Evening star., 1953-11-10
Suit 10 Attack
Use Of Park for
Belt Highway
Group Planning
To Challenge
Planners Approval
By George Beveridoe

>
Chevy Chase (Md.) citizens
repeatedly will file a Federal
Court suit against the National
Capital Planning Commission
this week. contesting it's ap-
proval of the use of portions Of
Rock Creek Park for the pro-
posed inter county belt freeway.
Gerald P. Nye. former United
States Senator and a leader Of
the citizens road fight. told the
Committee of 100 on the Federal
City yesterday that the suit
very certainly" will be filed
within the next few days"
Mr.. Nye. in an impassioned
half-hour address, criticized the
belt road mainly because it
would furnish a tie-in for U. S.
Route 240 traffic. The Maryland
Roads Commission is drawing
plans under which Route 240
traffic could use the belt route
through the park. then drop off
west of Connecticut avenue and
head southeastward over non-
park property to the East-WeSt
highway.
Explains Stand.
Mr.. Nye said he had selfish
interest" since some of his own
property might be condemned.
But he said his main objection
is to the use of park property
for highway purposes. He pre-
dicted that, if Route 240 were
extended as far southwark as the
East-West highway, pressure
would force it's ultimate extern
sion through the District part Of
Rock Greek Park,
John Nolen, jr., planning COM
mission director, told the group
the planners apparently have
blocked construction of Route
240 as a separate road through
the Maryland park But he said
the commission, as long ago as in
its 1850 master plan, favored use
of the park for the belt road.
Attorneys for citizens in the
area have said they were pre-
pairing a suit attacking the plan
ners' approval as an illegal park
use. However Mr.. Nye's state
ment was the first indication that
it might be filed as early as this
week.
The Committee of 100 took no
action on the road-flght develop
mentS, since it already is on rec
ord against the use of parks for
any major highway.
TempOs' Razing Urged.
On motion by Architect
Horace Peaslee. the committee
urged that a definite timetable
be set up for the removal of
WaShington's unsightly Govern
ment temporary buildings. The
group voted to do all it can to
support such a move already
placed under way by the Ameri-
can institute OF Architects.
The committee also came up
with a proposal for settling the
battle initiated by home owners
to save properties they have re-
developed in city alleys. Under
present law, even highly mod
ernized alley dwellings would be
illegal after mid-1955.
Maj. Gen. U. S. Grant III,
U. S. A., retired. proposed that
the law be amended to exempt
dwellings which meet health and
sanitary standards, provided they
could meet annual inspections.
His motion was adopted, with a
proviSo that the exemptions could
apply only to alleys in which
some redevelopment already has
taken place
Other Action.
On other matters, the COM
mlttee:
l. Opposed proposal that the
old Patent Office Building at
Eighth and F. streets NV, now
used by the Civil Service Com
mission, be raZed to make way
for a new parking garage.
2. r ecom m e n d e d that the
planning commission attempt to
acquire a small triangle of land
at Seventeenth and Newton
streets NV. as memorial to
Theodore Roosevelt. This action
was requested by the Mount
Pleasant Citizens Association.
which wrote that the wooded tri-
angle is slated to be cleared for
construction of houses.
3. Voted to press for construc-
ton within a Washington park
of golf putting course which
would take the form of a relief
map of the United States, as a
memorial to the late Frederick
A. Delano. Mr.. PeaSlee said Mr..
-Delano, a leading Washington
planner and founder of the
Committee of 100, had built such
course at this private estate
and frequently expressed the
wish that the idea could be car
ried out in Capital park.
4. Voted to work also toward
designation of city park, pref
erably in Southwest Washing
ton, as memorial to the late
Mark Lansburgh Until his re-
cent death, Mr.. Lansburgh
played major part as chairman
of the District Redevolpment
Land Agency in the current pro-
gram to redevelop Southwest
Slum areas.
5. Heard a biting attack on
the Southwest redevelopment
program from Pierre Client,
committee member and land
economist Mr.. Client said he
thought the area. located on low
land near the Potomac River, was
not a feasible location for resi-
Dental development. He pro-
posed, instead. that it be used