PREPARED STATEMENT OF FREDERICK A. BABSON, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION TRANSPORTATION PLANNING BOARD

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, my name is Frederick A. Babson. I am appearing before you today as chairman of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board in support of the President's Reorganization Plan No. 5. I am chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County, a member of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, and a former member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board was created last year by the local governments and the State highway departments of the Washington metropolitan area under the terms of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962. This act, as you know, provided that in all urban areas throughout the country, there must be organized a continuing, comprehensive and coordinated transportation planning process carried on cooperatively by the local governments and State highway agencies.

In most of the urban areas of the Nation, the Transportation Planning Board has been organized as a separate and independent authority, thus further adding to the undesirable proliferation of independent special-function agencies which is increasingly plaguing our large metropolitan areas. This proliferation is in direct conflict with the underlying philosophy of the Congress as expressed in such legislation as the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, which would vest the responsibility for attacking regional problems in our public local govern

ments.

This

Here in the Washington area, on the other hand, we have moved to counter this trend. Instead of adding another unit to the long list of independent agencies, the Transportation Planning Board has now decided formally to associate itself with the Council of Governments, as its transportation advisory arm. action will have the effect of placing the responsibility for transportation planning directly in the hands of the local elected officials of the National Capital region, and also of making transportation planning an integral part of the comprehensive regional planning process, as it should be.

The Transportation Planning Board took this action because it believes that a close tie between the planners and the decision-making officials in the Washington area will result in greater implementation of transportation plans and better balanced comprehensive planning. It also took the action because it has the highest confidence in the planning process and staff developed by the Council of Governments, and in the future of the council as one of the most important regional bodies in the Washington metropolitan area.

As chairman of the board of supervisors of the largest local government in northern Virginia, as well as one of the regional planning agencies of the Washington area which has chosen to associate itself with the Council of Governments, I strongly endorse the reorganization plan now before you, and urge affirmative action on it.

Chairman DAWSON. Mr. Woods?

Mr. WOODS. Yes.

Chairman DAWSON. Mr. Woods is Acting Chairman, National Capital Regional Planning Council. He is accompanied by Mr. George H. F. Oberlander, Director.

STATEMENT OF JAMES R. F. WOODS, ACTING CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGIONAL PLANNING COUNCIL; ACCOMPANIED BY GEORGE H. F. OBERLANDER, DIRECTOR

Mr. Woods. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I have no prepared statement.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Gentlemen, can I ask you, are you in favor of this? Mr. WOODS. Very definitely.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. You have no prepared statement?

Mr. Woods. I have no prepared statement. I wanted to say, I'm aware that the Bureau of the Budget has been considering this for

some time. However, many months ago, several members of the Council, in view of the rising eminence of COG, proposed our own dissolution. This was a rather radical suggestion for one agency to suggest its own death, but we were very delighted that the Bureau of the Budget picked it up and has now submitted the reorganization plan to you.

We feel it quite proper that this planning responsibility lay on the shoulders of the people who are elected to serve their own constituent jurisdiction. And I might add a footnote to Mr. Reuss' comment, that perhaps if we lay the responsibility upon our local officials to provide for areawide planning, we won't have a repeat of the prostitution that you referred to a moment ago about the Potomac River. Historically speaking, those who participated in that decision are no longer a part of the Council of Governments by act of the voters.

We favor the reorganization plan and we hope that the Congress will interpose no objection to it.

Chairman DAWSON. Any questions?

Mr. ROSENTHAL. No questions.

Mr. REUSS. I just think we should consider ordering that a medal be struck for members of an agency who come up here and advocate their own abolition. I think this is quite unprecedented.

Chairman DAWSON. It shows a spirit of sacrifice for the common good.

Thank you very much.

Dr. Lohman? Dr. Lohman is chairman of the Northern Virginia Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission.

STATEMENT OF DR. JOHN B. LOHMAN, CHAIRMAN, NORTHERN VIRGINIA REGIONAL PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION; ACCOMPANIED BY COL. J. FULLER GROOM AND

ART AUERBACH

Dr. LOHMAN. I'm Dr. Lohman. This is Mr. Auerbach, our deputy director. Our director is on leave and we would not be so inhuman as to call him back.

I want to apologize for one thing and that is our absurdly long title. This represents the State's thinking.

Gentlemen, I want to say two things: First, we became aware of this hearing yesterday morning, so we will not afflict you with a lengthy, prepared statement and we will confine ourselves to our objectives rather than attempting, for example, to suggest legislation. Mr. HOLIFIELD. Are you in favor of the plan?

Dr. LOHMAN. We are in favor of the plan, but we wish to see certain features strengthened.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. You can't strengthen the plan. It has to be voted up or down. You are aware of that peculiar part of the situation?

Dr. LOHMAN. I am, sir. Let me say one other thing. We have not had a meeting of our commission since receiving this. Therefore, I speak as the chairman, but have not as yet been backed by the commission, although I believe they will back the statements I am about to make.

We are first, as you, Mr. Holifield, asked, very definitely in favor of this action. We believe it is called for. It is decidedly in consonance

with our aims. We are in fact concerned with what can be done in the act to strengthen the participation of and responsibility of particularly the suburban communities in the planning process and we want to make two suggestions. The first is probably not one that can be handled in the present legislation. The second quite possibly

can.

The first, gentlemen, is that the National Capital Planning Commission does not have representation from the suburbs. I say, but I cannot say the commission says, because it has not acted on thisthat this would strengthen both the suburbs' interest in the central city and the commission's interest in the suburbs.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. You are talking about what we would call the county area and a nonmunicipal area?

Dr. LOHMAN. This would include several cities-on our side, three cities: Fairfax, Falls Church, and Alexandria, all of whom are constituent members of our commission.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Why aren't they members of the regional?

Dr. LOHMAN. Sir, I was referring to the National Capital Planning Commission, not to the Regional Planning Council. Of course, there are also cities, municipalities on the other side. Conceivable ways in which this could be accomplished would be, and I'm simply naming ones that have been suggested, to make this a part of the duties of the Congress or it could be accomplished through COG, perhaps, and for example, the subregional commissions. But, we feel eventually that something of the kind must be done. I repeat that it would strengthen the involvement of the National Capital Planning Commission in the suburbs. It would further strengthen the involvement of the suburbs in the central city, both of which are weak.

Mr. ERLENBORN. I wonder if I might ask a question at this point. Dr. LOHMAN. If you would, please.

Mr. ERLENBORN. I'm not certain I follow your suggestion. I would suspect that the counties and the cities surrounding this area probably have their own local planning commissions. For instance, the city of Fairfax very likely may have its own planning commission. Dr. LOHMAN. Each of us do, sir.

Mr. ERLENBORN. And Fairfax County probably has a planning commission?

Dr. LOHMAN. Yes, indeed.

Mr. ERLENBORN. I would think the National Capital Planning Commission is an agency of this sort, local planning commission. Now, are you suggesting that rather than have the area planning commission have representation from all of the cities and counties of the entire area, that the local planning commission have representation from the surrounding areas? In other words, this would be like suggesting that the Alexandria Planning Commission have a representative from Prince George County or from the city of Fairfax. Dr. LOHMAN. No, sir, it is in view of the broader responsibilities of the National Capital Planning Commission.

Mr. ERLENBORN. Isn't this what the Council of Governments is supposed to perform? Isn't this the area planning function resting in the Council of Governments rather than the National Capital Planning Commission?

Dr. LOHMAN. The National Capital Planning Commission's areawide responsibilities, as we understand them, concern Federal instal

lations in the outlying areas. These are matters certainly of approximately equal concern to the Federal Government and to the involved jurisdictions.

Mr. ERLENBORN. In other words, the National Capital Planning Commission is not then analogous to the city of Fairfax Planning Commission or the city of Alexandria Planning Commission?

Dr. LOHMAN. I would say, Mr. Erlenborn, that it appears to me analogous but to have this additional role.

Mr. ERLENBORN. Thank you.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. I don't quite understand it now. I'm confused a little bit. The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments does not include Arlington or Alexandria?

Dr. LOHMAN. It does, indeed.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Does it include Fairfax?

Dr. LOHMAN. It does. It includes each of the major jurisdictions. Mr. HOLIFIELD. What are you asking for?

Dr. LOHMAN. I'm suggesting, though not at this time, that consideration be given to placing suburban representation on the National Capital Planning Commission. I'm giving my secondary recommendation first.

Mr. HENDERSON. This may be confusing. The National Capital Planning Commission is the District of Columbia and Federal Government agencies that does not include representatives of the surrounding counties and cities. The National Capital Regional Planning Council that we are just abolishing does include representatives of the surrounding areas and the Council of Governments includes those areas including the District of Columbia.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Is the National Capital Planning Commission functioning as a part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments?

Dr. LOHMAN. It has membership on it, yes.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. It seems to me in a regional commission you participate in regional problems. I can't understand why the outside entities should want to be on the Capital Planning Commission any more than you would have the National Capital Planning Commission have representatives on each of the outside entities.

Dr. LOHMAN. Our concern, sir, is with the responsibilities of the Commission on regional problems rather than internal problems. And, I believe, we are insufficiently aware of each other's problems. Certainly the suburbs are not at all sufficiently aware of the problems of the central city and likewise, the National Capital Planning Commission and the central city are not in contact with the suburbs.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. Isn't that what the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is for, that you meet together and you exchange views on problems which affect the region?

Dr. LOHMAN. I believe, Mr. Holifield, that additional liaison would greatly strengthen the process and I believe that it should not be only in the persons of the elected representatives, but also in advisory bodies of the planning type.

Mr. HOLIFIELD. There is nothing to prevent the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments from setting up any kind of coordinating liaison advisory groups that they want to. That isn't a matter of statute.

Dr. LOHMAN. I most certainly hope that they will do so.