Evening star., 1939-02-02
Sees Continued Danger
In Montgomery Zoning.

To the Editor Of The Star:
The Maryland News, which is the or
gan OF the local Democratic party in
Montgomery County, has seen fit to de-
vote its last issue to numerous editorials
and news articles" attacking civic lead
ers and other citizens Of the county. It
also makes a none too oblique attack on
the Washington press. One Of the
grounds for these attacks seems to be
that these citizens, among other matters,
successfully opposed through publicity
the recent attempt of the Democratic
county commissioners to emasculate the
zoning laws. The Maryland News says
that what these citizens really did was
to cook up an attack in the Washington
papers last month against an imaginary
danger to zoning in Montgomery
County; that these civic agitators"
succeeded ''in giving Montgomery County
and its government dozen columns of
bad publicity in the Washington daily
papers and three scathing editorials in
tie Washington papers," and that "zon-
ing was not then and is not now in
danger in Montgomery County"
In my judgment the facts demonstrate
that the danger was not imaginary nor
at the present moment has the danger
wholly disappeared
The mon conforming use amendment"
to the zoning ordinance adopted by the
county commissioners, had it become
effective instead of being repealed, would
have condoned all violations of the zon-
Ing regulations for the past 10 years and
all present violations. 1t would have i'm
munized an estimated 200 or more vio-
lators from prosecution. Further, before
the amendment finally took effect there
would have been an opportunity for
apartments, filling stations. stands, beer
parlorS and dance halls freely to be
erected in residential "a" areas, l. e.,
home owner areas, and these offenders
would have been forever protected from
prosecution.
The result of legalizing those existing
and prospective zoning violations would
have been wholesale and arbitrary de-
privation of the property values Of home
owners and the reduction of taxable
values and tax receipts in the county.
Had the proposed ordinance become ef-
fective it would have been the height
Of foolishness for family searching for
home in the suburbs of Washington
to select suburban Montgomery County
as homesite.
Park Commissioner Shaw and the
Maryland News attempted to defend the
proposed action on the ground that
prosecution of violations had to be aban-
doned for legal reasons in order to pre-
vent the loss of Federal funds for Mont
gomery County parks from the National
Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Two officers of the Federal commission
fatty denied this by telling The Star
that 50 far as the Federal body was con-
cerned there was no relationship between
its approval Of the allotment Of Federal
funds and the county commissioners
proposal regarding zoning.
Following repeal of the "non-conform-
ing use amendment" the chairman of the
Maryland Park Commission stated that
upon completion of survey to deter
mine the extent of the infractions of the
zoning regulations, his commission would
recommend to the county commissioners
that proceedings be started against all
those who had violated the zoning
ordinances. No such proceedings have
as yet been instituted. It is said that
they will be begun, however, following
the adoption of a modernized zoning law
and ordinance during this session Of the
Maryland Legislature.