Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I just want to thank the gentleman for speaking in favor of the bill. I understand his concern. I do want to indicate…”

“I just want to thank the gentleman for speaking in favor of the bill. I understand his concern. I do want to indicate that no exception is really being made in this bill. The height can go no higher than it can go right now, and somebody in the District of Columbia can't make an exception because the Congress of the United States controls heights still under this bill. Of course, we have our local zoning laws in the District, so there are many, many parts of the District where you can't begin to go as high as the Height Act. I am a third-generation Washingtonian, and I must say that I adore the residential quality of this city, which is essentially built on the notion of private homes and not large-scale apartments. The city really did not want to dislodge that, and that has not occurred here. There may still be some disagreement among residents, but I do know that when the council, which expressed some real disquiet at any change, has finally been able to come to an agreement, that there is not enough of a change here to warrant dissent within the city and had come to an agreement that--and when, in addition, those who have been most adamant about maintaining the Height Act, including the organization which has been the real guardian of the Height Act, the Committee of 100, says it has no objection to this compromise, I think we have finally reached a compromise of the kind that we would like to see more often occur right here in the House of Representatives.…”