Evening star., 1949-02-26
BIS e Tr4A}fal
County Planning
Due for Action
Montgomery Boekers
! And Commission Aides
Heard at Annapolis
BY }. B. Zotmon
Stor Sfoff CORRESPONDENT


: ANNAPOLIS, Feb. &C. Tht
House Ways and Means Commit.
tee is expected to act early mex
week on four bills which woule
transfer many of the functions o1
the Maryland-National Capita
Park and Planning Commission tt
the Montgomery County Council
The measures would transfer
building and electrical inspection
and all planning functions ir
Montgomery County. other thar
those dealing with parks, from the
commission to the council.
Spokesmen for the commission
the council and the all-Repub-
lican Montgomery delegation ar
gued for two hours before the
committee yesterday over the
effect of the proposed legislation
Claims by supporters of the bills
that they would result in county
wide zoning and planning under
locally elected officials were met
with the contention from CONF
mission representatives that the
measures would destroy plan
ming in the Maryland Washington
regional district"
Lee Criticizes Setup.
Frederic P. Lee, council presi-
dent. started the debate by charg-
ing that under the present setup,
I'VE are second-class citizens"
He pointed out Statewide law
gives all counties except Mont
gomery planning authority. And.
until six years ago. he added.
building and electrical inspections
were under elected officials in the
county.
Chairman Leroy Pumphrey
asked whether the same condition
existed in his home county of
Prince Georges.
Yes" replied Mr.. Lee. You're
just as bad off as we, but you
seem to like it..
Emphasizing the commission
authority to purchase and devel-
op park lands in Montgomery and
Prince Georges Counties with the
aid of Federal funds would be un-
disturbed by the bills, Mr.. Lee
said: 1T is mean picture bring
to you when I say laws have been
on the books 20 years but we can't
enforce them because the ma
chinery exists in the planning
commission over which we have
no authority"
Wants Problems Separated.
In response to another question
by Mr.. Humphrey. Mr.. Lee said
bi-county agencies are necessary
for bi-counv problems. but he
insisted that building and elec-
trical inspection and planning
for Montgomery County is
Montgomery problem and should
be divorced from Prince Georges
County
Montgomery Delegate John r.
Reeves said the measures have
been Endorsed by the Montgomery
County Civic Federation and
League of Women Voters and fol-
low recommendations contained
in the Brookings Institution sur
vey of the county government in
1910.
Also speaking for the bills was
Mrs. Helen Scharf. chairman of
the legislative commission of the
League of Women Voters. She
claimed the present system is a
denial of the basic democratic
principle of giving local elected
officials power over local func-
tions."
A much different viewpoint was
expressed by J. Bond Smith, attor-
ney to the commission, who denied
the present law discriminates
against Montgomery and Prince
Georges County.
Warning Is Issued.
These bills" he warned, would
destroy planning in the Maryland
Washington regional district COM
pletely and irrevocably because
they would repeal the Maryland
Washington Regional District Act.
You can't take away half your
planning district and still have
planning area. These bills are
vicious in their effect -
Mr.. Smith argued that the en-
tire planning area in the two coun-
ties must be treated as a unit in
conjunction with planning by the
National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission.
County lines are unimportant
In such an area" he maintained.
To support his stand, he quoted
excerpts from an editorial appear
ing in the February Is issue OF
The Washington Star opposing
the bills.
Also opposing the bill were E.
Brooke Lee, vice chairman of the
commission, and its chairman,
%Irwin I. Main.
: The commission vice chairman
challenged supporters of legisla-
tion to show where the planning
agency had fallen down" in the
enforcement of building and elec-
trical inspections.
There is no existing charge, ="
he said, that we have failed to
provide through the use of subdi-
vision and land controls and high
way planning the best sys-
tenn of wide arterial highway
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