the conflicting
JurLoictional problems involved.
In the opinion of Mrs. Chloethiel
Woodward Smith, one of the in
dependent group, Washington is
IN one OF its most crucial periods.
The complexities of the present
regional problems are such that
complete study of the area should
be made at once" Mrs. Smith said,
The lag of construction during
the war, the population increase,
the lack of any agency with power
TO coordinate all planning, the in
creasing conflicts between local and
Federal interests, the unsatisfactory
relationships with those interests
and the adjacent States, and many
other features have contributed 10
the present problems"
6-Member Commission Asked.
The proposed plan calls for
siX-member commission. three of
whom would represent the District;
Maryland and Virginia. The other
three, with no special interests in
the District situation, would be
chosen at large. One should be a
professional planner, it was sug-
gested, the others of broad expert
ence in planning, but not techni-
clans.
The commission should be ap-
pointed for one year with provisions
made for financing the study and
presentation of the report to Con-
2ress at that time.
Architects Louis Justement and
Julian E. Berla, experienced in city
flaming and familiar with the
complex situation here, favor the
plan, but a dissent came from the
chairman of the National Capital
Park and Planning Commission.
Maj. Gen. u. S. Grant, III. His
group has been engaged for months
in drafting comprehensive plan
for the Washington metropolitan
area. Gen. Grant questioned the
need of advisability of Congress Gre
ating another commission. He said
he was speaking only as an indi-
vidual.
Suggest Use of Planners.
why not build on the present
NCPPC if it is necessary to do any
thing at alp" Gen. Grant suggested.
Funds necessary for the support
of a proposed commission, he said,
might just as well be diverted to
the planning commission which to
date has been deprived of funds to
publish its own comprehensive plan
after it is completed.
He said the planning agency does
not deal with taxation, which is not
a part of physical planning. It's
concern is not with how money
should be spent on schools, recrea-
ton or police, for instance, but it
Goes point out the need for schools
and recreation facilities.
Gen. Grant recalled that Frederic
A. Delano, former planning commits
sion chairman. headed the National
Resources Board which had sub
mitted an exhaustive report on all
phases of taxation and regional
planning-including the general
Washington region-and which had
been abandoned by Congress.
Furthermore, he said he feared
that if Congress approved the pro-
posal for an additional commission,
it might postpone needed appropri-
ations until the new group had
made its report.
Might Follow New York Line.
Members of the architectural
group said it might be necessary to
pattern the powers of the proposed
commission somewhat along the
lines of the Port of New York
Authority which deals successfully
with dual jurisdictions in adminis-
terlng control over water and
aviation.
This line of approach interested
Ernest F. Henry, lawyer member
of the Washington Board of Trade
and chairman of its planning COM
mittee. He said he was not ac-
quainted with the commission plan
and reserved comment.
River Development Urged.
An apparently little publicized ap-
proach to planning here was sug-
gesteed by Paul Opperman, urban
planning director of the Federal
Works Agency.
The Potomac River, he believes.
should be made as vital EaTt of
the life of Washington as the
Thames in London or the Seine in
Paris. With the approaching solu-
ton of the pollution problem, Mr.
Opperman thinks planners should
give serious thought to developing
Federal building sites along the
Potomac at and above Washington.
Others on the panel for the Sat-
urday meeting are:
l. Nv S>ystp