Smyrna times., 1955-08-18
FEDERAL HELP
FOR DELAWARE
Can Qualify For Federal
Assistance If Proper
Machinery Is Set Up
S3,OOO,OOO AVAILABLE


smaller communities could quail
fv for some federal assistance in
planning and redevelopment work,
if the proper state machinery
were set in motion giving them
permission to establish local and
regional planning and zoning
boards.
President Eisenhower just sigr-
ed the Independent Offices Appro-
priation Act for fiscal 1856, which
provides 100000 in federal
planning aid to smaller commune
ties and metropolitan and region
al areas, according to the Della
ware State Development Depart
ment.
This supplements the $1,000, 900
initially appropriated by Congress
in 1854 for this type of work, and
makes a total of $3,000,000 avail
able until used. The initial legis-
lation called for a $5,0O0,000 ap-
preparation, but only $1,000,000
was authorized in 1854.
Kent and Sussex County COM
munities could qualify for grants
from this fund if the General AS
sembly were to pass legislation
permitting zoning and planning
boards. At present no lower Del
aware community can qualify.
The urban planning assistance
provisions of the Housing Act
provide for federal grants to Off
cial state planning agencies to-
help them give planning assist
.ance to communities of less than
25,000 population. Similar grants
are available to state, metropoli-
tan and regional planning agen-
cies for work in metropolitan and
regional areas. The grants may
not exceed so per cent of the
cost of the projects for which
they are made.
The purpose of establishing this
legislation, as originally outlined
by President Eisenhower in his
1854 message to Congress, was
this three-fold approach to the
elimination of urban slums and
blight: first, prevention of their
spread to good areas; second, re-
habilitation of areas that have
started to decline but can still be
saved; and third, clearance and
Tedeyelopment of areas that are
no longer salvable.
AS one of the measures for pre-
venting the further growth of
sluns, he recommended that a
program of matching grants to
states and metropolitan areas be
established to enable smaller COM
munities and metropolitan plan
ming agencies to do the planning
Job necessary to arrest the spread
of slum conditions.
Purpose of the program is to
stimulate constructive guidance
and control of urban development
in the fringe areas around major
cities and in the smaller commun-
tiles where effective planning
otherwise is not likely to be
taken.
'If we want to give the very
best service to our present and
future citizens, it is necessary
that growth of a given area be
orderly and that we do not find a
aodgepodge of residential hous-
ing, retail business places and in
dustrial plants jumbled in such a
fashion that in few years the
whole area will deteriorate," De-
veiopment Department officials de-
c1ared.
'The federal government has
shown the way for orderly ex-
pansion and growth, but of neces-
sity. the pressure to secure these
benefits must come from the CIT
izens on the local level, whose
present homes may be jeopardized
if growth is allowed to continue
in disorderly manner"
1t is pointed out that zoning
regulations for the two lower
counties would have to be enact
ed, giving local authority for ac-
tion before assistance could be Sc
cured in this field on the federal
level.