Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-06-25
RenoVdtors Ask
Rezoned Area
In Georgetown
Homeowners Begin
Drive to Bur Garage
Near Waterfront
BY John w. Stepp


day of commission hearings de-
voted to 10 different rezoning
on the agenda.
The home owners of beautif1ed
one time slumS seek to change
the coming of about an acre of
partly improved commercially
land to Residential
''B" Restricted status. The prop
erty is located on the west side Of
Thirtieth street and the east
side of Thomas jefferson street
between M street and the Chesa-
peake & Ohio Canal.
About half of the property is
developed with Is rehabilitated
row houses. The rest consists OF
vacant lots used mostly for We
hicular parking.
Called spot ZOning."
The petitioners want to bar
the possibility Of future COM
mercial development of the un-
improved lots in order to pro-
tect their investments as well
as the health, safety and well
fare of families already residing
in the rehabIlitated homes.
Another grievance of the
Georgetown residents is the re-
port of the Zoning Advisory
Council that says the request is
plainly for "Spot-zoning" and
has no planning merit whatso-
ever"
The council took the oppor-
tunity of delivering a little lee
ture, in fact.
1.-The single family dwelling is
not prohibited in commercial and
industrial districts (the George
town waterfront is predominant
ly so zoned), but mere invasion
of the home into established dis
trictS of this character does not
in and of itself entitle its owner
to the protection afforded by a
residential classification" the ad-
visory body declared.
See Calculated Risk.
AS for their investments, the
council added, the renovators
must have taken a calculated
risk when they acquired Their
property in this section. Ser
tainly the owners must have
taken note of the commercial de-
velopment in the surrounding
area and at least concluded thai
commercial improvements con-
tiguous to them were a likely
possibility" the report declared
The Georgetown resident!
voiced particular concern ovel
apparent plans of Parkway Mo.
tor Co., which owns most of the
unimproved property in the
block in question, to build 9
large garage with car washing
facilities.
Attorney Carl L. Shipley tolc
the commission that the housing
developers have tried without
success to buy the land from
Parkway, which acquired it onl!
a few months ago.
Mrs. Harold B. Hinton, repre-
Senting the Progressive Citizen
of Georgetown, declared that thu
34-year-old commercial indus
trial coming of the area wa
arbitrary" and occurred in tn
days when the commission "wrot
Georgetown of as a Slum area.
Hill Cites Home Needs.
Frederick S. Hill, past presi
dent of the Georgetown Citizens
Association, declared "it is obvi
Gus that the need for well re
modelled homes is greater thai
the need for any Commercial
enterprise"
Donald H. Shannon said, "al
I ask is that you see the equit
of our position-that the pro
posed commercializing would b
ruinous to us"
Another row before the com
mission involves the request o
the Berkshire Apartments t.
change the residential ION
ing of the apartment hous
at 4201 Massachusetts, ave
nue. NV. to commercial. TIL
expressed purpose Of the pro
posed change would be to per
NIT installation in the baSemen
of the building of such CONNER
cial facilities as drugstore, an
possibly other business enter
priSeS.
According to the petition, a
would be operated oStensibly 70
the convenience of the 200
occupants of the building-or q
least would not be advertise
to the general public.
Protests against the propose
commercialization have CON
from all over this predominant
residential neighborhood. It we
recalled that three years ago til
commission rejected a simils
rezoning request by the nearE
Greenbriar Apartments. Earle
this week a petition for zonir
to permit construction Of
shopping center across MaSss
chuSettS avenue from the Berl
shire was withdrawn due
clamor by neighboring resident
Oppose Apartment House.
{, Citizens of the Mount Pleasal
section protested heated
against the petition of Ia
Woodner. who has a Sixteent
street NV. apartment houi
named after him, to build al
other, near Seventeenth ar
nak efranfe NJ w oIso 0verlnnl