Omaha daily bee., 1914-11-22
Real Estate Dealers and Home Builders Report Considerable Ac

who laid out Chicago. kept It constantly
before the people that they could not
plan too big, because they were going TO
grow at a tremendous rate for a century
and that wonderful city was 20 spring
into existence. The result is that little
change has been necessary in the business
district from the first" he said.
Growth without Assistance.
Speaking OF omahas growth, with
lack of comprehensive plan for the resi-
dence districts, Mr.. Morton said Omaha
has grown in spite Of anything we have
dope to beautify II. not because Of any
thing we have done. We have been
negligent. But the city has such natural
advantages. lying as il does in the great
agricultural center. that II has grown
20 be a great city in spite OF us. The
country was rich in production. a market
was needed. and we just grew in spite
of ourselves. The demand for homes was
crowded upon u.s.
'The secret OF the success OF the Ger
man cities is that they plan the whole
city from center to circumference. They
plan from the standpoint always of the
community welfare. But we are too much
inclined to regard this as free America,
and say. I own this lot. l will build
whatever ] please on it and leave the
lot in whatever shape l please.
For Building Restrictions.
"One thing that our bill seeks to do is
to place certain restrictions upon the
development of a district so that there
shall be some regularity about Il. For
example. we want a restriction that will
provide for residences being built a given
distance back from the curbing of the
street, so that there will be uniformity.
and so that the one man will know
whether his neighbor has right TO
crowd out upon the sidewalk and shut
him off.
"a good city plan would perhaps leave
some of the residence district ungraded
to certain extent. The downtown bust
ness district. of course. should be graded.
There we must have level streets. broad
streets and rectangular lines. But in the
residence district this is not necessary.
AS soon as you grade the residence dis
tricts all down to a dead level. widen the
streets and make rectangular lines every
where, the business district has a ten
| dency to creep in. And that always spoils
a good residence district. A residence
district has a right to have few hills
and broken lines. IL adds to the pic
i turesqueness and gives 1t a moro retired
atmosphere which Is desirable for resi-
dence districts and is discouragIng to lit
tie stores and business houses that would
gladly creep in.
I'VE have here in Omaha seen good
residence districts of costly homes being
ruined by the introduction of stores and
business houses. We have had to aban-
don mansions and turn them into stores
and office buildings.
IF we could have some of the hills
back again in the residence districts,
there is none of US but could see where
we could have saved thousands of dol
lars. and we could plan streets and orives
through them that would be much more
beautiful and make the residence dis
trict more desirable, have seen in a
circular a boost for Omaha which adver-
tised the fact that in making Omaha TO-
100000 yards Of earth had been moved.
Now, It is safe to say that 100000 OF
that was necessary and that the moving
of the other 100000 was waste, y.
Lots Left Far Off Grade.
Mr.. Morton said in his own experience
he had received many letters from non
resident owners of lots who wanted their
lots put on the market He said he mad
in many cases found that these lots had
been purchased years ago before the
grading was done and that the grading
of the addition since had thrown them ten
feet or fifteen feet below grade.
THE result is that the fellows lot is
often worth less than half what he paid
! for II a decade ago when he thought he
had q speculation. Now, that is not good
advertising for the town. When we write
back to a fellow like that and tell him
his lot is in a ditch: that it will take $500
to fill II in and bring It to grade. he
either believes we are trying to swindle
him OF that the man who sold him fiji
teen years ago when the lot was on the
level with others was CRATER. and
such o man usually writes back to Us
telling US In plain words what he thinks
of the town. Now. much of this running
Of lots by cutting down and filling in Is
unnecessary to preserve the beauty and
value Of residence district.
1T have looked up some figures and
find that in the last ten years there have
been plated In Omaha $3.50 acres OF
ground. That means 6S6 acres year. II
we should go out today and look over al
of these additions we should find that
half Of those lots we wouldn't take as q
gift and pay the taxes on them. THAI
is simply because they were plated &c
sell and no comprehensive city plan wa
followed. Good. available residence prop
erty was ruined and made worthless