Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-20
Planners Delay
New Building
Along Route
BY WILLIAM DUKE
Star Staff Writer

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Montgomery County planners.
The County Planning Board
voted to reaffirm its decision
of several months ago to with
hold action on rezoning re-
quests which might lie in the
right-of-way of the proposed
corridor.
But nobody knows for sure
where the corridor will go,
whether it will be for mass
transit facilities alone, or
whether anything ever will be
done to improve committing be-
tween Montgomery County and
the District. Congress in 1860
placed a five-year freeze on
highway construction in North
west Washington, which in
cludeS the proposed corridor.
Four Years Old
The planners decided to use
as a guide a corridor pro-
posal drafted four years ago.
They said any rezoning request
lying within this right-of way
would have to be screened
closely to make sure it would
not block the corridor If it is
actually constructed. In effect,
this means that the four-year-
old proposal is being considered
as the traffic artery route de-
spite the fact it has never been
officially adopted as part of
county planning maps.
With declarations of disgust
over the entire corridor stu
alton, the commissioners de-
cided to withhold an opinion on
a rezoning request by Govern
ment Employees Insurance Corp.
until they determine if con-
Struction would block the pro-
posed corridor right-of-way.
This proposal would bring
the corridor out of the District
between the GEICO building
and Woodward g. Lothrop's
store on Western avenue.
When all is said and done,
1 don't think we'll ever have a
corridor (for automobiles) said
j. Newton Brewer, planning
. board chairman. st think We'll
S wind up with mass transit only,
which seems to be the coming
= thing, and then we may widen
, Wisconsin avenue a bit for the
cars"
i The Wisconsin avenue corri-,
dor, which has been the subject
of debate between county and
District officials for about five
years, is proposed as a major
artery bringing autos and rapid
transit from Montgomery into
Washington's inner loop system. +
Plan New Structure
The corridor problem was re-
vived today with GEICO's re-
quest for commercial rezoning
to allow the construction of a
new office building, an addition
to its present structure, and an
underground parking lot for
258 cars.
w. R. Tinsley, a vice preSi-
dent of the company said later
that increased business forced
the expansion, and that the
firms 1,400 employees were now
working two shifts. He said his
company plans to spend So mil
lion on the expansion project
which will include a 4-story
wing on the present building
and a new seven-Story office
structure.
Mr.. Brewer said he believed
that GEICO and others re-
questing rezoning near the
Iright-o f-way should be allowed
to proceed if they could prove
their plans would not block the
road complex if it is ever au-
thorized. He asked the plan
ming commission staff to deter
mine if the insurance COM
pany's plans would leave
enough space between their
land and recent Woodward &
Lothrop construction for
right-of-Way.
Several Different Locations
Commissioner Louis Gravelle
echoed the criticism of his COL
leagues when he mentioned
that there have been several
studies of the transportation
route and each one placed the
corridor in a different location.
He said the county planners
nave been stymied in their at
temptS to solve traffic prob
lens in Bethesda because of
the uncertainty of the corridor
route.
But the boards position to-
day presupposes that the corri-
dor will be built along the
route suggested four years ago,
and that every building project
in this right-of-way will have
to be examined in detail by the
planning commission.