TOWN PLANNING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 19093, 28 January 1932, Page 11

TOWN PLANNING

ADDRESS BY DIRECTOR. 'ZONING AND COMMUNICATIONS.’’ “Zoning and; Communicatipns” was the title .of an address‘delivered . .before members of the Timaru Borough. Council and others: interested last evening by Mr J: W. Mawsdn-, Director of Town. Planning for the Dominion. There was. a good attendance, the' '(.Mi* TV ! W. Satterthwaite), presiding:* r 7/ j Mr Mawson said that town planning ' as it was understood;, in this country fell broadly under .two headings.:— | “Zoning” and “Communications.” *lir. •the' modern sense, “Communications/’ j included not only streets, but all av- | enues of trahspdrt,' whether for veh- ! icles,. water, sewerage, electric power, | gas, or even telephones. “Zoning” was a j technical term used to describe the re- | gUlation- by districts of. the character; ! and inteiisivity of land_ uses; pr to be more precise, the regulation of the use of that land-, for specified’ purposes, -and of the'density, of population and buildings.. Mr . Mawson said that a moment’s reflection would show that' the two were interdependent.'' The question of their relative., importance depended on whether they were deal-* ing with built-up or undeveloped-areas.-When dealing with the former. Zoning at best could, be but a compromise designed to-secure'the highest economic use of the land and those public utilities already constructed which formed a charge:on the public funds, or to re/-, duce to a minimum, further expenditure for the-enlargement or repiare„ment of- those utilities in so far as this could be done Without undue interfer-' • ence with established property uses and values. In partially developed or undeveloped territory the matter did not present much difficulty, for in this.case the land uses and maximum building and population densities could be' determined in advance, and the various utilities designed and constructed on a permanent and economic basis. Municipal His. “Ills from which we are suffering today In this period of depression,” said Mr Mawson, “lie in the fact that we have pursued in the past a haphazard and hand-to-mouth policy in the design, construction and improvement of our public utilities, without any precise knowledge or certainty of the load they | would be called upon to carry during j the period of their economic life, that 1 was the life of the ldan out of which they were constructed. Millions of pounds of municipal debt still outstanding is in respect of works which no longer exist or which are obsolete. I do not say this in any sense as a reproach to our municipal authorities, for it is only in. comparatively recent years that the social and ecohomic aspects of town planning,' and the benefits to be derived from Its practice, have been thoroughly understood. In the light of our present knowledge, however, there can be little, if any, excuse for a continuation of those practices which we now know to be unsound.” The Aesthetic Point of View. Mr Mawson said that town planning from the aesthetic point of view had been known and . practiced throughout the ages. It was only within the last 15 or 20 years, however, that its possibilities as a means of improving the social and economic conditions of the people, had been thoroughly grasped. Zoning, as it was practised to-day throughout the world, dated in effect from the New York Ordinances of 1916. To-day over one thousand cities in the United States had comprehensive zoning ordinances in operation, and in so far as it had been possible to measure the social and economic benefits oT those ordinances, the results had been nothing short of amazing. Zoning as an instrument designed to safeguard health, safety, and the community welfare, had its ! justification largely in the changes which had been wrought in the social fabric by modern inventions, which had I led not only to a concentration of j population in urban centres, but to a I high degree of specialisation and complexity in our urban life. When mad j invented machinery, he himself becamfc 1 a cog. Individuality in character and •ability began to fade. Paradoxically, as our ability to produce the necessities and luxuries of life increased, as our efficiency in distribution became great-' er, as our familiarity with the world grew and our knowledge of nature and her laws multiplied, we became more and more interdependent. The more powerful we became collectively, the more helpless we became individually. Under the intense conditions of modern urban life with its density of population, problems of housing, difficulties of circulation, and highly specialised human activities, individual freedom of action must necessarily be curtailed. This curtailment naturally applied in some degree to property as well as to persons. It was when social restrictions were logically and necessarily applied to the land, that we had zoning, which was a method of assisting in the more intelligent and effective planning and developing of our towns; a method which made for an orderly ahd harmonious arrangement of the important functions pf town life such as industry, commerce and recreation, and the regulation of population and building densities so as to maintain at all times a proper balance between these land use and the public utilities on which their existence depended. Zoning Regulations. Mr Mawson said that zoning regulations, to be effective and equitable, must be comprehensive, and predicated upon facts and not upon mere personal opinions. Poor zoning was worse than no zoning at all. The fact that a public authority had the right to regulate the use of private property .did not necessarily mean that arbitary regulations could be imposed to the serious detriment of individual interests. Rather, zoning should be designed to secure an orderly growth by the proper regulation of all property- according to its logical future use.-: To- comply-with this provision, it was evident that an exhaustive study should be prepared, giving a detailed and comprehensive picture of existing development prior to the determination of future districts of the regulations to apply therein. This entailed a zoning survey which should produce accurate and complete information on the building development and the use of every parcel of property in the community. This work, he was glad to note, had already been very effectively done by the civic officials here. There were two points, however, on which he desired to lay emphasis : Firstly, the necessity of studying the functional character of the town proper in the regional organism, and secondly, of providing for the unified and reciprocal interests of contiguous urban districts or areas. The whole subject of urban zoning was but the logical aspect of a much larger problem, a solution of which could only be found by a careful study of the major land uses, tendencies and potentialities of the region. To attempt to enforce a zoning scheme other than as a temporary expedient which regarded Timaru as a self-contained social economic unit, could only lead to disaster. One of the things required under the zoning regulations in the borough was to designate the area or street frontage to be set aside for commercial pur-

poses. “The only basis on which we can arrive at anything like a reasonable estimate, is on the basis of present and potential population in the whole area, served by these commercial activities,” said Mr Mawson. “If you could assume that these activities were-de-pendent on - the present or future popu- ; lation of the Borough of Timaru proper' the problem would present no dif/ficulties provided the whole of the Borough Were zoned with respect to maximum population .densities, but that is not the.;fact. •* With modern transport "facilities, it Is,, a fair assumption .that the'population:..within.-50 miles radius regularly do the whole or a part of .their' than purely, domestic heeds-ein the borough. I say, therefore;, that it .is impossible, except by a “purely arbitary " decision which may bear very little; relation to facts, -to define'the area which would be required Within.'-the . h&xt /» 25- years for .commercial uses in the borough, qi/even to -plan : ‘intelligently' the. avenues of. transport leading to,the borough without some .knowledge, .-of.:, present conditions, tendencies and potentialities in respect to "the -land’/ utilisation ' and •• population distribution within that 50 mile radius, There you have the, justification underlying the regional-plan-ning provisions. •of the -Town-Planning. ■Amendment Act of 1929. And what of the -suburban areas in the county devoted- largely to residental uses? Are th.ey. not .also vitally interested; in what you do here in the. borough ? Can it be supposed for. one moment that, these . suburban areas have any separate ex- , Istence? NO; To produce a satisfactory scheme there must be close co-opera-tion in planning and administration . between the 7 Borough and the Levels County Council.” The Position Summarised.

Mr Mawson next examined the matter of zoning in relation to public utilities from the point of view of public ecohomy. He said it was axiomatic that these utilities should be appropriately and adequately proportioned to the services to be rendered. This predicated that the service must be reasonably well known in advance and this could be true only if the character and the use of the property to be served was well determined in the beginning. Secondly, the utilities after completion, must be free from any unusual tendency towards obsolescence. This required that the policy and the design of the utilities be correct in the beginning, and that the use or occupancy of the property should not be so changed as to call for service of a different nature. This could only be guaranteed by a well-devised zoning scheme. After dealing in detail with various aspects of the zoning scheme Mr Mawson summarised the scheme as follows: (1). It ensures efficiency and economy in local body administration; (&■), by providing for orderly, progressive and co-ordinated development according to a definite policy and plan; (b), by regulating the character and intensivity of land uses, thereby enabling streets and public utilities to be planned and designed according to predetermined needs and with every assurance that they will be permitted for long periods of time to perform the services intended to be given under considerations approximating the original expectations; (c), by preventing changing land uses with the consequent creation of blighted districts, disturbance of assessments and inequalities in taxation; (d), by enabling the cost of improvements to be equitably assessed according to the benefits received: (e), oy enabling the acquisition or sterilisation of land in advance of settlement, while the cost of the land is at or near its agricultural value; (f), by the coordination and all-round simplification of the work of municipal departmentsand other executive bodies. (2). It determines and stabilises property uses and values, thereby making property more saleable, eliminating speculation, and affording security of tenure and investment/ (3). Safeguards and promotes public health by regulating, the air space about buildings so as to secure adequate light penetration and ventilation to habitable rooms, offices and workshops. (4). By regulating building uses, heights and densities, safeguards and promotes public safety, and tends to eliminate economic losses: (a), by preventing undue congestion by concentration of population; (b), avoiding traffic congestion thereby facilitating traffic circulation and reducing risk of street accidents; ■ (c), reducing fire risks; (d), reducing risk to human life In the event of earthquakes. (5). Safeguards and promotes the amenities of residential districts;, by preventing the Intrusion of incpfiipatible land uses and preserving an open type of development.

Adviceßatepayers*. Mr Mawson said there was just one other point he desired to make to the ratepayers q£,Although a statutory obltgitfo«» ! on- the Borough Council.;]t*v prepkre a farsighted and of development which ‘Bprusrtnecessarily require some measure of'control over the use of property in private ownership, the Town Planning Act and regulations laid it down as fundamental: -Cl). That every property owner or occupier must be consulted in the preparation of the scheme apd given.every opportunity to object toit-or to* make Suggestions for its improvement.; : <2), That- no economic injury shall be imposed on any property' oWher Without mil cbmpensation unless it -shown .that his property is being used or is likely to be used ih a mannei detrimental to the enjoyment by his neighbours:.of health and safety. It would be 1 seen from this, observed ]\£r "Dawson ,that town planning was not a >sohefke devised by (he Town planning. Board of* = even the Borough Council to place restrictions upon the 'liberty of action of the property owners, but, was rather a scheme devised and enforced by the property owners and occupiers themselves, in the best interests of the whole community. “Economy to-day both for the community and 4or the individual is of paramount and " urgency,” continued the speaker, “but don’t mistake the shadow for-the substance. A Ghambeivof; r pgmmer<» recently passed a resolution, th&£;-iri l view of the economic position of the country town planning should be suspended. When you reflect that the primary object of town planning? isyfcb‘•'secure efficiency ahd economy" In "our' country’s affairs, and is in fact the only way in which efficiency and economy can be secured, as has been abundantly demonstrated in other countries—that resolution savours of the jungle where chaos reigns supreme. Town planning does not call for the expenditure of money but merely of brains. It lays down a policy not of spending but of saving by the avoidance of waste. In view of our present condition it is nothing short of tragic that town planning was not in operation in this country ten years ago. If we neglect to profit from the lessons to be learned from that fact we are heading straight for disaster.” (Applause).

At the conclusion of his address, Mr. MaWson answered a number of questions.

Mr. G. Benstead moved—“ That this meeting accords Mr. Mawson a hearty vote of thanks for his instructive and illuminating address, and approves of the ideas set forth by him in the direction of town planning; and pledges itself to carry out the principles 'of town planning into effect.” Mr. F. Chittock seconded the motion, which was carried by acclamation.

On the motion of Rev. Clyde Carr, M.P., a vote of thanks was accorded the Mayor for presiding.