Evening star., 1954-06-04
Prentiss Backs
Sing|eAgency
inspection Plan
Says Housing
Needs More Thun
Health Controls
By Miriom Gutenberg

Engineer Commissioner Louis
w. Prentiss today vigorously de-
Tended the plan to put all hous-
ing inspection and enforcement
in the Department of Licenses
and Inspections.
He spoke out against a coun-
terproposal by Health Director
Daniel L. Seckinger, who wants
his department to get exclusive
jurisdiction over housing.
Gen. PrentiSs made these two
points:
/. Goal of reorganizing hous-
ing enforcement is to fix reSpon-
sibility in a. single agency. But
if that agency were the Health
Department, the building inspec-
tors would still have to approve
any physical alterations in the
property and the two-agency
picture would still exist.
2. Any regulation written
clearly enough for the property
owner to understand can be en-
forced by inspectors of the De-
partment of Licenses and InSpec-
tionS.
Council to Meet.
The proposed reorganization
goes before a special meeting
of the Citizens Advisory Coun-
Gil at 2:30 pm. Monday. The
Commissioners are expected to
make their decision at their
board meeting the following
day.
1--WE are not trying to usurp
any prerogative or authority of
the Health Department in estab-
fishing health standards for
housing" Gen. PrentiSs said.
I'VE recognize that the public
health officials have studied the
subject as carefully as our en-
glneers have studied their prob
lens.
"Once the standards are set,
however, any regulation written
clearly enough to permit under
standing and conformance by
homeowners, operators and ten
ants is susceptible of enforce
ment by inspectors working for
Licenses and Inspections.
"On the other hand, if the
regulations are not susceptible of
enforcement by our inspectors.
they are not clear enough for the
general public to comply"
Cites Duplication.
Gen. Prentiss emphasized that
in the interest of eliminating
duplication of inspection forces,
responsibility would be placed in
one unit to determine def1cien-
cies, make sure they are properly
corrected, assure that an ade-.
quate license is issued and that
notifications of the property are
in line with the building code.
II the Health Department had
the housing authority it seeks, he
said, there would still be one
group (Health) inspecting to see
II place was all right, another
group Oicenses and Inspections)
to see if the proposed changes
conformed with the building code
and then the first group to see
if the changes made would be
approved from the health view
point.
Opponents of the present sys-
tenn have complained that after
required changes were approved
by building inspectors, health
inspectors might still disapprove
them. Gen. Prentiss said that
situation could still prevail if the
Health Department got author
ity over housing.
Other officials, noting that DR..
Seckinger listed many cities with
housing codes administered by
the Health Department, said that
other cities are now taking a
fresh look at the problem and
have concluded that housing is
not simply a health problem but
involves structural changes to
make places physically suitable
for human habitation.
ut is historically true" said
one official, that Health Depart
ments used to take primary re-
sponsibility for slum work but
in those days it was mainly a
matter of cleaning up the places