Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-13
Grant Hits Proposals
Of Zoning Advisers
Could ImperiI
D. c. Economy,
General Says

Recent citizen committee zon-
ing recommendations could inn
peril the economy of Washing.
ton, Mai. Gen. U. s. Grant III
charged in a minority report dis.
closed today.
Gen. Grant, former head Of
the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, warned
that some of the recommended
lions for the downtown area
will throw away the protection
that has heretofore preserved
our city from the evils that have
brought other major cities to the
Verge of bankruptcy"
A dispute over establishing
new sizes for Washington COM
mercial buildings will come to q
head at 2 pm. Monday when,
for the first time in Is months.
the Commissioners full 60-mem-
Der Zoning Advisory Committee
meets in the District Building
Board Room.
So far only the groups execu-
tive committee, headed by Pres
ident Thomas j. Groom Of the
Bank of Commerce, has acted
on recommendations of Harold
M. Lewis, District coming con-
sultant.
Hits Makeup of Committee
Gen. Grant charged that rec
concentrations of the executive
committee are "at variance with
the best interests of our city,
and warned that basic pur-
poses" Of coming have been dis.
regarded to very great extent"
He commended that builders
and developers and their profess
sional advisers constitute the
majority of our executive comy
mittee."
Gen. Grant disagreed with ex-
Iecutive committee recommended
tons to let future downtown
builders construct buildings with
IA floor area nine times greater
than the lot area. He argued
in support of the consultant's
proposal that the floor area Of
new buildings be limited to seven
times the lot area.
/ He supported the consultant'S
warning that overbuilding down.
town would attract so many new
workers that the area would be
strangled by traffic congestion
and declared:
Even present congestion has
been given by the Commits
lsioners as adequate reason for a
highway improvement program
estimated to cost $3.50 million"
Opposes Height Proposal
/ Gen. Grant commended that
"if the floor area ratio adopted
is large enough, the city will
be forced to undertake further
prohibitively expensive projects.
such as street widening at So to
So million a mile, subways, etc.
The wise choice of a reasonable
floor area ratio based on the
traffic capacity of streets may
avoid such extreme measures
being necessary"
In a detailed criticism of modi.
fications proposed by the Execu-
tive Committee in the con-
sultant's proposal, Gen. Grant
also opposed fixing of an over
all height limit on buildings as
failing to preserve "our city from
the evils that have brought
other major cities to the verge
of bankruptcy" Mr.. Lewis had
suggested establishment of sew
Ieral different districts to control
height.
Gen. Grant also opposed
a committee recommendation
against specifying the number of
floors which could be permitted
within overall height limitation.
The consultant had recon-
mended that not more than Is
floors be allowed in the tallest
washington buildings. but the
Executive Committee urged that
this 13-f1oor limit be dropped.
Gen. Grant charged that this
would allow History buildings
and add 80 per cent to the dem
sity of land occupancy" pro-
posed by the consultant.