Evening star., 1951-08-15
New Laws Go
In Effect Today
In Montgomery
OH-Street Parking
Decreed for Housing
Units Built in 1852

hASA0AAAAS O1AC ACAuA1 AIlS UAteiG O11
street parking facilities be provided
for new homes and apartments in
the suburban area. w.
The unusual off-street parking
ordinance was approved yesterday
by the County Council in a busy
session which also saw the con-
troversial Bethesda parking lot
bill vetoed. =,
The Bethesda parking lot bill
was the only one of the several
new laws passed at the councils
Legislative session in May to be
vetoed, however. All the others
went into effect today.
One Of the new laws bans the
ancient art of fortune-telling.
Another provides for the issu-
Iance Of more than SO million in
bonds to finance new schools,
roads. bridges, storm-water drain
age facilities and the new county
building.
Two laws set up public parking
lot districts in Wheaton and
Montgomery Hills.
Regulation Bills.
Two others authorize the coun-
Gil to regulate boarding houses and
trailer camps, building, fire protec-
tion, electrical and plumbing work,
waste, weed and trash removal,
bill boards. street construction, the
humane treatment of animals and
blight control.
The off-street parking law was
not part of the new legislation
considered and approved in the
regular spring legislative session.
1t was proposed, on the councils
own motion last April, as an
amendment to the zoning ordi-
nance for the suburban area of
the county.
Stoutly opposed by many con-
tractors and real estate companies,
the amendment provides that an
off street parking space shall be
built for each family in all new
suburban area dwellings for which
permits are obtained after next
January /.
The one exception allowed is in
cases where the final grade on a
lot from the street to the build
ing line exceeds Is per cent at
every point along the line. An
automatic waiver will be granted
in that event.
In vetoing the new Bethesda
parking lot bill. the council urged
Bethesda residents to "knuckle
down" and solve their business
area parking problem. Chief rea-
son for the veto, it was pointed
out, was the divergence of opinion
among business and civic groups
as to what kind of parking lot
program Is desired.
Old Law Still Stands.
The vetoed bill. opposed by the
Bethesda Board of Trade. would
have greatly tightened the quail
flcations for exemption from the
parking tax. which amounts to
40 cents per $100 assessed valua-
tion on commercial property.
The old law, which was passed
in 1850 and will continue in effect
now that the new ordinance has
been killed, provided that busi-
.nessmen could obtain whole, or
partial tax exemption by supply
ing parking space for their Gus
toners on their own property.
So many of Bethesda's some
400 businessmen did this. Mr..
Smith said, that the parking lot
program is in the red. With 81
parcels of land given total exemp-
|tion and several others partial
exemption, the assessable base the
council had counted on to support
the program was reduced from
the originally estimated SO million
to 81 million, he added.
Lot Meters Suggested.
Councilman Harold Hammond
in introducing the veto resolution
said the Council will have to work
out some temporary solution to
the exemption problem until a
new bill can be passed next year
He suggested that the Council
seriously consider putting park
ing meters on the Bethesda lots
to pull the program out of the red
In a separate resolution, put
forth by Mr.. Hammond, the
Council agreed to consider the
appointment of a committee OF
experts and laymen to study the
whole public parking lot program
in the county, particularly in Be-
thesda.
All members of the Council
voted for the veto except Mr.. Mes
bitt, who abstained. Mrs. Stella
Warner cast her yea" vote by
proxy since she was away on vaca-
ton.