Evening star., 1941-06-27
7 Rezoning Petitions
Heard by Board in
MontgomerYCo County
Residents of Bethesda
Seek Master Plan
Before Making Changes

Public hearings on seven petitions
for rezoning were held by the Mont
gomery County Md Board of Com
miSSioners yesterday Immediately
after a moratorium on reZoning had
been reScinded.
Five of the hearings were held at
Silver Spring yesterday afternoon,
but those producing the greatest op-
position were two held at Bethesda
last night on the request of Ralph
S. and Abraham Morrison to re-
classify two tracts on Edgemoor
lane. Bethesda. from their present
residential A status
The petitioners sought to rezone
a strip of about so feet on the north
side of the street near Wisconsin
avenue to commercial A 15-foot
strip of land now zoned residential
G intervenes between the north side
tract and an existing commercial
zone. The petitioners also sought
to change the tract on the south side
and fronting the lane about 200 feet
to residential C classification. This
tract ADULTS a similarly zoned piece
of land.
Petition Opposes Change.
James w. Gill and two Bethesda
real estate operators, Samuel E.
Stonebraker and Samuel Bogley,
spoke in behalf of the petition.
Carey Quinn and Frederic P. Lee,
both of the Edgemoor Citizens
Association. opposed the change be-
cause they held it would depreciate
land values. A petition signed by
302 residents protesting the pro-
posed rezoning was offered by
Stephen L. Gregg. The rezoning
petitions were taken under advise
ment
Opposition was voiced to only
one of five applications for recon-
ing at the hearings in Silver Spring
The petition of James H. Cissel
for reclaSsifiCation from residential
"a to residential &C" of property
on the south side of Thayer ave-
nue., west Of Nolte and Flower ave-
nues, was protested by a number
of nearby residents after motion
to defer action on the application
was ruled out of order.
Mrs. B. A. Crock of Sligo Park
Hills introduced the motion at the
beginning of the hearing, asking
/ that no action be taken on the pc
| tltlon until master plan has been
received so that there will be no ap-
pearance of discrimination in this
particular case"
Seek Master Plan First.
The movement to have the hear
ing postponed was supported by
Claude Cook, chairman of Citizen
/ Zoning Committee, which is COM
posed of representative of Is sub
divisions in Silver Spring. Mr..
Cook said the committee opposed
any additional apartment recon-
ing until the completion of the
county master-zoning plan.
A petition containing the names
of 83 home owners in the adjacent
territory protesting the proposed
rezoning was presented by Clarence
N. Smith. Mr.. Smith and others
who spoke against the ,rezoning OBJ
| jected on the basis that apartment
house construction would be pref
| Judicial to home owners in the vi
cinity, lower the resale value of
the homes and overburden the
East Silver Spring Elementary
School,
Mr.. CiSsel displayed a map show
ing the proposed rezoning would
continue similar classifcations in
that area.
Reclassifcation of a site at Coles
vile road and Roeder road from resi-
Dental "a" to commercial D. to
permit the construction of bowling
alleys by Beryl R. English was the
second petition considered.
Taking issue with recommended
ton of the Maryland National Cap
ital Park and Planning Commission,