1 6 3 "(b) In the case of land for which grants of not to 2 exceed 50 per centum may be made, the Administrator shall 3 make such grants only if he finds that the proposed use of 4 the land for permanent open space and the essentiality of 5 the land to the growth and proper development of an urban area are reflected in a comprehensive plan for the urban area 7 meeting criteria he has established for such plans and that 8 a program of comprehensive planning (as defined in section 9 701 (d) of the Housing Act of 1954) is being actively 10 carried on for the urban area: Provided, That in those urban 11 areas in which, because of their size and complexity, the 12 Administrator determines that it is unlikely that a compre13 hensive plan (or the open space component of a comprehen14 sive plan) for the whole urban area will be developed in 15 the foreseeable future, such grants may be made if the Ad16 ministrator finds that the proposed use of the land for per17 manent open space and the essentiality of the land to the 18 growth and proper development of an urban area, or a 19 major subregion of an urban area, are reflected in a compre20 hensive plan for a major subregion of an urban area which 21 is not inconsistent with the program of comprehensive 22 planning for the urban area: Provided further, That until 23 July 1, 1966, the Administrator may accept an open space 24 component of a comprehensive plan for the urban area or a 4 1 major subregion of an urban area in lieu of the required 2 comprehensive plan." 3 SEC. 3. Section 704 of the Housing Act of 1961 is 4 amended by adding at the end thereof the following new 5 sentence: "The Administrator is hereby authorized to im6 pose in contracts for grants under this title such terms and 7 conditions as he deems necessary to assure that open space 8 land for which a grant has been made under this title shall 9 not be converted without his approval to uses other than 10 those originally approved by him." COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Hon. A. WILLIS ROBERTSON, Chairman, Committee on Banking and Currency, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your letter of January 22, 1963, acknowledged January 23, transmitted a copy of S. 7 entitled "A bill to amend title VII of the Housing Act of 1961 to facilitate the conservation of land for open space, and for other purposes," and requested our report thereon. Other than the explanation presented by Mr. Williams when he introduced S. 7 (109 Congressional Record 211, Jan. 14, 1963), we have no special information concerning the desirability of the proposed amendments of title VII of the Housing Act of 1961. Hence, and since the bill, if enacted, would not affect the functions and responsibilities of our Office, we have no comments with respect to its merits or recemmendations regarding its enactment. Sincerely yours, Hon. A. WILLIS ROBERTSON, JOSEPH CAMPBELL, Comptroller General of the United States. TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, D.C., February 3, 1964. Chairman, Committee on Banking and Currency, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your request for the views of this Department on S. 7, to amend title VII of the Housing Act of 1961 to facilitate the conservation of land for open space, and for other purposes. The only provisions of the bill of primary interest to this Department are those which would (1) increase the open space land grant authorization by $50 million, and (2) increase the percentage of the Federal grants from 20 and 30 percent to 30 and 50 percent, respectively, of the cost of the acquisition of open space land. With respect to the increase in the grant authorization, the Department believes that the proposed increase to another specific dollar limit would be inconsistent with section 904 of S. 2468, the administration housing bill, which would authorize future appropriations for additional grants in such amounts as may be necessary. As to the increase in the percentage of Federal grants, the increase would result in either greater Federal expenditures for the program or, if no additional funds were provided, a decrease in the amount of open space land acquired. In the circumstances, the Department would not favor the foregoing features of the bill. The Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection from the standpoint of the administration's program to the submission of this report to your committee. Sincerely yours, (Signed) FRED B. SMITH, Acting General Counsel. 88TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S.9 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 14 (legislative day, JANUARY 9), 1963 Mr. WILLIAMS of New Jersey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency A BILL To encourage the utilization, consistent with sound urban planning, of land included within urban renewal areas for parks, playgrounds, or other recreational facilities. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That (a) title I of the Housing Act of 1949 is amended by 4 adding at the end thereof a new section as follows: 5 "PARKS, PLAYGROUNDS, OR OTHER PUBLIC RECREATIONAL 7 "SEC. 114. (a) In recognition of the growing need in many urban areas for adequate space for healthful and rec9 reational pursuits, it is the purpose of this section to en10 courage, consistent with sound planning, increased utiliza 2 1 tion of suitable land, acquired in connection with urban renewal projects, for parks, playgrounds, or other public 3 recreational facilities. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this title— "(1) if, in the public interest, any land to be acquired in connection with an urban renewal project should be used in whole or in part as a site for a park, playground, or other public recreational facility, and such use is in accordance with the urban renewal plan for such project, the site shall be made available with out cost to (with the approval of the governing body of) the locality in which the project is undertaken; and "(2) the capital grant otherwise payable under this title with respect to such project shall be increased by an amount equal to that part of the gross project costs which the Administrator determines is attribut able to the land which is made available for such use. 18 As used in this section, the term 'public recreational facility' 19 means a facility (1) the public cost of providing the site 20 for which comprises a substantial part of the total develop21 ment cost, and (2) from which public recreational benefits 22 are derived." 23 (b) The amendment made by subsection (a) of this |