Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-08

PLColQCIIO VI Vic 19dAAh VI SOLl-
get under way as soon as pos
Sible.
During the summer months
the Groom committee will re-
view the citizen reaction, and
submits 1t back to the consultant
Undoubtedly with some ex-
pressions, of favor, some of bitter
opposition and some Of amend
ment.
Will Make Report
The consultant, Harold M
Lewis, Of New York, and his
Washington staff. in turn will
work over the proposal and make
final report" to the District
by November. Then, the Dis
trict Zoning Commission will
hold a series Of official public
hearings and - finally - adopt
with force of law the city's new
coming code.
The outcome of this will be
a new set Of rules putting tighter
restrictions on the type. size and
amount of all future building
residential, commercial and in
dustrial.
In one way or another. 1t will
affect every resident.
Some property owners, of
course. will find no direct impact
in the proposals. The owner of a
single family home in a healthy
neighborhood. for example. will
find a new coming classification
for his property. But chances
are that the new classification
will provide for about the same
things he has now.
Other property owners, how
ever. will find that land which
is now zoned to permit new
apartments is proposed to be
changed to permit only single
family row houses. Obviously,
this could mean a sharp drop in
land value. Another property
owner will find that he can't
build as big an Office building
as is possible under existing
coming.
Planning Policies
Aside from these direct effects
on individual property. however,
the new proposals carry out a
number of planning policies
for the future development of
the city as a whole which affect
everybody.
These policies. which the con-
sultant first determined to guide
the new coming. run the gamut
from a deliberate attempt to
hold down the growth of new
employment in the congested
downtown to provisions for new
all-day parking facilities and
the creation of satellite" office
building centers.
Some of these policies, and
the specific coming which carries
them out. are bitterly opposed
by members Of the Groom COM
mittee.
Boiled down. this is the classic
dispute between city planners
striving for the best possible liv-
ing and working conditions on
the one hand. and hard-boiled
businessmen striving for the
protection Of business interests
on the other.
One danger-frequently voiced
in the last years. that this
conflict might deadlock agree
ment on new coming. Some bust
nessmen say frankly. but private
~. that such a deadlock could
be forced on US" if some of the
consultant's proposals are not
modified.
However. George S. Cater
chief of the consultant staff here
attacked statements that zonine
revision has collapsed in num-
erouS other cities because Of
such conflict. While New York
City's revision is deadlocked be-
cause of staggering problems pc.
culiar to that city, he said, other
cities more comparable to Wash
ington have successfully enforced
new ordinances.
In addition. Congress has given
the Zoning Commission complete
autonomy to adopt a new code
easing. at least. the prospects Of
political pressure.
Not all sides of the revision
effort, fortunately, are dark.
Citizen leaders, city officials
and the consultant all agree that
the existing 1920 regulations, re-
vised through the years in a