Evening star., 1950-11-20
Plan Presented for Development Capital Area Over Next 30 Years
said, is the lack Of density regl
lations.


said, Is the lack of density regu-
lations.
| Zoning Needs Overhaul.
District zoning regulations
should be. completely overhauled
and modernized, the report rec
ommends. Present coming was
said to be far out of line, both
with existing conditions andswith
detectives of the plan"
Under allowable zoning, as
many as $3.50, 900 people could now
legally be housed in the District
nearly four times the planned
limit on Washington's population
80 years hence. That number
would make for possible excess
sive traffic loads on Streets" fore
ing 'unpredictable public costs to
increase the facilities built to serve
present lower densities.
''Only half as much land is now
zoned for detached houses as lis
used for this purpose. and only
quarter as much for row houses,
the report added "On the other
hand, four times as much land Is
zoned for apartments as is in
apartment use"
| WaShington'S undeveloped va.
can't land Is only about one-tenth
of the Districts area. providing
very little leeway. This is the
reason why most new growth in
the future must be outside the
District where more land is still
vacant.
In outlying parts of the District
the plan would expect 100000 OF
the Districts ! million people to
be living in single-family detached
houses to a density of 35 persons
per gross acre. These homes would
account for 81 per cent of the
portion of the Districts area
planned for general residential
use.
Medium DenSities.
| Medium densities are proposed
/ for Is per cent of the residential
area. The estimated 275, ZOO
people are expected to account be-
tween IS and rs persons per gross
acre.. These would live in row
houses and garden apartments.
Higher densities are accepted
for 81 per cent Of the residential
area. housing 365. 900 people, with
Ito to 100 per gross acre. Here
would be typical city apartments
but this high density area would
not allow as crowded conditions
as the average prewar Washing
ton apartment.
AS a standard for parks and
Fairgrounds. the commission feels
the Metropolitan area should have
10 acres Of open space for each
1000 people: a minimum of 3k
to 4 acres out of the 10 should be
within walking distance. These
standards are minimum.
Suburban Virginia is far be-
hind in setting aside land to meet
open space needs of the 1880 Met
ropolitan population. Maryland
however. has a more progressive
planning program.
Early action by Fairfax Count,
and Virginia to acquire land fol
a key link to the George Wash
ington Memorial Parkway l.
urged. A new large scale regiona.
park is needed to meet the rapidly
growing needs of both Fairfax
and Arlington Counties. In Mary.
land, the Commission urges using
part Of the Greenbelt reservation
for a regional park in Prince
Georges County. More land ir
Fort Washington is urged to serve
the southern portion OF thai
county.
Farther out, the Commission en-.
dorses such proposed extra-re.
gional reservations as Sugar
Mountain and Harpers Ferry His.
torical Monument.
IA More Acres Needed.
In the District itself, the Com
mission puts at "a additional areas
the 1880 needs for supervised rec
reation and says there will be q
deficit of 1853 acres in neighbor-
hood parks. Plans of the Com
mission now do not provide for
acquiring any additional large
parks in the District. The 1926
acres in recreation units is based
on 1.3 acres per 1000 people OF
the estimated 1880 population.
In the face of so great an unmet
need for good school buildings
properly located, the Commission
stressed that public funds must be
spent carefully to avoid waste OF
duplication.
Twenty five new elementary
schools must be built in the years
ahead, the report said. It is very
important that adequate sites be
acquired well in advance to avoid
higher costs and to influence resi-
Dental construction in the direc-
ton recommended by the COM
prehensive plan.
Both with regard to the use Of
public recreation areas and schools
the Commission stood firmly or
the policy Of planning 'for all the
people" on a segregation
basis.
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