Evening star., 1941-08-03
Pretzfelder Backs Off>Street
Parking Amendment
Federation Zonins
Chairman FavorS
Cleveland Plan
By CAMBRIDGE CRIST.

General approval of the proposal
that building and zoning regula-
tions be amended to require mini
mum of-street parking facilities for
all future buildings in the District
was voiced yesterday in an inter-
view by Leon Pretzfelder, chairman
of the zoning Committee of the
Federation of Citizens Associations.
The recommendation for such
change in the zoning laws was made
last week by Washington I. Cleve-
land, manager of the District Motor
Club of the American Automobile
Association, who submitted it to the
Fiscal Affairs Subcommittee of the
House District Committee during
the hearing on the gas tax.
From the newspaper accounts"
Mr.. PretzfelGer said, II would per-
sonally be favorable to some such
amendment to the laws. I will rec
ommend it to the federation, Some
thing ought to be attempted"
Mr.. Pretzfelder, who is delegate
from the Connecticut Avenue Citi-
zens' Association, has been chair
man of the Zoning Committee since
the beginning of last year. He said
that not many resolutions had been
referred to the committee for action
last winter.
A practicing attorney, Mr.. Pretz-
fielder said he had first come into
contact with zoning regulations here
and elsewhere as a lawyer doing re-
search work on case some years ago.
This, he said, plus general concern
over civic matters, had interested
him in zoning.
Mr.. Pretzfelder, who is chairman
of the Law and Legislation Com
mittee Of the Connecticut avenue
group, said he favored the original
bill to merge the Police and Munich
pal Courts, as opposed to the one
introduced last week, which made no
provision for the appointment of an
administrative judge or for an in
termediate court of appeals. The
increased jurisdiction of the court
proposed in the original measure.
he predicted, would relieve the bur-
dens of the District Court and ex-
pedite the settlement of litigation
generally.
He pointed out that at the present
time it is optional with the United
States Court of Appeals whether to
allow an appeal from the Municipal
Court. They have so much work,
he said, that they have to exercise
discretion sparingly and only where
great injustices might occur. In
the first merger bill, he said, it was
| proposed to have right of appeal in
every case, without placing burden
on the Court of Appeals.
A native of Alexandria, Va, Mr..
Pretzfelder has been a resident Of
the District since 1907, one year be-
fore he graduated from George
Washington University Law School.
He is member of the District Bar
| Association.
He said he started to work ac-
lively in civic affairs about six years
ago.
Il had no particular interest at
that. time" he recalled, except that
I had been impressed that citizens
didn't have suffrage" and that
there was need for national repre-
sentation and local suffrage
MY particular hobby in sports, "
he said, lis fishing. I do quite a
little"
He said he did a good deal of his
fishing on Chesapeake Bay and had
gone as far as Miami, pointing to
framed certificate on the wall of
his downtown law Office from the
Miami Beach Sailflsh Club, awarded
for catching 6-foot 9-inch sail
| fish in August. 1899.