Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-25
APPRAISAL BOARD
URGED BY GRANT
Park Official Would Have
Body Aid VaIue-Fixing
in CondemnationS.

Creation of board of appraisal, to
aid in fixing values of property in
Washington for consideration for Pub
lie use, was suggested to the Gibson
subcommittee of the House District
committee by Lieut.. Col. u. S. Grant,
Sd, executive officer of the National
Capital Park and Planning Commits
sion, as a means for overcoming diff
Culties encountered in the purchase of
sites for parks as q result of the con-
gressional stipulation that not more
than 20 per cent over assessed value
be paid for such property.
Such a commission would be com
posed of five members. On it would
be the District assessor and assistant
assessor, a representative of the De
partment of Justice and two residents
of the District of Columbia, to be APP
pointed by the District Commissioners
for terms of three years each. The
two non-official members would re-
ceive salaries
The duty of this board of appraisal
would be to select a stipulated mum
Der OF parcels of local real estate each
year and appraise these, having power
TO conduct hearings, administer oaths
and take testimony as to real estate
values in various sections of the city
nee of the District assessor. The APP
praisal figures would be turned over
TO the assessor, who would make as
seSsmentS with them as a basis, sub
9ect to revisions as to incidentals,
such as he might deem proper.
Sees Truer Value.
Then. when the Government desired
TO acquire the land for public use,
NJ I,
representative of true value of the
property, it is contemplated, and the
Government officer charged with ac
curing such property would be limit
ed to an expenditure of not more than
20 per cent over such. assessed valua-
ton.
Lieut.. Col. Grant took the stand and
explained to the committee the diff
cuItles surrounding acquisition of
land at the present time when it was
In the line of city development. This
land. he said, because it soon becomes
improved property, is what should be
placed in the hands of the Govern
ment as soon as possible, but the ex-
tStence of the limitation thus far has
forced the acquisition of property
which might well have waited for the
future, since it was in sections where
development was not going forward.
and consequently where the values
were within the 125 per cent assessed
value limitation.
He said that the average price paid
for properly for parks and Govern
ment reservations in the last few
years was about 165 per cent of the
assessed valuation. Over a long
stretch of years, however, notably in
acquiring the Rock Creek and Poto-
mac Parkway, the price paid for the
land averaged about 104.7 per cent of
the assessed valuation. he added.
Fred G. Coldren, secretary Of the
National Capital Park and Planning
Commission, was invited by Repre-
sentative Gibson of Vermont, chair
man of the committee, to draft a bill
embodyfng the features of Lieut.. Col
Grants plan and present it to the
committee for consideration as soon
as convenient. He announced he
would do so.
Would Act As Witnesses.
In explaining the details of the plan
lieut.. Col. Grant stated that it was
desirable that each of the members
OF the permanent board of appraisal
should be eligible to take the stand
I'm condemnation cases as expert wit
nesses in support of governmental
contentious as to property value.
representative I1OuSIOn OF DSIaWdFe
asked questions pointing to the fact
that the final determination of value
would still be in the hands of the
Jurors sitting on condemnation cases,
but was informed by Lieut.. Col Grant
that the effect of having such board
of appraisal would be to bolster the
Governments position considerably In
condemnation values.
j. III. johnson, jr., vice president of
the firm of Barber & Ross and
chairman of the present jury COM
mission, was the next witness to
take the stand,
He was questioned as to the
method of selecting jurors in the
District, various members of the
committee stressing their desire to
learn just how so many real estate
men were jurors in recent con-
demnation cases. He said that a big
list of names was put in the jury
box by the clerk of the commission
and that the box was brought sealed
snto the office of the Commissioners
One of the jury commissioners broke
the seal, he said, and proceeded to
draw the panel. In condemnation
cases, he said, when three jurors