Evening Star Newspaper, April 27, 1929, Page 19

REAL ESTATE. CITIES HELD TO NEED RIGHT OF “EXCESS CONDEMNATION" National Real Estate Body Declares Mu- nicipalities Must Go Beyond Power ot “Eminent Domain.” modern cities need what the courts call the right of “excess condem- nation,” or the power to take more land for public improvements, so that set-| tings for such developments may be | perly planned, it is pointed out today y the National Association of Real Estate Boards in its weekly article on real estate subjects. A city must have legal power to make | E]bllc places beautiful, and this power lacking in 35 of the States, the asso- clation says. : “Bad” spots in many of American eommunities are so often near new streets or other public places, and are | particularly objectionable because they | form such contracts, the sfiah‘ment‘ adds, and a city can do nothing about the unsightly remnants that line its new | boulevards unless the law gives it “ex- | cess condemnation.” Henry G. Zander of Chicago, former | president of the naticnal realtors’ or- | ganization, who during his term of | office last year advocated that all municipalities secure the right of exces: condemnation, is quoted by the associa- | tion on the subject. 13 States Amend Laws. “Thirteen States, most of them large ones in the East, have either amended their constitutions to permit excess con- demnation or have enacted legislation o permit it.” says Mr. Zander. “But even where this power has been given it 18 not always used, principally because the public is not acquainted with the advantages of this practice, and officials | a small picce of the next adjoining line. | parcel of land with a frontage of 71 an inch more. This in cases of street improvements invariably creates irregu- lar parcels of land that are good for nothing but the undignified structures | that rise upon them. City Cannot Take More. i “For example, a new street is to be cut through an area of diversely owned land. A street is never the exact width | of so many rows of lots. It may gobble up two lines of lots entirely and then require a half or three-quarters or just If the city hasn't excess condemnation, ! dare not take a fraction more, but it cannot take less, for the street must be just so wide. To be sure the owners of all the property taken are reimbursed and often the courts hold that the owners of land partially taken must be paid for the entire plot, but what hap- pens to the pieces that are left? The city can't have them and their owner’s | can't use them. “As an illustration, this is what hap- pened in the city of Chicago when its Twelfth street was widened: The | project called for adding sufficient land to the south side of the street to give part of Twelfth street a width of 118 feet. ‘This required the taking of land on the south side of the street to a depth of 68 feet. Between Wabash {avenue and an alley to the east was a | feet on Wabash avenue, extending 166 | | feet along Twelfth street to the alley. | | The action of the city in taking 68 feel | of this property left the owner a strip | therefore hesitate to inaugurate it. “It all starts with the right of ‘emi. nent domain,’ recognized as a necessary | °7R; . ; power of the State by notable jurists for | .~ Chicago now has the right of excess hundreds of years. This is the power in | Sndemnation, ‘but at - the ftime this o City granted by the State, to take pri- | Parcel of land was the subject of litiga- vate property for uses that will promot | tion between the owner and the city. : The Supreme Court of Tllinois held that A " | the city not only could not assess bene- l'emmpensinz the owners of SUChl prop- ‘fits for the widening project lgl“‘lst erty for their losses. The term ‘public | fits, for the widening project against yelfare has been interpreted to mean | .,y pensate the owner for the full value also public safety, necessity or conven- = i v of the entire parcel, of which it took but fence. Thus the opening of a new street 68 fect, But the city could not take g e e nited Tot Lubiie neoes. | this strip of land, for which it had pald, sity or convenience. ;ic?ld it sdtllll remlmeg a rlemnnnlt. w{ue 4 |idle and form a dumping place for i A R m}i | refuse or to be put to whatever use a ancient . - B inion | sirip of land three fect wide would be for. of organized government, but eminent | domain does not go far enough. | “In the very phrasing of the Ameri- can laws that give municipalities the right of eminent domain lies a cur- | such irregular pieces be combined with tailment of power that is practically adjacent land, but in practice this does bound to bring the family wash to the | not work out. The municipality cannot edge of the beautiful new boulevard. | lay down rules under which such par- For the laws in 35 States provide that | cels might be bought and sold; and cities may take land shown to be neces- ! aggrieved owners of cut-up plots, realiz- sary for public improvements but not ing the strategic location of their land, _—_—— of land 166 feet long and only three feet | deep. the public welfare, at the same time Remnants Reduce Assessments. “The suggestion might be made that ON May 12th the present price of lots in Kenwood will be materially advanced in accordance with the orig- inal plan of development and more than warranted by the most conserv- ative appraisement of present and future values. Reservations accepted at present prices only up to Saturday night, May 1lth I I I | Kennedy-Chamberlin Development Co. 2400 Sixteenth Street Columbia 7280 o THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1929. often hold out for exorbitamt prices. Such remnants of land brought about by public improvements often remain vacant for many years. They are eye- sores, a detriment to adjoining property and affect values for blocks. “The creation of irregular parcels of land such as the one described above cuts down materially on the revenues the city can collect for the financing of public improvements New streets, street widenings, subways and sewers enhance the value of abutting or near- by property, and modern municipalities are empowered by the State to calculate the benefits of such improvements in dollars and cents and bill the property owners in such areas. But leaving rem- nants between an improved street and property that otherwise would abut on the new thoroughfare operates to reduce the amount the city can collect in the form of such special benefit assessments from neighboring property. A tract of land separated only a few feet from a | widened street cannot be assessed as heavily for benefits as if it had front- age on the improved street. and the remnant that causes all this trouble ausually (as decided by the Illinois Su- | preme Court) cannot be assessed at all. “Now under the power of excess con= demnation a city takes whatever land | it can show is necessary to use to pro- | vide a proper setting for a public im- provement, including such remnants. Then the city rearranges such ground in a way that will best enhance the improvement, puts on the area whatever restrictions as to the character and cost of future structures which will best harmonize with the improvement or carry out its purpose, and resells the land. When such proceedings are care- fully worked out, such transactions show a profit, as the land is bought at the market price before the improve- ment is made and sold at the market price brought about by the improve- ment. The extension of this practice should be of interest to property owners throughout a city, as all taxpayers foot | | the Dbill for the difference between the | cost of public improvements and what the city can collect in benefit assess- ments in the improved ar should object if the city, by engaging in the real estate business temporarily control the setting of help defray their cost in excess of what | the ordinary benefit assessments will bring in.” First Brethren Church. Rev. Homer G. Kent, pastor of the First Brethren Church, Twelfth and E streets southeast, will preach at 11 o'clock tomorrow on the subject “The Kind of a Church for the Twentieth Century.” At 7:45 pm. his subject will be “What Is That in Thy Hand?" 0 a.m. and No one | CHURCHES TO RECEIVE BUNDLES ON MONDAY Stations for Collecting Donations for Near East Relief Are Listed. Among the churches that will be Bundle day stations next Monday to re- ceive bundles of clothing for the Near East Relief are: Baptist—Anacostia, W streets southeast; Bethany, 215 Rhode Island avenue; Brookland, 1009 Newton ‘Thirteenth and street, street southwest; First, Sixteenth and O streets: Fountain Memorial, 2208 Naylor road southeast; Highlands, 5314 Fourteenth Metropolitan, 22 Sixth street no; ; Petworth, 557 Randolph street, and West Washingtow, 3101 N street. Community—Potomac Heights, 5204 Cathedral avenue. Congregational — Cleveland Park. Thirty-fourth and Lowell streets; First, Tenth and G streets; Ingram, Tenth street and Massachusetts avenue north- east, and Mount Pleasant, 1410 Colum- bia_road. 3 Disciples — Columbia Heights, 1435 Park road; Fifteenth street, Fifteenth street and Kentucky avenue southeast; Ninth Street, 827 D street northeas Strauss Memorial, 530 Minnesof 777 GRASP THIS OPPORTUNITY ,Come Out Sunday to 2303 Tunlaw Rd. NW. And trade in your clear lot, farm or investment property at a good allowance. This is & new 7-room brick home, equipped with all modern conveniences. It is built on the center.hall plan and is most attractive. The builder has only recently agreed to accept a trade. I believe I can make a good one for you. R. W. SAVAGE 717 Union Trust Bldg. Main 6799 This property is jus of #ith and T PRICED TO EASY TERMS A few of the Special ‘1004 Vermont Ave. SELL Semi-Detached Brick-and-Stucco 4-Bedroom Homes 5919 FOURTH ST. OPEN UNTIL 9 P.M. These Attractive and Up-to-Date Houses were acquired by us at foreclosure, and this fact alone makes possible the extremely low price at which they are now offered—a price which we feel will appeal to the thrifty buyer. ' Open fireplace, oak floors throughout, built-in tub and shower, automatic water heater, garage, paved streets and alley, beautifully decorated. National Mortgage & Investment Corp. AT ONCE *8,950 Features: Main 5833 101 Shepherd Street $16,300.00 One Block from Conn. Ave, yith lon ur real bedrooms. room, large covered side porch-—a home complete in every detail, with hardwood fioors. copper screens and downspouts, metsl weatherstripping, detached garage, awnings, etc. OPEN ALL DAY SUNDAY Drive east from Conn. Ave. on Shepherd St., ome block to home. 3, £. Bouglass Co. Realtors frontage on two streets. two full tiled baths, full 1621 K St. N.W. Metrop. 5678 8 Rooms, 2 Hardwood Floors, AM. Terms if 1 H. L. ENGLA 923 15th St. N.W. Builtin Garage ed ND Main 2676 inspection the first floor. the livability of the front living porch. closets, built-in charming dwelling. Unusually Large bookcases fireplace complete the equipment of this will be open Sunday for your light, airy rooms with south- ern exposure are the chiefest charm of this detached home. eight rooms, including the man’s room on Two tiled baths, one of which has a shower, a first-floor tiled lava- tory and basement lavatory add much to There are home.” The kitchens are completely equipped. There is a large Many commodious and an open KELVINATOR ELECTRIC REFRIGERATION 1365 HAMILTON STREET nue northeast, and Vermont Avenue, 1306 Vermont avenue. Episcopal—All Souls’, Sixteenth and Harvard streets; Christ, 3460 Fourteenth street; Epiphany, 1317 G street; Our Savior, 1616 Irving street northeast; St. John's, 1754' Massachusetts avenue; St. Paul's, Rock Creek Church road and | Webster street, and Transfiguration, 1419 Gallatin street. Lutheran—Atonement, 2 Rhode Island avenue northeast; Georgetown, 1618 ‘Wisconsin avenue, and Zion, Sixth and P streets. Methodist Episcopal—Brookland, 1350 Lawrence street mnortheast; Calvary, 1459 Columbia road; Dumbarton Ave- nue, 3121 Dumbarton avenue; Foundry, Sixteenth and Church streets; Langdon, 2214 Evarts street northeast; Massachu- setts Avenue, 1015 Jackson street north- east; Petworth, 4214 New Hampshire avenue; Ryland, Tenth and D streets southwest, and Waugh, 306 A street northeast. | Methodist Protestant—Rhode Island Avenue, First and Rhode Island avenue. | Methodist Episcopal South—Calvary, | 3036 Q street; Epworth, Thirteenth | street and North Carolina avenue north- east, and Mount Vernon Place—900 | Massachusetts avenue. Presbyterian Eighteenth and N streets; Georgetown, 3105 P street; Kenilworth, Kenilworth | and Ord avenues northeast; Westmin- ster, 430 Seventh street southwest, and | Sixth, Sixteenth and Kennedy streets. Presbyterian (U. 8. South)—Central, | Fifteenth and Irving streets. Church of the New Jerusalem — Church of the Holy City, Sixteenth and Corcoran streets. Y2 Sq. Off Connecticut Avenue 3818 Livingston St. AROUND THE CORNER FROM STORES AND MOVIES. detached home of 4 bedrooms. 2 baths, Iates living rom re length of ‘house. la n. Elect. refrigerator: Seathe stripped. copper screens slate roof: 2 Beautiful irooms. The finest materials a3 workmen completsd this unusual HOME. Open for Comparison At a Price to Sell DAVID E. BARRY REALTOR Metropolitan 2025-2026 1807 H St. N.W. SSTIPHE| P BOSSELELP Offer This Home for Sale at an Exceptionally Low Price OWNER HAVING PURCHASED A LARGER HOME MUST SELL 313 Rock Creek Church Road (NORTHWEST) Facing Beautiful Government Park Vacant And on a Street Lined With Pine ‘Trees and Attractive Homes Colonial Brick—20 Ft. Wide ; Hot-Water Heat, Electric Lights ; Oak Floors and Trim; Six Large Rooms and Tiled’ Bath; Newly Decorated Throughout Rrive out New Hamoshire Avenue to Intersection of k Creek Church Road and east to property. Open Sunday 11 AM. UNTIL DARK JAMESON-BUILT NEW HOMES Ready to Move in—6, 7 and 8 Large Rooms Priced from $6,950.00 Up—On Easy Terms SIX CHOICE LOCATIONS 925 Quincy St. N.W. 1526 D St. N.E. 1818 D St. S.E. 502 Central Ave. NE. 2620 6th St. N.E. 248 10th St. S.E. Sample Houses Open from 7 AM. until 9P lights, tile baths, built in tub, servants’ toilet, wide rear and front porches. Second floors have extra gas and plumbing outlets, and can verted into two- family houses. These houses are convenient- ly located. ; FRIGIDAIRE i 3 WITH EACH % HOUSE FOR SALE BY THOS. A. JAMESON CO. 906 New York Ave. N.W. Main 5526 “Ask the Man Who Owns One” Practically New Home in Old Chevy Chase, Md. —can be bought under $20,000 A beautiful Colonial home, on a beautiful street, 114 squares from Chevy Chase Circle. 120 Hesketh Street Center-hall type—and in perfect con- dition throughout— Slate Roof Screens Awnings Weather Stripped Pretty Planting 4 Big Bedrooms 2 Tiled Baths Hot Water Heat Hardwood Floors 2-Car Garage You'll see the bargain as soon as you inspect the Home. Come and see it tomorrow, Sun- day. Open from 2 P.M. to dark. EEVER+dGOS Deal With a Realtor National 4750 HMaxim ervice 1415 K Street jot——lolc———]o]c———]o]c———=[a[———=]a]——0| REAL ESTATE!. Announcing the appointment of Joseph F. Horning Formerly Sales Manager The Cyrus Simmons Company : Sale:; ; M;ndger of -dJosephy' S— 1416 Eye St. N.W, House contains 8 large, bright rooms, bath, hot- water heat, large reception hall, instantaneous hot-water heater, large open fireplace, electric lights, large floored attic, 3-car garage, concrete driveway. 3 room and bath bungalow on rear of lot; one-half block off State highway and bus line. Nice lawn and shade trees. Must be sold. Price $12.000 O. B. Zantzinger Co. 10th and K Sts. Hyattsville, Md. Phone M. 5371 Hyattsville 72 3318 South Dakota Ave. N.E. Here Is the Ideal Home of Woodridge One-Half Block From Rhode Island Avenue Exceptionally well built, and contains six large, sunny rooms; full tile bath with shower, open fireplace, built-in garage, auto- matic hot-water storage tank, 73 oak floor over subfloor upstairs and down, Armstrong Inlaid ‘Lidoleum 1n_ kitchen and a General Electric Refrigerator. Right price and terms from owners. Open and Lighted Until 9 P.M. 7 O. R. Pedersen & Son OWNERS and BUILDERS HOMES BUILT TO LAST WITH VERY LITTLE UPKEEP FOR SALE By Owner Detached Residence 1614 Longfellow St. N.W. Lot 50x120—50 feet from Rock Creek Park inE——a|———[o]———a[c——[a|———|o|——] | fl | fll Consisting of reception hall, living room, din- ing room, sun porch, kitchen, breakfast room and pantry. 4 bedrooms and 2 enclosed sleeping . porches, double garage. Open Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Week Days 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Telephone Georgia 2711