1394 LAWS OF MARYLAND. [CH. 582

other combustibles or explosives therein; to provide for and
regulate the safe construction, inspection, and repair of all
private and public buildings within said District; to regu-
late, restrain, or prohibit the erection of wooden or frame
buildings within the present limits of said District or any
thickly populated portion of the same and to remove the
same at the owner's expense, when erected or suffered to
remain contrary to law or such regulations as it may adopt;
to regulate the height, construction, and inspection of all
new buildings hereafter erected in said District; to regulate
the limits within which it shall be lawful to erect steps,
porticoes, bay windows or other structural ornaments to
houses fronting on any of the highways, streets, avenues,
lanes, or alleys of said District; to regulate the materials
used and the manner of installing any and all systems of
electric wiring, piping, conduit laying in any building, and
to regulate the location, manner of installation, size, and
area per lot of all advertising structures and to restrict the
projection of same over public property, and generally to
adopt and enforce, for the whole of said District or for
thickly populated portions thereof, all necessary regulations
or rules for the foregoing purposes, and to prescribe fines
and penalties, for violations thereof; provided, however, that
no such rules and regulations so adopted by said Commis-
sion as aforesaid shall be deemed valid or effective until the
same shall have been formally adopted by the said Commis-
sion at a regular meeting, and recorded in a book kept at its
office for the purpose. Prior to the adoption of any such
rules and regulations, said Commission shall cause to be pub-
lished in one or more newspapers of general circulation in
the portion of the District to be affected by any such rules
and regulations notice of the date, place and time of the
meeting of said Commission at which any such rules and
regulations shall be presented for adoption, said notice stat-
ing that at such meeting a hearing will be held on the pro-
posed rules and regulations, at which hearing an opportunity
will be given to all persons having an interest in said rules
and regulations to express their views with respect thereto.
Said notice shall briefly indicate the nature of the rules or
regulations to be adopted, amended or repealed or if a com-
plete and comprehensive Building Code is to be considered
for adoption, a statement to that affect shall be sufficient.
Said notice shall be published at least once in each of two
consecutive weeks next preceding the date of said meeting
but said Commission may, in its discretion, provide for more
extensive notification. Following the adoption of any such
rules or regulations, it shall be the duty of the Commission