XN000022-1972-11-06 — Page 5

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Monday, November 6, 1972

"Unless we pause at this stage, and introduce sensible legislation

based on the best information that soil engineering affords us, hazardous

situations will continue to arise, to the detriment of the community," he

warned.

He continued:

"But I would much rather see law enforcement taking a

secondary place to education, and I believe that there is a real need to

encourage developers to understand the fact that the use of qualified civil

engineers, experienced in soil engineering will contribute greatly to the

solution of their problems."

Mr. Robson considered that this contribution would not only decrease

day-to-day hazards, but also show a real saving in the costs of many buildings.

He said his department is now giving active attention to this problem

and a special unit of suitably qualified engineers has been set up to check

development proposals.

Their job is to verify that these proposals will not endanger the

lives of workmen engaged in site formation, nor the stability of the surrounding

areas, he said.

In some cases, he added, developers are now required to present very

comprehensive investigations and supporting calculations to prove beyond

reasonable doubt that they have based their proposals on valid engineering

assumptions.

Mr. Robson stressed that "this unit is not restricting its investi-

gations to individual developments alone, since the combined effect of several

high-rise buildings as a group exert an altogether different condition on a

hillside."

He said the