Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-05-20
PROTECTING PROPERTY OWNERS

PROTECTING PROPERTY OWNERS
That fire hazard complained abou.
In Jefferson street could not exis
under a city plan with an adequat'
coming system. There would be Ger
tain regulations governing such thing.
and property owners would be assured
of protection at all times.
At first thought 1t would seem tina
a man ought to be able to do as h'
pleased on his own property. But Id
has no right to depreciate the value
OF the property of his %neighbor.
There are certain community rights
thai all must observe regardless of
ones own peronal inclination.
Under a city plan with a coming
system a person would know for ali
time just what kind OF a %neighbor-
hood he was to live In. The city
planners would look far into the
future and size up every locality to
see what is best fitted for each sec
ton according to the advantages offer
ed. There would be certain zones for
manufacturing. other zones for bust
ness and still other zones for
residences is protected so that de-
tached houses Will not be overshadow-
ed by tenements and big apartment
houses. Newark has such a coming
system now.
without any city plan or coming
system a man hesitates to invest much
money in the erection of a home I'M
less he Is able to buy up much of the
surrounding property also in order to
protect his home after 1t is built. Sup
pose he invests twenty-five or thirty
thousand dollars in a home with ade-
quate grounds and pleasant surround
ings. The next year someone comes
along n puts up e. big apartment
house on an adjoining lot. built right
out to tho sidewalk. three or four
stories high, shutting off the view, air
and light. Or suppose someone on
an adjoining lot Is in the automobile
business and i~nstails several gasoline
tanks, with barrels of oil and grease
or even operates a garage and repairs
cars-as Is likely TO ~happen-the man
who has invested q large sum Of
money for a home finds his property
deprecated and his home practically
ruined. Yet to build in any city with
out a city plan or coming system is to
take this chance. There is no induce
ment for q man to build a permanent
home not knowing how soon he will DO
surrounded by Objectionable features.
With a city plan. however, n a
coming system a man will know def
nitely just what sort of g. neighbour
hood he is getting into and he is
assured that his home will be protect
ed in the future. II he builds In the
zone where factories and business
houses are permitted he has no COM
plant il some big warehouse is erected
Fight next door. He cannot find fault
81 a garage is established directly
tcross the street. On the other hand.
BY going into the residential section
he win know that no factories, no
sarages-nothing but residences of a
similar character to his own-will be
built In the neighborhood. Then and
1h m Anlx, &c n Ynon 70 In M lfn a
big investment in @ home.
In a manufacturing city like Perth
Amboy this coming system is all the
more necessary if we are going to hold
our desirable population and en-
courage the building of handsome,
permanent homes. Just such situations
as AVE arisen in Jefferson street, In
Rector street and in other parts Of
the city are bound to occur under Ii
present haphazard method.
OF course. it Is not desirable to
stand in the way of business develop
ment. As the city grows business is
going to encroach more and more on
the residential sections Immediately
adjoining the present business district.
This has got to be provided for. but
with a city plan this natural growth
will be foreseen and provided for.
1t must be realized that It is going
10 be no small task to adopt a conf
prehensive city plan and adopt q
coming system. 1t is impossible to
please everybody. Some people are
going to insist that they are being
ruined or driven from their homes.
while others viii be greatly benefited.
The plan must be adopted from the
standpoint of the city as a whole and
IN order as much as possible to avoid
the charge of favoritism 1t is all the
more necessary that an out OF town
expert-one who NO local acquaint-
ances and therefore-no axe to grind
be engaged TO do the planning.
But. after all. this is only a secondary
consideration because charges of
favoritism are bound to be made any
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