Evening star., 1942-06-01
Rooming House Bill
Wins Little Support
Writer Says Thot Plan
Would Produce No
ReuI Benefits
By John w. Thompson, Jr.

|
the concerted opposition expressed at
recent hearings at the Capitol by Dis
trict officials and citizens has doomed
the Randolph bill under which rooming
and boarding houses would have been
permitted in restricted residential areas
for the duration of the emergency.
Only one witness testified in favor of
the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Cochran,
Democrat, of Missouri, at whose sug-
gestion the bill was drawn by Corpora
ton Counsel Richmond Keech and then
introduced by Representative Randolph
of West Virginia, chairman of the House
District Committee, by request. 1t also
| drew a mo objection" from Commis-
sioners Guy Mason and John Russell
| Young as minority on the five-man
Zoning Commission which opposed the
bill, but majority Of the Board Of Com
| missioners.
The story of the bill-from Repre-
| sentative Cochrans testimony-is based
| largely on the plight of Mrs. Mary E.
| Famous, who bought house at 3l00 r
| street under the impression that she
| could operate it as a rooming house.
After spending some $4,000 in fixing it
| up and taking in 25 roomers. most Of
| them naval officers and the rest defense
workers, she was advised by District
officials that the house was in a re-
| stricted area and could not be operated
as a rooming house.
Mrs. Famous then took her problem
to zoning authorities and sought au-
| thorization to operate. Despite Mr..
| Cochrans support, she was told 1t could
not be done. Mr.. Cochran then asked
Mr. Keech to draw the bill. Mr.. Keech's
bill, however has the effect OF limit
ing the number of roomers to nine above
the first floor and thus, even under it,
Mrs Famous establishment could not
operate legally. Mr.. Cochran said there
are other rooming houses in the area and
that the bill should be amended to cover
Mrs. Famous, who, he said, was doing
the patriotic thing in housing war
workers.
The opposition TO the bill as unneces-
sary and undesirable had the support Of
an impressive volume Of facts including:
l. There is reservoir Of nearly 5000
rooms available and listed at the Hous-
ing Registry.
2. There Is an additional untapped
| reservoir Of rooms in private homes, per-
haps as many as $4,000. which could be
used under the relaxation of regulations
| by the Zoning Commission, December 3,
l94l, to permit up to four roomers in
homes in restricted areas for the dura-
ton of the emergency.
3. II conditions demand, the Zoning
| Commission can relax the regulations
| further.
4. The Board of Zoning Adjustments
can make exceptions to the zoning orci-
nances in some cases.
5. Most OF the houses in the 40 per
cent of the District which is restricted
as to rooming houses are too small to
take more than four roomers and thus
only few would benefit from the law
| oDflOQolyb lIl1S lllCdSuIc ID UIle
benefit of few and the possible detri-
| ment of many through weakening the
| protection of zoning and the possible
| blighting of areas. The bill Is not the
answer to the Capitals knotty war hous-
| ing problem.
Any real meeting of the situation must
| be predicated upon two factors-frst, the
! necessity of finding sanitary, comfort
| able quarters for the incoming workers,
| even if they are not in the first taXicab
zone or near Government buildings: and
| secondly, the importance of using all
| existing facilities before any raid is made
| on Zoning regulations or any expensive
buildings put up.
Satisfaction on the first point will re-
| quire cooperation of the workers in be-
| ing unwilling to accept crowded, un-
| sanitary quarters simply to be near their
| places of work.
Admittedly only few hundred pri-
| vate homeoWners are recorded at the
| District Building as willing to take in
| roomers for the duration. Probably some
| others are doing it without getting the
| necessary special permit and inspection,
but in any event the reservoir has not
yet been tapped as it can and should be
before millions are spent in dormitories
and family dwellings
| To get private owners and lessees to
throw open their extra accommodations
to war workers will require an intensive
| selling campaign" because most of
those who have taken in workers purely
as a means of supplementing their in
come probably already have taken steps
in this direction. Most of the remaining
homeowners with available space there
fore probably will need to be sold on
the point that 1t Is their duty-a way
in which they can help out-in the ma
tional emergency.
| Stirring up this spirit will require
| more than proclamation from the Dis
trict Building. 1t will require the ac-
tive interest of the various civic groups
| to push the matter at their meetings and
! to canvass their areas, for available
housing accommodations and notify the
| proper authorities. The Federation OF
Citizens Associations was helpful in find
! ing housing accommodations for Gov
ernment employees during the last war.
In addition, however, If homeowners
are to throw vacant rooms in the mar
ket, some concessions will have to be
made to enable them to get rid of un-
Desirable tenants without the Iep1tJ,v