Evening star., 1952-02-17

consider problems of health, well
fare and public safety common
Third of a Series.
to the District and adjoining
counties.
The city heads have invited
leaders of the nearby cities ano
counties to a luncheon on March
6 to discuss the feasibility Of es-
tablishing such a council.
ut would not be a question OF
finding subjects for exploration, y
one builder said. "It would be a
problem for such an Interstate
Council to deal with the many
problems now deserving atten-
ton"
Some Problems Listed.
Here are some of the things
builders think such a council
could explore:
1. Sharply varying building
codes in the Metropolitan Area
could be made uniform.
2. Planning of sewer, water and
highway facilities could be on an
area-wide basis rather than on
the basis of a political subdivi-
sion.
8. Federal responsibility to the
nearby counties could be explored
since it is the overflow from the
Federal city that is causing many
problems in the counties.
Private builders, architects,
Federal and local officials and
others involved in private and
public construction all agreed an
Interstate Council could work out
many productive regional pro-
jects.
Strong Argument For Bill.
Some officials see in Commits
sioner' Donohue's proposal a
strong argument for enactment
Of the bill which would create
a broadly representative National
Capital Regional Planning Coun-
Gil under a reconstructed National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission.
Planning officials, in particular,
see no conflict between the Com
missioner's proposal and legisla-
tive establishment of a council
such as is provided for in a bill
now pending to reorganize the
National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission into a National
Capital Planning Commission.
MIR. Donohue's plan would allow
q broad coverage Of problems on
an administrative level. But they
firmly believe that a regional
council under a newly established
commission is definitely needed
as a complementary agency to
emphasize the planning job.
Since the scope of the Donohue
plan is very broad, speculation as
to the type of work it might ini-
tiate in the construction field has
varied widely.
Federal experts and other
authorities have for years been
preaching the virtues of perform
ance" building codes as against
the old-type of specification"
code. The urban areas of Mont
gomery-Prince Georges Counties
now have such a code. recently
adopted by the Maryland-National
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission.
Standards Of Safety.
The chief stated purpose of
building codes is to provide stand
ards Of safety. The specification
type of code is usually less recep-
tive to new products and often
lends itself to imposition of rigid
specifications in excess Of reason
able safety standards. observers
point OUT
In contrast. a performance type
code is chiefly concerned that a
material or a method safely do
the necessary construction job.
One architect pointed out, for
example, that the Princes Georges
Montgomery County code requires
that a footing must be designed
to carry the load imposed on it,
while the Districts code sets rigid
dimension specifications.
Another example of the luxury
of idea as to safety that different
Jurisdictions are apt to indulge
in is offered by chimney specifica-
tions in case a gas-fired furnace is
used to heat q house.
Full Masonry Required.
Outside the District, builders
may use an economical but re-
portedly completely adequate
cement-asbestos flue with an air
space and a metal lining, while in
the District the more expensive
full masonry chimney must be
used.
RuleS on subdivision standards
likewise, differ widely as to many
things. including width of streets
types Of paving and gutter re-
quirements. Sectional differences
are not necessarily wrong, OBJ
servers point out. Yet co-ordina-
ton along some lines in this 1ielc
would be beneficial, in the view oi
builders and architects.
Another area of interest to the
builder and developer is that in.
volving water supply and sewers
Representatives Of the construc-
ton industry see great possibili-
ties inherent In the Greater Wash
ington Council proposal for deal
ing with questions arising from
inter- dependence of different jur.
isdictionS in connection with
water supply. and disposal AND
treatment of sewage.
Construction Of dams and res.
ervoirs, and sewage treatmen1
plants, as well as Of bridges, high.
ways. and other appartenances o.
an expanding region need coordi