Evening star., 1953-02-17
Maryland Study
Urges Abolition
0fP|anningUnit
Survey Supports
Legislation Backed
In Nearby Counties
By Gene Goodwin
Sfcr Stof corrasnoneIan1

Sfor Sfotf correspondent
ANNAPOLIS, Feb. 17-Aboli-
ton Of the Maryland ational
Capital Park and Planning Com
mission is advocated in a pre-
liminary report of the Sobelo6
Commission released today.
The Park and Planning Com
mission has become a floating
agency partly State, partly To-
cal, responsible to no one and
isolated from the people it
serves" the staff report Of the
Commission on Administrative
ORGANIZATION Of the State de-
clareS.
Supports Legislation.
The report was released by
Delegate j. Douglas Bradshaw,
chairman Of the, all-Republican
Montgomery County delegation.
It's conclusions support legisla-
ton introduced in the General
Assembly by the joint Montgom-
ery-Prince Georges delegation
aimed at abolishing the COM
mission and transferring its
functions to the two counties.
Mr.. Bradshaw obtained the
confidential" report after In
sisting that it be released. He
said he was giving part Of it
to the press because "the re-
port belongs to the people OF
Maryland who paid for It," He
said he will release another part
Of it, dealing with the WASH
ington Suburban Sanitary Com
mission, after he has had q
chance to go over it.
Mr.. Bradshaw charged Rob-
ert M. Watkins. chairman Of the
planning commission, with a
deliberate attempt to suppress
an unfavorable report prepared
at State expense in a calculated
effort to defeat pending legis-
lation."
Quotes Watkins Letter.
Mr.. Bradshaw also released a
letter from Enos Stockbridge,
now chairman of the State study
commission. In it, Mr.. Stock
bridge quotes a letter from Mr..
Watkins urging that the report
be withheld because ''it may be
misconStrued and misuSed."
Mr.. Stockbridge said both the
planning commission and the
sanitary commission have con-
tended that the report contains
many errors. He emphasized,
however, that the man who con-
Quoted the study early last fall.
Richard D. Andrews, is "a care
full and painstaking individual
who has approached his investi-
CATION without preconceived
prejudices."
Mr.. Stockbridge emphasized
that the report is preliminary
and has not yet been adopted by
his commission.
Calls 1t County Function. .
The report concludes:
"The State of Maryland
should not conduct local plan
ming activities in the Washing
ton Metropolitan Area. All plan
ming, coming, subdivision control
and other activities now per-
formed by the Maryland-Na-
tional Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission should be
made the responsibility of the
Montgomery and Prince Georges
County governments.
"The Maryland-National Cap
ital Park and Planning Commits
sion should exist only as a CO.
ordinating agency for regional
planning activities in the Metro
politan Area. Its membership
should be locally selected"
The report declares that the
planning commission "has par
TALLY destroyed the citizens CO.
operation and feeling Of partici-
patton in planning their COM
munity."
The planning commission,
while nominally a State agency.
actually is independent Of the
controls under which any public
body should operate" the report
states.
Explaining its recommendation
that the planning commission be
locally appointed. the report
states there is no indication
that county appointments would
be more or less political than
those of q Governor.