Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-12
The Zoning Changes.

commercial use. OF the twenty-one ap-
plications the commission granted eight
and turned down thirteen. Generally
| speaking, the commission thus holds to
a previously stated policy of refusing to
make these changes on the ground that
area now zoned as first or second COM
mercial is already more than necessary
to care for the demand. There were,
however, two notable exceptions.
These were illustrative Of the sources
of pressure brought to bear on the COM
mission. One case represented the plea
of property owners whose residences
| have lost former value as homes be-
cause of traffic and other new develop
ments. The other represented the plea
Of property owners, developers of COM
mercial property, whose investment, to
be successful, demands more area for
expansion. The commission decided
both cases in favor of the property
owners, though modifying its decision
to appease to some extent the opposition
of others who felt that they would be
! adversely affected by the changes.
! The first case involved an about
! face by the commission that is difficult
to understand, the causes of which are
left to conjecture, inasmuch as the
commission does not explain its views
Twice previously the commission has
turned down applications for rezoning
| from residential to first commercial
the triangle bounded by Connecticut
avenue, the park and Calvert street
The application assumed extraordinary
prominence because Senator Smoot
who once owned a house in this tri-
angle, was one of the proponents of the
| change and last year personally ap-
peared to urge it, without avail. This
year, however the commission granted
the change. It also changed, as the
petition urged, the coming of another
| triangle diagonally across the street,
bordered by Calvert street, Connecticut
avenue and Twenty-fourth street, but
refused to change, as the property own
ers requested, the coming of row of
houses on the east side of Connecticut
avenue from Calvert street to Woodley
road.
Owners of the property involved in
the two triangles got what they want
ed, although owners of nearby prop
erty protested. The result is that the
zoning Commission has approved a
group of stores at the Connecticut ave-
nue. bridgehead, and also on one side
of the approach to the Calvert Street
Bridge, which structure eventually will
be remodeled and made beautiful. Fur
ther, the zonlng Commission has per-
mitted stores to back up on Rock Creek
Park, which is not desirable. In the
other triangle commercial development
will be permitted, although across the
street on the other side of Connecticut
avenue only residences will be per-
mitted.
In the case of the "Smoot triangle
if the Senator does not object to the
identification-the new buildings will
have to conform to plans approved by
the Fine Arts Commission, as this area
now comes under the provisions of the
triangle, across the street and facing
the park, will likewise be brought under
the provisions of this law, but the re-
mainder will not.
For the first time, under the new
Shipstead law, the Zoning Commission
thus passes the buck" to the Fine Arts
Commission. The latter body will doubt
less exercise great care to see that the
stores to border Rock Greek Park and
mark the entrance to two fine bridges
of the future are housed attractively.
They can be, and their prominence at
this point demands that they must. 1t
is also to be trusted that the zoning
Commission, in overriding the recon-
mendation of the advisory committee OF
citizens who opposed the Zoning change,
was impelled to make the change by
real necessity for this commercial de-
velopment.
The other important case decided re-
lated to the change from residential to
second commercial of land lying between
the Gallaudet College campus, the Pat
terson Park tract, and the new Union
Terminal Market development around
Fifth street and Florida avenue. The
market developers sought to have the
| coming changed because they needed
| more room. The change was opposed
by citizens, who feared the bad effect
of a market on the approaches to the
park, and by the officials Of the college,
who contended that such development
| should not be adjacent to the campus.
The Zoning Commissions decision took
! the form of compromise. No changes
will be allowed until streets through the
area have been dedicated, and part OF
the area sought as second commercial
was retained as residential or first COM
mercial. Sixth street, to be opened, will
thus form a buffer between the market
and the park, with land on the east side
of Sixth street zoned residential between
the campus and the market. The street
will be ninety feet, including sidewalks.
In this connection the sidewalk might
well be confined to the east side of the
1 SIlCIt Vic "CSlCAA oEAS Va VAC oVA CCS w
ing left without curbing or walk to IA
cilitate loading and unloading of mar
ket vehicles. This would cut down the
interference to pedestrian trafic on
Sixth street, one of the points mentioned
in opposition to the change.
Soviet Russia has undertaken to solve
many old problems all at once. Older
governments find one problem at time
as much as they can handle.