Page:John Nolen--New ideals in the planning of cities.djvu/103

CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES when it is surrounded by buildings of similar type and use. Order in building development is essential to the health, safety and comfort of the public, and the best means of conserving and enhancing values. 5. All residence sections should be protected against unnecessary invasion by commercial and industrial users.

The gist of the New York regulations may be stated as follows: all future buildings will be restricted as to their height, size and use, the restrictions being different in different parts of the city; the height of buildings will vary with the width of the street, from one time to two and one-half times, with exceptions for buildings set back from the street line and for towers; specified areas of open space are required in the different zones for yards and courts, these automatically increasing with the increased' height of the buildings; in use, residence and business districts will be reasonably protected from the invasion of industry and manufacturing. The law is not retroactive. It applies only to the future, and reasonable changes in the law have been provided for. Nothing is said about the effect of the law on the appearance of the city in the sense of making it more beautiful, but it is recognized that the result will be a more orderly and more harmonious city, and therefore more attractive.

A point of controlling importance is the fact that the law is administered under the police power of the state without compensation to property owners for the effect of its regulations upon the value of their property. Fortunately for those interested in this movement, a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court upholding the right of the City of Los Angeles to remove a manufacturing plant from a residential district fixes the essential principle involved in the establishment of differentiated building districts. Justice McKenna said, in rendering this opinion, "A