Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-05
APARTMENTS HIT
BY HOME OWNERS
Zoning Commission Hears
EncroaChment Charges
by Residents.

encroachment Of apartment houses OF
private dwellings was sounded befor'
the zonins Commission today by resi-
dents Of Cathedral Heights In protest
ing against proposed change in zonini
to permit the erection of large apart
ment house on Thirty-eighth street be
tween Cathedral avenue and GarfielC
street.
Strong pleas we're voiced by numerous
residents of the area seeking to main
tain the integrity of the existing Are
stricted classification of the property
on the ground that to grant the petition
would open larger new sections in thu
vicinity for possible other apartment de-
velopment
Petition for the change of the hall
square to the rear and west of the
Alban Towers Apartment was made by
David A. Basr, real estate operator
Erection Of an apartment house there
he said. would hide the rear view OF
Alban Towers and thereby improve the
appearance of the west side of the
square. Detached houses erected sc
near the rear of the apartment, he con-
tended. could not be sold.
Vigorous Protest Made.
Burton L. French, nearby property
owner, speaking for a large group OF
home owners for the section, raised
vigorous protest to the plan.
He shouted that already householders
around Cathedral avenue and nearby
streets have been breathing smoke
from Alban Towers and eating dirt
raised by the construction of the large
Westchester apartment development to
the west"
He pleaded with the commission for
protection against any further handi-
caps to their property from additional
apartment houses.
Countering the contention by Mr..
Baer that his property west of Alban
Towers could not be developed profit
ably for private dwellings, Mr.. French
declared the commission had no moral
obligation or justification to pass the
loss, If any. from the operator to the
shoulders Of the owners Of private
dwellings.
Hugh M. Frampton, speaking for the
Cathedral Heights Citizens Association,
also assaulted the proposed change.
pointing out that whereas apartment
house coming had been largely con-
fined to Wisconsin avenue frontages in
the section, this petition would open
UP large stretches of Massachusetts,
avenue beyond Cathedral avenue to
proposals for similar Developments.
Other Residents Protest.
william z. O'Connor, Charles D.
sager, DR.. A. Barnes Hooe and other
residents Of the section also protested
Petitions Of protest signed by groups
Of home owners were filed.
Another contested case was to come
before the commission today when rep
resentatives Of local market interests
emhated with the Union Terminal Mar
ket Co. asked for second commercial
coming for the remainder of their large
tract In the vicinity of Fifth street
and Florida avenue northeast In order
to complete their 81 900 900 market de-
yelopment now in an advanced stage
there.
This viii be met with vigorous pro-
test by DR.. Percival Hall, president of
Gallaudet College, and others protest.
ing against the creation of industrial
area SO near the college grounds and
the adjoining Patterson tract park area
The commission expected to complete
today the hearing of the remainder of
the 81 zone changes and two amend
rnents which are the subject Of this
hearing.
New Law May BE Invoked,
The new Shipstead law may be In
voked fer the first time 10 limit the
height Of private building erected
facing upon q major Government de-
velopment here in the case of the large
addition to the once and apartment
structure Of the Methodist Building
planned by the Board of Temperance,
Prohibition and Public Morals, 1t de-
veloped late yesterday at the coming
hearing.
The church board, through Its archi-
tect, j. Lee Wilkinson, urged the COM
mission TO change the height limit on
the site on Maryland avenue near First
street northeast from so to 80 feet, to
permit construction of the building so
that the annex would be of the same
height as the present structure, some
what above so feet.
The proposal brought q round of
vigorous criticism from nearby home
owners. who feared this change would
make possible the later erection of ad-
ditional stories bringing the height TO
90 feet.
Interrupting the flood Of complaints
against the COMMERCIAL" features of
the church plant there, Col. William B.
Ladue commission chairman, explained
that this project, facing the Capitol
and the site Of the projected Supreme
Court Building. would come under the
provisions of the ShipGteal act, re-
Gently signed by President Hoover, and
would therefore have to be approved by
the Fine Arts Commission as well as
by the District Commissioners and the
zoning Commission.
Opponents Of Limit.
Those who opposed the increased
height limit included William W. Dodge
Frederick Bancroft, H. M Foote and
3. r. Campbell. Mr. Dodge livened the
hearing by recounting that when he
opposed the erection of the present
Methodist Building "Dr. Clarence True
Wilson, general secretary OF this Metho-
dist board, came to me and read the
riot act for presuming TO oppose some
thing desired by the board which
minds everybodys business but its own"
Dodge declared that he then laid
the matter before the then architect
Of the Capitol, who. he said saw TO it
that the height Of the building was
kept below 80 feet and near to so feet
to prevent 1t from overshsdowing the
cornice of the Capitol.
Numbers Of residents along Connecti-
cut avenue voiced insistent protests over
the proposal change from residential TO
first commercial Of the two triangular
areas at Calvert street and Connecticut
avenue and on the east side of the
avenue from Calvert to Woodley road
Another contest developed over the
petition Of Waverly Taylor to zone a
corner OF property at Forty fourth and
P streets to permit construction of
English group houses, a group of nearby
home owners protesting.