Evening star., 1934-08-21
LAW TO ELIMINATE
PROPERTY LEV|ES
FORPAV|NCD CDRAWN
GotWaIs Drafts Proposed
Statute AboIishing Bor-
land Law.
WOULD APPLY IN ALL
EARL TER ASSESSMENTS
Cost Of Improvements to Come
Chiefly From Gas Funds.
Curbing Extra.

The cost Of laying District roads
and streets would be borne by the Dis
trict generally, instead Of having hall
the cost assessed against abuttine
property owners, in cases where as
sessments previously had not been
made, under a proposed new law now
being drafted at the direction Of En-
gineer Commissioner John G. Gotwals
it was revealed today.
This proposal for q revamping Of
the District road assessment law, to
abandon the ancient principle that in
dividual property owners receive the
benefit Of a street improvement, is the
result Of more than year of serious
study of the matter conducted by
Mai. Gotwals, Capt. II. C. Whitehurst,
director of highways, and Vernon E
West, assistant corporation counsel
They are acting on the conviction that
where modern pavements are laid
with heavy cost because Of the need
for pavements which will stand the
heavy pounding of modern trafic, the
benefit accrues to the city as whole,
rather than merely to abutting prop
erty owners.
Announcement that the Commis-
sioners were giving serious attention
to this needed modernization Of the
District tax system was published in
The Star about a year ago.
ynequities to BE Ended.
II Congress approves the proposed
legislation, the inequities Of the old
Borland paving assessment law will be
wiped from the books. Some of these
irequities were eradicated in the new
paving law adopted several years ago,
but some still remain. For instance,
where new traffic artery Is construct
ed, abutting property owners bear half
the cost, unless assessments previously
had been made for an original road
way.
Under the proposed legislation, the
only assessment against abutting prop
erty owners would be for curb and
gutter, where such assessments pre-
vously had not been made. The the
ory here Is that curb and gutter work
has q distinctly local aspect. The
cost OF new pavements, however, would
come out Of the gasoline tax funds for
the most part.
Prior to 1914, road paving here was
entirely financed from a general fund.
Many miles of streets had been paved
permanently when the Borland law,
assessing property owners with half
the cost. was passed In 1914. The
original law provided for reassessment
in the event paving was replaced. This
feature was repealed, however, in 1915.
In 1925 Congress enacted the gas
tax law and since then q large portion
OF new and replacement pavement of
an assessable nature was constructed
from this fund.
Secured Amendments.
Recognizing changed conditions, the
Commissioners In 1881 advocated and
secured enactment of amendments to
the 1914 paving assessment law, re-
lieving to some extent property own
ers Of the paving assessment.
Since the first passage of paving
assessment laws, nearly every city has
amended one way or another the orig
inal law to meet new and changed
conditions brought about by modern
transportation, resulting in new and
broader use Of streets" Capt. White
hurst states. Modern transportation
has required construction of pavements
of heavier class to meet the increased
weight and volume of traffic. General
use Of the automobile also resulted in
demand for paving Of modern type on
practically all streets.
while 1t is recognized that prop
erty owners on main boulevards carry
ing heavy traffic should first be given
some relief, due to the excessive cost
resulting from necessarily heavy and
extra wide pavements, it is not be-
lieved practical to classify streets sat-
isfactorily in this matter, due to rap
idly changing conditions.
While some slight advantage re-
suits from roadway paving, the main
benefit from street improvement
comes to the property owner from
construction of curb and gutter,
flc damage, prevents drainage dam
age, and in other ways is of almost
entirely local benefit"
Four Points in Law.
Capt. Whitehurst recommended
and Maj. Gotwals has approved
adoption of a new law containing the
following four points:
That assessment against the abut-
ting property owners for roadway i'm.
provement be limited to so per cent
Of the cost of the curb and gutter
That the provisions of the exist
ing law prohibiting reassessment oi
any character and the essential saw
ing clauses concerning irregular
shaped lots, be retained.
That provisions be included so thai
any curb and gutter hereafter con-
structed as replacement to existing
curb and for gutter Of a permanent
type shall not be assessable.
That all miscellaneous provisions o.
existing law be considered carefully
in connection with changes recon-.
mended above.
lnequities under the old Borlant
law system Of assessing resulted ir
legal appeals and District courts ir
numerous cases threw them out a.
not justifiable These pertainec
mostly to lots of irregular shape wher,
assessments were made for two ol
more abutting streets. Congress
finally recognized this inequity ane