Evening star., 1950-09-18
Area Planning Groups
Beqin Work ON Setfinq
Up Regional Council

Up Regional Council
Planning bodies in the areas
surrounding Washington today
were launched on the job of per-
i 1fecting Regional Planning Coun-
Gil to aid in solving the knotty
problems those areas will face
with the dispersal of Government
agencies.
/ It was clear that some of the
planning authorities of the dis
tricts to which Government Offices
would be transferred had heard
of the plans with dismay and
alarm"
This was brought out yesterday
at a meeting of about 80 of the
|region'S planners. The meeting
held in the Corcoran Gallery OF
Art. adopted a proposal to set
up a Washington Regional Plan
ming Council. In the discussion
these facts became apparent:
l. Dispersal of Government
agencies to a limit of an hours
travel from downtown Washing
ton will mean changes over a
far greater area as many work.
erS will want to live beyond the
new buildings where they will be
employed.
Utilities to Be Needed.
2. Local communities will be
faced with housing problems, with
the need of providing schools and
hospitals and other facilities such
as roads, sewers and other util-
ties. They will have to stretch
their tax revenues to cover these
and consider issuing bonds where
the revenues won't provide enough
Immediately.
8. The Federal Government al
ready has studied dozens of sites
for the four initial dispersal CEN
ters. None has been definitely
picked but selections could be
made quickly.
4 Fred w. Tuemmler, director of
planning for the Maryland-Na-
tional Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission. said it was logi-
cal that many of the new build
ings would be established in out
lying areas of Prince Georges
County. He cited the county's
already extensive highway devel-
opment from the Washington Bal
timore parkway now under con-
struction on the north, to the
Indian Head highway running
south from Washington.
The initial dispersal plan, sty-
mied at least temporarily by con-
gressional rejection, calls for the
construction of four centers in
the outlying areas as an atomic
bomb defense measure. They
would make possible moving be-
tween $4,000 and 10000 Govern
ment workers out of the city.
Half To Be in Virginia.
Ultimately. however, the plan
contemplates II or 13 dispersed
centers with $4,000 to 100000
workers. The total cost is esti-
mated at $3.50 million.
1t is expected that half of the
centers would be in Virginia and
half in Maryland.
Louis Brownlow. former District
commissioner and an authority on
public administration, presided at
yesterdays meeting. The COM
mittee organizing the meeting
was headed by Col, Lathrop E.
Smith, chairman of the Upper
Montgomery County Planning
Commission.
The organization plan calls for
initial operations within the areas
OF these agencies: Northern Vir-
g1nia Regional Planning Commits
sion, National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, the Mary
land-National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, that por-
ton of Prince Georges County
outside the Maryland -NCPPC area
and the Upper Montgomery Coun-
ty Planning Commission.
Additional Agencies.
In addition to the agencies
named, these were represented at
Yesterdays meeting: Alexandria
City Planning Commission. Vir-
ginia Division of Planning and
economic Development, Maryland
state Planning Commission, Plan
nlng Division of the Arlington
county Department of Public
Service, Fairfax County Planning
commission, and three agencies
OF Loudoun County, Va; the Plan
nlng Commission, Zoning Com
mission and Board of Supervisors.
John Nolen, jr., director of
planning for the NCPPC, said that
commission would foster the new
organization and may provide a
headquarters for it.
Blair Lee LII. vice chairman of
the Maryland NCPPC, said that
the new organization may result
IN uniform rules for subdivision
plotting and for building codes.
Raymond v. Long of the Vir-
ginia planning and economic de-
velopment commission pointed
out that if the regional planning
body would take in all the area
within 50-mile radius of Wash
ington five or six additional coun-
ties would be affected. Fifty miles
is set as the ultimate limit for
dispersal.
A warning that when you start
moving jobs out of town people