Evening star., 1936-08-04
MEAGER CONTROL .
I. Of PARKING LOTS
COSTING REVENUE
Taxes Lost as Buildings Ard
Razed to Provide Space
for Cars.
COMMITTEE STUDIES
PRESENT LAWS SCOPE
Seeks to Find Authority to In.
crease Protection for
Auto Owners.
This is the third of a series Of
articles analyztng the parking lot
situation in Washington.
BY JAMES E. CHINN,

This is the third OF series OF
articles analysing the parking lot
situation in Washington.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.
Out of the mushroom like growth
of privately owned and operated auto.
mobile parking lots has come an eyer-
increasing demand on District off.
cials for the strict regulation and
control Of these places.
The District now exerts little II anJ
control over the lots, and the question
has been raised as just how far thi
municipality can 60 under exiStini
law to supervise this comparatively
new business. A group Of officials
constituting the District License Com.
mittee, has been struggling with the
problem for several months, and in,
dications are it may have some rec.
concentrations ready for the Commits.
sioners within the next few weeks.
The committee Is headed by e..
ward w. Thomas, an assistant cor.
poration counsel. Other members an
! Traffic Director William A. Van DUR
Fire Marshal LAUDER, Capt. Hugh
Dram, director Of construction; II.
spector L. I. H. Edwards, assist7'i
superintendent Of police, and Wa'i
H. Coombs. superintendent of licenses
Studied From Two Angles.
The question is being studied froI
two angles. Primarily, the committe,
is trying to find a method to recovci
some of the revenue the District :!
losing in taxation resulting from tt
destruction Of buildings to make way
| for the parking lots. At the sari
time, it hopes to find authority il
existing law to control and regul
the lots in order to provide grea
protection for the car owners VII;
use them.
Commercial parking lots were I'm
heard Of wien the revised Distric
license code was written and, of course
such a business is not listed in tn
law. The license act. however. doe
authorize the Commissioners to ncensi
business not already licensed, bu
stipulates that the license fee shall
not exceed the actual cost Of inspec
tions by various District agencies, sucl
as the plumbing office, the fire mar.
shal's office and the building inspec.
tors office.
In the case Of the parking lots tn,
license fee would be comparativel,
small, probably about $5 or S6 q yea
an amount the License Committe,
fully realizes will not Offset the ap
proximately $4,000 year lost in tax.
alton from the buildings razed fo
parking lot sites.
Legislation Held Needed.
So far as is known now there Is NJ
way without additional legislation
that the lost revenue can be recovereI
from the owners or operators of tn
| parking lots. Under the old licensl
act. 1t was pointed out, it would hau
been possible, perhaps, to make up thI
loss by classifying the lots as publh
garages and taxing them as such.
Garages. under the old license act
paid a license fee of S25 year, +
they accommodated 10 cars or less
Larger garages paid corresponding,
higher fee. based on the number o.
cars housed The fee increased S:
for each car in excess of 10.
Since the smallest parking lot fount
by traffic investigators has capacity
for 81 cars, End the others have
capacity ranging to 200 and 300. ant
in one case 1000, District officials arr
confident that application of the fe
scale in the old license law virtual,
would Offset the present loss IL
revenue.
Bill introduced.
The first actual step taken by thu
Commissioners TO license and regulat,
the parking lots came shortly before
the adjournment of Congress when
bill for that purpose was introduced
in the House at their request. ThI
measure, however, arrived too late to
action.
1t provided that owners or man.
ayers of establishments. lots Of land
or other places where vehicles are
kept or stored for others for profit
should pay license fee. The amount
of the fee was left for the HOUSE
District Committee to determine
after it had made a study of the
parking lot situation.
The bill also was designed to give
the Commissioners authority to make
reasonable" regulations for the man.
agement, conduct and control of park
ing lots.
Long before the bill was drafted
however. Thomas E. Lodge, president
of the Federation of Citizens Assoc
Citations, sent a report to the Com.
missioners on current traffic prob.
lens in which he referred to the
parking lot situation.
There is no doubt of the present
necessity for downtown parking lots"
said Lodge. "Yet, so far as the writer
knows, there is no limit, except COM
petition, upon the charge they make
the manner in which they may con-
gest traffic. or the fire hazards which
they create
There appears TO be no present
means to replace the loss of tax in
come from destruction of buildings
to create them nor Is there special
tax or charge upon them to compen-
safe for the loss. Consideration
should be given at once to these mat
tiers. 1t is very debatable question
whether or not parking lots should
not be full or quasi public utilities
governed to some extent as to returns
and regulations"