pursuant to section 2(a) of "An Act to authorize Federal assistance to States and local governments in major disasters, and for other purposes," has determined to be a major disaster; (4) to official governmental planning agencies for areas where rapid urbanization has resulted or is expected to result from the establishment or rapid and substantial expansion of a Federal installation; and (5) State planning agencies for State and interstate comprehensive planning (as defined in subsection (d)) and for research and coordination activity related thereto. Planning assisted under this section shall, to the maximum extent feasible, cover entire urban areas having common or related urban development problems. (b) A grant made under this section shall not exceed 50 per centum of the estimated cost of the work for which the grant is made. All grants made under this section shall be subject to terms and conditions prescribed by the Administrator. No portion of any grant made under this section shall be used for the preparation of plans for specific public works. The [p. 130] Administrator is authorized, notwithstanding the provisions of section 3548 of the Revised Statutes, as amended, to make advances or progress payments on account of any planning grant made under this section. There is hereby authorized to be appropriated not exceeding $20,000,000 to carry out the purposes of this section, and any amounts so appropriated shall remain available until expended. (c) The Administrator is authorized, in areas embracing several municipalities or other political subdivisions, to encourage planning on a unified metropolitan basis and to provide technical assistance for such planning and the solution of problems relating thereto. (d) It is the further intent of this section to encourage comprehensive planning for States, cities, counties, metropolitan areas, and urban regions and the establishment and development of the organizational units needed therefor. In extending financial assistance under this section, the Administrator may require such assurances as he deems adequate that the appropriate State and local agencies are making reasonable progress in the development of the elements of comprehensive planning. Comprehensive planning, as used in this section, includes the following, to the extent directly related to urban needs: (1) preparation, as a guide for longrange development, of general physical plans with respect to the pattern and intensity of land use and the provision of public facilities, together with long-range fiscal plans for such development; (2) programing of capital improvements based on a determination of relative urgency, together with definitive financing plans for the improvements to be constructed in the earlier years of the program; (3) coordination of all related plans of the departments or subdivisions of the government concerned; (4) intergovernmental coordination of all related planned activities among the State and local governmental agencies concerned; and (5) preparation of regulatory and administrative measures in support of the foregoing. (e) In the exercise of his function of encouraging comprehensive planning by the States, the Administrator shall consult with those officials of the Federal Government responsible for the administration of programs of Federal assistance to the States and municipalities for various categories of public facilities. [p. 131] 1.3d (2) CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, VOL. 105 (1959) 1.3d (2)(a) Sept. 9: Debated and passed Senate, p. 18756 Urban planning (2) Extends urban planning to include municipalities of less than 50,000 population; counties of less than 50,000 population; groups of adjacent communities with common planning problems having population of less than 50,000; and cities, other municipalities, and counties suffering from a catastrophe which the President declares a major disaster. (3) Authorizes an additional appropriation of $10 million for the program. Section 419: (1) Rewrites existing law (sec. 701 of the Housing Act of 1954) to provide that grants-in-aid for planning assistance may be made to State planning agencies, or in the absence of any such agency, to an agency or instrumentality of a State government designated by the Governor and approved by the Administrator; State planning agencies for statewide and interstate comprehensive (4) Authorizes the Administrator to planning; official State, metropolitan, and encourage, in areas embracing several regional planning agencies empowered municipalities or political subdivisions, under State and local law or interstate planning on a unified metropolitan basis compact to perform metropolitan or and to provide technical assistance for regional planning; and official govern- planning and for solution of problems. mental planning agencies for areas where rapid urbanization has resulted or is expected to result from establishment or increased activity of Federal installation. 1.3d (2)(b) Sept. 10: Passed House, p. 18995 [No Relevant Discussion on Pertinent Section] [p. 18756] SEC. 15. (a) Paragraph (3) of section 701 (a) of the Housing Act of 1954 is amended by inserting after "counties which" the following: "(A) are situated in areas designated by the Secretary of Commerce under section 5(a) of the Area Redevelopment Act as redevelopment areas or (B)". (b) Section 701(b) of such Act is amended by adding before the period at the end of the first sentence a colon and the following: "Provided, That a grant may be made under this section to a city, municipality, or county described in clause (A) of subsection (a) (3), or to a State planning agency (as provided in clause (C) of subsection (a) (1)) for the provision of planning assistance to such a city, municipality, or county, for not more than 75 per centum of such estimated cost". [p. 58] 1.3e (1) SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY S. REP. No. 61, 87th Cong., 1st Sess. (1961) AREA REDEVELOPMENT-1961 MARCH 8, 1961.-Ordered to be printed Mr. DOUGLAS, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, REPORT [To accompany S. 1] The Committee on Banking and Currency, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1) to establish an effective program to alleviate conditions of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment in certain economically depressed areas, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. URBAN PLANNING GRANTS [p. 1] Section 15 of the bill would amend section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954 to permit an urban planning grant to be made directly to cities, other municipalities, and counties in a redevelopment area. As a general matter under present law, only cities, other municipalities, and counties having a population of less than 50,000 are eligible for an urban planning grant, and then only through a State planning agency. Larger cities and counties can generally receive the assistance of such grants only through the work of metropolitan or regional planning agencies. [p. 22] It is the intention of this section to encourage small cities and counties in a redevelopment area to take full advantage of the urban planning grant assistance program without the time-consuming delays that would be necessary if they had to comply with existing law and make their applications through a State planning agency. It is also intended to permit cities and counties with a population of 50,000 or more that are situated in a redevelopment area to share in the benefits of this program. This section also authorizes an increase in the amount of the grant to 75 percent of the estimated cost of the planning work. Since the communities sought to be assisted are generally least able to provide the local share of the planning costs, the committee believes that this liberalization of the sharing ratio for cities and counties located in a redevelopment area is necessary. SECTION 15. URBAN PLANNING GRANTS [p. 23] Subsection (a) amends section 701 of the Housing Act of 1954 so as to make planning grants available to communities in redevelopment areas with a population in excess of 25,000. (b) Grants may be made for not more than 75 percent of the cost of the planning. [p. 31] 1.3e (2) HOUSE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY H.R. REP. No. 186, 87th Cong., 1st Sess. (1961) AREA REDEVELOPMENT ACT MARCH 22, 1961.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. SPENCE, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, REPORT [To accompany S. 1] The Committee on Banking and Currency, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1), to establish an effective program to alleviate conditions of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment in certain economically distressed areas, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendment is as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the matter which appears in italic in the bill herewith reported to the House. BACKGROUND OF THE BILL [p. 1] Proposals for area redevelopment legislation have been before the Congress for more than a decade. In the 84th Congress, 2d session, a bill was reported out by this committee but never reached the floor of the House. A similar bill passed the Senate later in that session, but was not acted upon by the House. In the 85th Congress, area redevelopment legislation passed both Houses of the Congress but was pocket vetoed by the President on September 6, 1958. In the 86th Congress, another bill, S. 722, was passed by both Houses but was also vetoed by the President on May 13, 1960. In spite of these delays, it should be noted that the principle of Federal action to relieve unemployment in areas of persistent and substantial labor surplus has been endorsed in the platforms of both parties. It has also received wide support from labor, industry, municipal and private citizen groups. Shortly after his election last November, President-elect Kennedy appointed a special task force to consider the problem and recommend a program. President [p. 2] Kennedy has made it clear that he feels that action in this field deserves the highest priority and should be acted upon promptly. Area redevelopment legislation was the first bill introduced in the Senate in the current session and was passed by that body on March 15 by a vote of 63 to 27. Meanwhile, a bill, H.R. 4569, was submitted to the Congress by President Kennedy and introduced by Hon. Brent Spence, chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency. Two full weeks of hearings on this legislation were held before Subcommittee No. 2 (Hon. Wright Patman, chairman). This bill, as perfected by the committee, was ordered reported as an amendment to S. 1 on March 21 by a vote of 20 to 6. Urban renewal and planning aid [p. 3] The committee amendment makes it possible for redevelopment areas to participate more fully in the Federal urban renewal program. Under existing law, this program is available to localities which have [p. 14] |