Evening star., 1948-03-03
zoninefor Apartments
In Bethesda Opposed
By 6 Citizens Units

Spokesman for six Bethesda area
citizens associations warned yester-
day that approval Of q petition for
apartment house zoning of 81 acres
at River and Goldsboro roads would
reduce the value Of their homes.
overburden existing community ia
cilities and result in higher taxes.
Also opposed to the request was
the Bethesda Chamber of Commerce,
although its representative, Samuel
e. Bogley, said he personally favored
the petition and expressed regret at
the chambers stand.
More than so persons attended a
two-and-a half -hour hearing on the
proposal In the Hiser Theater,
Bethesda, after moving from the
Bethesda County Building because
OF lack OF space. The Montgomery
County commissioners took the mat
ter under advisement.
Also taken under consideration
was petition heard earlier in the
Rockville Courthouse for commercial
zoning Of about one acre on Seven
Locks road three miles south Of
Rockville.
Cost Put at $13,000, 900.
The apartment zoning request was
filed by Colonial Village, Inc, of
which Gustave Ring is president.
The tract in question is part of the
30o-acre Parkland subdivision owned
by the Ring Engineering Co. A
similar petition was denied last year
by the county commissioners.
r. Duncan Clark, attorney for
the applicant, told. the commissioners
it is planned to erect q 970-unit
apartment project at an estimate
cost of $13 100000. The apartments
would be surrounded by single
family homes costing between $40 900
and $25, 900 each, Mr.. Clark said.
Keynote of the opposing argu-
ments was sounded by Capt. z. A.
Junghans, U. S. N, representing the
English village-Bradley Woods Cit
liens Association. ~
Declaring that approval of the
NVulu COtlotltutC SHOt
coming, Capt. Junghans said:
THE citizens of our community
purchased their homes, in the belief
the area would continue, to be of a
high-type, low density and single
family home character. This would
be destroyed by erection of an apart
ment project, which would be the
opening wedge leading to similar re-
zoning of the entire 300-acre tract. v
School Overlooking Seen.
Joseph H. Sheehy, representing
the Woodacres subdivision, argued
that children from the proposed
apartment project would overload
the county's educational facilities
and force residential property
owners to pay higher taxes.
From Donal l.. Chamberlin OF the
Kennedy -Chamberlin Development
Co., which built Kenwood, came the
contention that at would be impos-
sible for Mr.. Ring to build a project
comparable with Colonial Village in
Arlington at this time because OF
the cost Of materials and labor"
He said his firm has 68 acres ad-
joining the Ring property and that
if the commissioners approve the
petition, you would have to do the
same with our land"
Others speaking against the petit
ton included Charles Rideout of
the Bannockburn Citizens Associa-
ton, Howard r. Graham, Fairway
Hills Citizens Association; r. l..
Falge, Woodhaven Citizens Asso-
citation, and Jerome Barnard, Ken
wood Citizens Association.
Mr.. Clark denied that the pro-
posed apartments would affect the
values Of homes in the area, point
ing out the project would be sep
arated from nearby dwellings by a
buffer strip of single-family homes.
I'm the entire western suburban
area" no told the Commissioners,
there are 1000 apartment units as
compared with 1000 in the Silver
Spring area. There are about 5000
employees coming into the National
Institute of Health here and they
will need housing.