Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-11
FEDERATION BACKS
NEW COUNTY PLAN
Changes in Montgomery's
Government O. K.'d-UrgeS
Adequate City Planning.

in the Silver spring AROMA tflSf
School, the Montgomery County CIVIC
Federation. after long debate. adopted
some minutes after midnight reSolu
tons urging the creation of coming
and planning commission for suburban
Montgomery County adjacent to the
National Capital. and passed another
resolution, in 10 sections, dealing with
a change OF government and taxing
methods in that metropolitan area
The coming and planning report went
over without opposition, but practical
~ all of the discussion related to the
various phases of taxing and govern
ment in the area made necessary be
cause of proposed changes in the State
laws affecting the suburban area.
The ma jority report of the commit
tee on legislation and legal action
which had the matter in charge, anC
which was presented by j. Bono
Smith. its chairman, was finally adopt
ed, after q series of parliamentary
maneuvers developed by the propo-
nents of two minority reports, which
were presented, respectively, by George
III. Lamar and Walter r. Tuckerman
President Oliver Owen Kuhn made il
plain that fullest and freest considera
ton should be accorded to all pro
posals from whatever source.
Most of the sections of the resolu
ton on county government was adopt
ed by a viva Voce vote, but Il test
record vote on the second showed a
voting strength in favor of AZ, with
only IS against. and two voting pres
ent, and who explained that as 1t did
not affect Incorporated towns or tax
ing areas they thought the matter
should be left for decision between
those outside of these divisions.
Changes i'm Government.
The IS sections of the resolution
are:
/. That the suburban sections of
Montgomery County, not already in
cluded in existing incorporated towns
and taxing areas, need increased serv-
ice in street construction and repair,
lighting, sidewalk and gutter construc-
ton, police and fire protection, and
other minor services of local govern
ment, such as trash and garbage col
lection, etc.
9. That the solution of these prob
lens through creation by the present
legislature of 20 to 80 additional small
taxing areas or small incorpora ted
towns for the individual subdivisions
now asking increased service in local
government. will multiply the agencies
of government in Montgomery County
and in that way greatly impede CO.
operation with Federal, State or coun-
ty authorities in solving the large
problems of our section or in awaiting
ouselves of the larger opportunities
now before US.
g. That we favor the enlargement
and extension of the powers and serv-
ices of the county government
through its administrative agency, the
Board of County Commissioners, to
meet the existing needs above set
forth.
4. That we, do not favor the COM
pulsory inclusion of existing incor-
porated towns or taxing areas in either
the benefits or burdens of such extern
sions and increases of these purely
local powers of the Board of County
Commissioners to meet the existing
needs above set forth.
Tax Areas Exempted.
5. That we do not favor the com
pulsory inclusion of existing incorpo-
rated towns or taxing areas in either
the benefits or burdens of such extern
sions and increases of these purely
local powers of the Board of County
Commissioners, but we favor their
admission upon their request.
8. That we favor the establishment
of an office at Bethesda for the county
commissioner representing the Be
theSda section and an office at Silver
Spring for the county commissioner
representing the Wheaton-Colesville
section, and that both of these offices
shall have a full-time clerk, and that
the county commissioners from these
two suburban sections shall have reg
ular office hours and shall be paid Il
full-time salary for full-time service
or a part-time salary for part time
service, as the facts of their service
warrant.
z. That we desire the location of
detail of county police at each of such
offices OF the county commissioners,
so that police may always be more
available for the citizens of the sub
urban sections.
8. That we believe that sidewalk
and gutter construction should be
benefit charges against adjacent prop
erty.
9. That we believe that street con-
strIction should be part paid for as
benefit assessment upon property ben
Gifted and part from the street con-
struction portion of the additional tax
to be levied upon the suburban sec
ton.
Favors Street Lighting.
W. l.
from area-wide taxation.
IL. That we recommend the exclu-
sion from the road construction tax
for a reasonable period of years--in-
tended to be the life of the street--of
property adjacent to existing. accept
able streets built with private funds
II That, il constitutional, we desire
the exclusion from the increased taxa
ton incident to increased service in
local government of property used for
agricultural purposes or not ready for
development.
10. That we recommend that the
total additional direct tax upon the
suburban section shall not exceed the
differences between 40 cents and the
marking and coming tax.
13 That we recommend that the
boundaries of the county commission
er's district now represented by DR..
Ben &. Perry be made the boundaries
of the Bethesda election district.
Parks and Planning Efforts.
The resolution relating TO develop
ing adjacent Montgomery County in
conformity with plans for identifying
the National Capital is broad in its
scope and indicates that the Maryland
people, as represented in the fedora
ZION. are DESTROYS of profiting from
the mistakes OF otnef communities
which failed to lay out and purchase
their park lands until prices became
exorbitant or commercial development
wiped them out.
The resolutions favor the authOri-
cation by the Legislature of an ade-
uuate commission. IN the personnel
~ this commission it was urged one
fuu-time official be obtained who
should be authorized to act as a con-
Meeting link between the efforts of
tba National Capital Park and Plan
ming Commission and the Montgo
ary County Commission. The belief