Evening star., 1952-03-24
Crowd Expected
At Montgomery
zoning Hearing
Proposed Ordinance
Would Affect 80 Pei.
Of County Residents

" County Residents
A public hearing on the pro-
posed new zoning ordinance for
Montgomery County is expected
TO draw q capacity crowd when
It gets Under way ct 10 q m. Satur-
day at the Silver Spring Armory.
The ordinance would regulate
coming IN the Montgomery County
portion Of the Maryland- WASH
ington Regional District. About 80
per cent of the county's popula-
ton lives IN the area.
The hearings win be held before
the Maryland National Capital
Park and Planning Commission.
The commission and its technical
staff. headed by William C. Bur
rage. chief planning engineer,
have spent two years preparing
the ordinance.
In general the ordinance Is
designed to give the commission
wider latitude In insuring orderly
growth Of the area. It Is similar
ii some respects to the Prince
Georges County zoning law
drafted BY the commission in 1919
and adopted a year later by the
County Commissioners.
Increases Zones to IL.
The proposed ordinance In
creases the present flye building
zones to IA. The new system would
include four residential zones Of
single family detached homes; q
zone for one-fannily sernidetached
and tWo-family detached homes:
three zones for apartment houses;
a zone that would provide for q
planned residential community
containing several types Of homes;
three commercial zones and two
industrial zones.
The industrial zones are for
light and heavy industry. The first
would permit structures such as
laboratories. pottery and toy man.
ufacturing plants~ The heavy in
dustrial zone would be for lumber
mills, brick and tile manufacture
ing and the like.
One Of the three commercial
zones would allow only office
buildings and would prohibit
shops and warehouses. It is aimed
at providing for an expansion
belt around commercial areas to
permit their growth without dis
ruption Of adjoining residential
areas.
The other two commercial zones
would permit small community
shopping centers and large cen
tralized business centers. includ-
ing department stores.
Population Range.
Apartment areas IN the proposed
ordinance would range IN popula-
tion density from IA families per
acre In the R-30 zone to 43 per
acre In the Rio zone. The R-20
zone would permit 81 families per
acre.
The present ordinance permits
up to SO families per acre with NO
building height limitation COM
pared with FILA standards Of 25
to IS families per acre.
Building height requirements
would be two stories or q max
imum Of 80 feet IN R-30; three
stories or q maximum Of rs feet
In R-20. and six stories or q max
imum Of rs feet ili R-1O.
The proposed four single-fa
dwelling zones would permit q
greater variety Of minimum LOT
sizes. The present residential-A
zone sets q minimum lot size OF
5000 square feet.
The proposed ordinance would
establish an R-A zone with q
minimum Of two acres per home:
an R-R zone with q minimum OF
one-half acre; an R-90 zone with
q minimum 9,0O0-square-foot lot
and an R-60 zone with a minimum
lot Of 5000 square feet.
Limits ON Lots.
In the zone covering one-farnily
emidetaclled and two-family de-
tached homes, the former would
have to be on q 4,O0O-square-foo,
lot and the two-family detached
would require at least 5000 square
feet.
In preparing the proposed ordi-
nance, the commissions staff met
frequently with q Zoning< Advisory
Committee comprising Mrs. Ralph
Derryberry. League Of Women
Voters: Ralph Boyd. Allied Civic
Group: Harold Briggs, County
Civic Federation; Lee Murray
Silver Spring Board Of Trade;
Carol Sager, Bethesda Chamber
Of Commerce; Euge Fry, real estate
man, and Wesley I. Sauter, for
mer county commissioner and q
member Of the Home Builders AS
sociati0n.
The proposed planning comlnu-
nifty classification - RPC - would
require at least 100 acres and 75t
families be involved.
81 3