Evening star., 1941-10-08
Residents Fiqht
Apartments
On 18th Street
Protest Pluns
For Building at
Shepherd Street

The old issue of whether apart
ment houses should be permitted
along Sixteenth street north of Tiger
Bridge came to the fore today at the
fall session of the District Zoning
Commission when residents of the
new Crestwood section waged fight
to prevent erection of a $7OO, 900,
six-story apartment at the southwest
corner of Sixteenth and Shepherd
streets NV.
About so residents of the section
attended the meeting to urge the
commission to change the zoning
from residential 60-foot "A" area
to residential 40-foot "A"-restricted
which, if granted, would bar use of
the land for any development other
than detached single-family houses.
The prospective builder, Harry
Poretsky, presented contracts show
ing that he had not only paid $40 900
in deposits for purchase of the land
at SIT 800 but also had filed an appli-
cation for building permit, paying
S700 for the requested permit and
showing the expected building costs
to be 100000.
Park Area Involved.
However, District officials said that
even though the commission should
decide to reject the proposed re-
strictive zoning, the builder still
would have to obtain the approval
of the Pine Arts Commission since
the site. overlooking Piney Branch
parkway. comes under the Shipstead
Act. designed to afford additional
protection for parks and Federal
areas.
Harold w. Breining, assistant ad-
ministrator of the Veterans Admin
istration, one of the leaders in the
move to block the apartment plan.
declared: AN apartment on this
site would be like placing a pig In
a parlor-pigs may be all right in
their place, but not in a parlor."
Mr.. Breining also said dirt, cinders
and obnoxious odors would be spread
over the Crestwood homes, and
hazard. he said, would be created by
cars of the apartment residents.
Dr. John R. Fitzpatrick, dean of
Columbus University Law School,
speaking as a resident of the 17O0
block of Taylor street NV. warned
the Commissioners they would be
setting precedent if they permitted
the apartment house and that, If
they did, they could expect whole
flood of similar applications for
building apartment houses on other
areas along Sixteenth street north of
Spring road and Tiger Bridge.
-,~s, $50 Sign Petition.
Charles Pledger, jr., who served
as spokesman for the objectors, pre-
sented a petition signed by $50 prop
erty owners or residents of the COM
munity urging adoption of the re-
stricted z0ning. Engineer Commits
sioner Charles w. Kutz Immediately
asked for dates when the signers
bought their properties. He allowed
the petition to be placed in the rec
ords, but said he still wanted to have
the information.
Louis Gutenberg. who presented
the case for Mr.. Poretsky, brought
out that the property in question
had been zoned to permit apartment
development for about a decade. and
that the builder had carefully
checked the legal status of the site
before he contracted to buy it.
This was one Of II proposed
changes IN coming scheduled for to-
days public hearings. In addition,
the commission will consider IA pro-
posals for coming of properties once
part OF streets and alleys.
In the first case, the commission
heard arguments for granting a first
commercial use for land on the east
side of Eighteenth street between N
! street and Massachusetts, avenue
NV. The commission was told the
National Lumber Manufacturers
Association plans to use the property
for headquarters Offices, and that
there would be no major changes
made in the exterior of the building