Evening star., 1950-02-03
Virginia House Group
Opens Hearings on
Anti-Annexation Bills
BY q stoff Correspondent OF The stor


RICHMOND, Feb. 3.-The Gen
eral Assembly's biennial headache
-annexation-was before a House
committee today.
A two-hour public hearing on
pending anti-annexation bills yes
terday brought the same contend
ers into the ring-the legislators
from the counties versus those
from the cities.
Under Virginia law cities are
divorced from counties and the
issue provides a test every two
years of which faction has the
balance of power.
~ The principal bill argued was
one by Delegate Paul Crockett
of Yorktown. 1t would require
approval of the voters within the
annexing city as we'll as in the
county whose land would be taken,
before the merger could be
brought about. If a majority of
the combined vote should be
against annexation. proceedings
would be frozen for four. years.
Witnesses Presented.
Witnesses from all parts of the
State crammed into the Senate
chamber and overf1owed into the
balcony.
Delegate Edwin w. Lynch, who
represents both the City of Falls
Church and Fairfax County, pre-
sented witnesses who held op-
posite views on the bill.
One was William j. Barber,
president of the Oakwood-Spring-
f1eld-Franconia Citizens Associ-
alton, who said the present law
is not democratic because it makes
no provision for a vote by the
people involved.
Under existing law a city files
a suit for annexing adjacent ter
ritory and a three judge tribunal
decides the case.
1--WE live in an area bounded
on the south by Fort Belvoir, on
the north by Falls Church, which
is trying to annex and on the
east by Alexandria, which has
plans to expand" Mr.. Barber
said.
Van Meter Testifies.
Among those who came with
NJ Barber, who lives in Spring.
field, were F. L. Smith of the
same community; James Walter
of Franconia and Robert M.
Crowder, Oakwood.
City attorney La Rue Van Meter
of Falls Church was the spokes-
man presented by Mr.. Lynch who
was opposed to the bill.
He refuted testimony of other
witnesses that under the present
law the courts always decide in
favor of the cities. He recalled
that Falls Church listed a suit
in 1912 to take in additional Fair
fax County land.
He said it has cost Falls Church
about $500,000 to provide services
to adjoining territory.
Eve feel we have rendered
enough services to give the city
the right to expand" he said.
Called BEST" Law.
The committee heard expert
testimony against the bill. DR..
Thomas H. Reed, consultant in
governmental affairs, of Boston.
said, II hope you are not going
to change a law that I have had
occasion to describe as the best
in the Nation"
Citing experiences in other
States, he warned that if the
Crockett bill were enacted, the
peoples. vote would always be
against annexation. AS result,
he warned, multiple incorpora-
tions" would spring up adjacent
to one another.
MANY of their problems could
not be solved" DR.. Reed said, "be-
cause there would be no govern
mental unity within the area"
The House Committee on Coun-
ties, Cities and Towns, which
heard the arguments in a two
hour session, deferred action until
its meeting at 2:30 pm. Tuesday.
The committee is made up of eight
members representing counties,
seven representing cities and two
who represent both types of areas.