Evening star., 1947-10-08
Gen. Grant Advises
Home Owners 10 Fight
Improper zoning
Urges Preservation
Of Residential
Values Here
I,~1,,, na.~
Continued From Page C-1D

Continued From Page C-1.)
carry considerable part of the bur-
den of cost of the municipal services
which make the real estate usable
and give value to 1t for homes and
business.
While the Importance of retaining
the value of business real estate is
generally recognized and is receiving
attention everywhere, the equal ne
cessity for maintaining residential
values does not appear to be appre-
ciated by the people of the District
as it should be.
This is only too frequently evi-
denced by the failure of popular
opinion to protest against changes
in zoning which give to an individual
owner an increased value for his
property at the expense of other
owners of property generally.
OF course there must be suitably
located business islands to serve the
immediate local needs of COM
munities at some distance from the
central business district, but in the
District there is more commercially
zoned property now than is needed.
Wise Zoning Principle.
Pending a general revision of the
zoning map, which is really needed,
it would, therefore, be wise prin-
ciple not to rezone any property
from residential use to commercial
use unless there is a rezoning of an
equivalent area from commercial to
residential.
It should be obvious that when
some one buys property which is
zoned for residential use and,
therefore, pays only the residential
value for the property, and then
gets it rezoned to commercial, he is
being given a gift of the increased
value at the expense of persons al
ready owning commercial property
which has not yet been developed
for commercial use.
Similarly, any one purchasing re-
stricted residential property and
getting it rezoned for apartment
houses has obtained the property at
a lower price than it's neW-use value
and by the rezoning has obtained
the gift of an increased value at
the expense of persons already
owning and paying taxes on apart
ment house property which has not
vet heen so deyeloped
Evidently he has been given an
unfair advantage over them by
competing against them in the pos
sible development of their property
with a lower land cost to start with,
and he is taking away from them a
part of their potential market for
the full use of their property for the
purpose for which 1t is already
zoned.
Without a detailed check Of the
data in other cities, it is distinctly
my impression that Washington has
an unusual amount of "A restricted"
residential property quickly accessi-
BILE to the central business and main
centers of employment.
Evidently the preservation of
these valuable residential areas is
of prime importance, not only to
the owners of property therein, but
also to the aggregate property
values of the city and its desirability
as place of residence.
Georgetown Dwellings Cited.
The high property values that
have been steadily maintained for
individual dwellings in Georgetown
over a long period of years is good
evidence of the persistence of prop
erty values given by assurance that
apartment houses will not be built
in a district so protected; although,
of course, the high values in George
town are in part due to what might
be called prevailing fashion among
some of our residents.
But would such a fashion have
gotten so firmly established If the
character of the area had not been
assured? 1t is generally thought
that the District is already prac-
tically fully developed and that
there is no more vacant land in it.
This Is not correct.
Two years ago there were 4,845
acres Of undeveloped land in the
District. A total Of 2,133 acres of
this had been subdiWded and the
had not been subdivided.
On the subdivided property consid-
erable building has already taken
place, and it is probable that all
the then-vacant subdivided land
may be fully developed within
about five years. There will still be
considerable areas left for develop
ment, largely in private estates,
which will of course be subdivided
in due time.
The Planning Commissions esti-
mates indicate that under present
zoning and with the prevailing
densities of population, there is room
within the District for 100000 to
1 loo, 900 inhabitants. This estimate
will, of course, have to be reduced If
many new large institutions occu-
pying considerable acreage are
located within the District.
On the other hand, the estimate
can be raised if it is found practi-
cable in the future to make avail
able for more intensive use any con-
portion of the vacant land
now owned by institutions already
located here, as was proposed in the
Case resolution introduced in Con-
gress year before last.
Land Taken for Public Use.
A word needs to be said about the
too-prevalent feeling that property