Plans For New N.Z. Chancery Opposed

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30895, 30 October 1965, Page 15

Plans For New N.Z. Chancery Opposed

(N.Z.P.A -Reuter —Copyright) WASHINGTON, Oct. 29. New Zealand has run into opposition in its bid to construct a new chancery building next to its present Embassy in Washington.

The New Zealand Government last month filed an application with the Washington authorities for an exemption from local zoning laws to permit its construction. The land adjoining the Embassy was bought by New Zealand in 1954, but the United States Congress last year passed tougher zoning laws, forbidding construction or expansion of chanceries in certain areas. The land which New Zealand owns, in north-west Washington, is currently zoned for single-family houses and would need to be rezoned for commercial use before work could start. At a hearing on Wednesdaybefore the Washington Zoning Commission there was opposition from local citizens’ groups. One complained that there would be nothing to prevent New Zealand from selling its

land after getting the zoning change. A lawyer appearing on behalf of New Zealand, Mr Norman Glasgow, said that the proposed chancery structure would be in keeping with the present and future development of the residential area.

He said the charges brought by the citizens' groups were “perfectly extraordinary.” The zoning commission took the case under consideration without saying when it would announce a decision.