Evening star., 1934-05-18
|LANDCONDEMN|NG
BILL TO COME UP
IN SENATE SOON
Authorizes Federal and DC.
Governments to Adopt
a Principle.
WOULD TAKE CARE
OF IRREGULAR SPOTS
System Advantage in Other Cities
for Widening Streets and
Extending Parks.

The Senate is expected to give early
to the bill favorably re-
ported from the District Committee a
few days ago, authorizing the Federal
and District governments to adopt the
principle of excess condemnation" in
acquiring land for public purposes in
Washington.
If the purchase of land for new
street or for any other public purpose
should result in leaving small or irregu-
lar-shaped remnants of adjacent prop
erty, the Federal or local authorities
could acquire these excess parcels and
either keep them for future public
use or subdivide and resell them.
AS the Senate committee stated in
its report. "the principle Of excess or
incidental condemnation has been
employed with advantage and bene-
fit in other municipalities OF the
United States in connection with the
widening of streets. the acquisition
of parks, Fairgrounds and school sites
by permitting the municipal author
tiles to acquire in the public interest
and for public purposes. remnant
parcels of real estate which other
wise would prove detrimental to the
particular improvement or project.
and. in many instances, would result
in a wide distribution of unsightly
eye-SoreS."
Changes Likely to Result.
The committee further pointed out
this system may often make possible
and profitable the opening of streets
through congested territory. the Wild
ening of old streets, and sometimes
the destruction of insanitary build
ings by opening small parks and
Fairgrounds. The bill also could be
utilized to advantage in connection
with the acquisition and replatting of
lands in connection with slum-clear-
ance projects.
The consideration given to this sub
ject by the Senate committee is due
largely to the efforts of DR.. Lewellyn
Jordan of the Law Committee of the
Board of Trade, who brought the
question to the committees attention
early this session. Chairman King
designated Senator Austin of Vermont
to take up the plan. DR.. Jordan COM
with cities throughout the
country and studied their excess con-
demnation laws. embodying the best
features in the pending bill. Portions
of the measure also we're drafted by
Philip Nichols of Boston, an expert
on the law of eminent domain.
Commissioners Approval.
Approval of the Commissioners was
in a letter % the Senate
committee from Commissioner Melvin
c. Hazen. After describing the gen.
eral purposes of the bill, the Commits
sioners continued:
Section of the bill repeals a
provision of existing law for the con-
demnation of streets. Under the
present law it is incumbent upon the
jury in levying assessments for bene-
fits to take into consideration land
previously dedicated for street pur-
poses. This has resulted in numer-
GUS inequities, and has made it diff
cult for the juries to determine what
lots in a subdivision should receive
credit for these dedications.
Under existing law for the con-
demnation of streets the District is
limited to the acquisition of streets
in accordance with the width shown
on the highway plan. This very
often results in small irregular pieces
of abutting or contiguous land being
left in private ownership, with very
little, if any. usefulness. The pro-
posed legislation will enable the Dis
trict to acquire this abutting or con-
tiguous land so that a resubdivision
could be made and an orderly de-
velopment assured. This procedure
could also be applied in the purchase
or condemnation of land for other
purposes.
The Commissioners desire to call
your attention to the L'Enfant plan
of the original City of Washington.
The reason that this Federal City
plan was so we'll designed, without
the existence of irregular shaped par
cells and ragged pieces of land, was
due to the fact that the original
transferred all of their
holdings to a commission and this
divided the land in ac-
cordance with the L'Enfant plan. The
lots were then transferred, after sub
division to the original proprietors.
This entirely eliminated original prop
srty lines and irregular shaped build
ngs. This procedure is very similar
in its operation to that which is now
by the proposed legis-
alton.
THE Commissioners of the District
Of Columbia are of the opinion that
the proposed legislation would be ad-
vantageous to the District of Colum-
oia and they recommend, insofar as
the District of Columbia is concerned,
hat the bill be favorably reported
and enacted"
Letter IndorseS Bill.
The National Capital Park ana
Commission Endorsed the
bill in the following letter from
Frederic A. Delano, chairman:
MY dear Senator King: Your let
Ter of February %, asking tor report
IN a bill Ito provide for the acquisi-
lion of land in the District of Co.
lumbla in excess of that required for
public Improvements, and for other
purposes" was presented to the Ma
tional Capital Park and Planning
Commission at its meeting March "a
The commission instructed me to in
form you that the commission is in
full sympathy with this bill and gives
this bill its Endorsement Excess
condemnation, as provided in the bill,
would in many cases be to the best
interest both of the agencies acquir-
ing the land and the owners of the
and"
The bill is expected to be taken
up the next time the Senate has
routine call Of the calendar, prob
IDLY next week.