Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-06-19
Action 10 Plug
'Loopho|es' on
zoning Asked
Objections Raised
To Montgomery
Moratorium Plun

Voicing dissatisfaction with the
recently announced moratorium on
rezoning in Montgomery County,
Md, the Subcommittee on zoning
of the County Civic Federation to-
day sent letter to the Board OF
Commissioners requesting that the
moratorium be revised to plug GER
tain "loopholes' which are said to
exist.
The letter was received by the
commissioners as they were pre-
pairing for a public hearing tonight
on a rezoning request to permit
construction of apartments in Sligo
Park Hills in Silver Spring.
In a letter to Thomas E. Hampton,
president of the Board of County
Commissioners, the subcommittee,
headed by Richard B. Barker,
charges that the moratorium reso-
luton adopted by the commission
ers on June 10 does not adequately
protect the citizens from the dan
gers of zoning without plan.
The commissioners resolution pro-
vided for a suspension of further
consideration of pending or new re-
zoning requests until after a plan
for development has been evolved
by Alfred Bettman, planning eX-
pert. Rezoning requests that seek
to enlarge or extend existing zones
and those requests that seek to es-
tablish a zone near an existing
classification of similar use were ex-
commissioners.
Hearing Tonight.
Because of these exceptions, the
commissioners are in a position to
consider the petition on which a
hearing is to be held tonight, which
would rezone from residential A to
Q sections and 8 of Sligo Park
Hills and would constitute an ex-
tension of residential C zone now
established.
Tonight's hearing will be at 7:30
O'Clock, in the Liquor Control Board
Building at Silver Spring Oppo-
nents of the change include the
Woodside Park Civic Association.
Takoma Park Civic Associat ton,
Takoma Park, Md District of Co.
lumbia Citizens Association. East
Sligo Valley Citizens Association.
Sligo Park Hills Citizens Associa-
ton and the Seven Oaks Citizens
Association. Claude Cook will act
as spokesman and Attorney Thomas
AnerSon of Rockville has been re-
tanned as legal counsel.
In the letter to the commits
sionerS the federation subcommittee
quotes from a letter from Mr..
Bettman to o. M. Kile while the
latter was federation president. in
which the coming authority declared
any statement regarding the vari-
Gus kinds of uses to be permitted
or excluded would be a mere guess"
pending the development of a mas
ter plan.
The citizens of Montgomery
County have right to insist and
should insist that all rezoning in
the county henceforth should be
based upon a master plan rather
than upon guess" the letter
asserts.
Big Loopholes Seen.
The federation group contends
the commissioners resolution CON
tails certain loopholes through
which the proverbial horse and
wagon can be driven"
For example" the group con-
tends, sit leaves the door wide open
for the granting of the applica-
ton in Sligo Park Hills dis
trict and the extension of the indus
trial area in the River Road dis
trlct. The county commissioners
must openly admit that if they
now grant these petitions they will
be doing SO on the basis of pure
'guesSwork' as defined by their own
employed adviser.
We therefore petition the county
commissioners Immediately and
prior to any further hearings to
amend the resolution of June 10,
194l, to provide that no pending or
future petition for rezoning will be
heard pending the adoption of a
master plan if there is expressed
public opposition to the petition.
The committee is not aware of
any exceptional cases in which, in
the face of public opposition, an ap-
pllcation for rezoning should be
granted or even hearing held, in
advance of the adoption of a master
plan. To recognize such exceptions
in the interim would be to engage
In the guessing which Mr.. Bettman
has condemned In the event it
should appear to the county COM
missioners that some case SO ex-
traordinary has arisen that a hear
ing on the application cannot await
the master plan, then to keep the
guesswork at minimum, Mr.. Bett-
man should be requested either to
consider the facts of such extraor-
binary case or to lay down adequate
rules to cover the making of al
such exceptions"
Frederic P. Lee, member of the
committee, said copy of the letter
was given to J. Bond Smith, counse
for the Maryland National Capita
Park and Planning Commission