Salt Lake Telegram | 1929-04-28 | Page 10 | City Beautiful Laws Advocated

City Beautiful Laws Advocated 4 kc Excess Right Urged Artistic people who wring their hands over the unsightly spots that tha disfigure ls many American cities should get together and give municipalities muni muni- the thu power to create to-create create beauty because few of them have it says the National association of Real Estate Boards in its weekly lesson for property owners If deca decaying ing tenements are not razed if parl parks s are bordered b by vacant va a a cant lots strewn with with tin tin lin cans and if the family wash flutters shamelessly shamelessly shamelessly shame shame- lessly on th of million dollar boulevards this is not always the fault of the city points out the real estate association A city must have legal power to tomake tomake tomake I make public places beautiful and this power is lacking in 35 of our states sa says sas S 'S the association All Ail modern cities need what the courts call right of excess con con- the pow power er to take tale more moreland moreland moreland land for public improvements than is required for the actual improvement Improvement improvement improve improve- ment so its setting ina may be properly properly properly prop prop- erly planned For the bad spots in many of our communities are often near new streets or other publIc public pub pub- I lic lie places and are particularly ob objectionable ob- ob because they form such contrasts Nor can a city do a athing athing athing thing about the unsightly remnants that line its new boulevards unless the tIme law gives it excess ti tion n. n ZANDER QUOTED The association quotes on this subject Henry G. G Zander Chicago a former fonner president who during his term of office last year ear advocated that all secure the right of excess condemnation Excess condemnation is a poor definition of an important function that was used to make Paris lovely says sag Mr Zander In practice this power can bo be so st constructive that some other and better beller term should be devised for it Intelligently used it can build finer cities and help raise funds to defray the expense of costly public improvements Thirteen states most of ot them large targe ones In the east have either amended their theil constitutions so as to permit excess condemnation or have enacted legislation to permit it without without without with with- out constitutional amendment But even where this power has been given it is not nOl always used principally principally pally because the public is not ac acquainted ac- ac with with the advantages of this practice and officials therefore hesitate hesitate hesitate hesi hesi- tate to inaugurate it it It starts with the tho right of eminent domain recognized as a necessary power of the state by notable jurists for Cor hundreds ds of years This is the power in a city granted by the state to take private property prop erty for uses that will promote the public welfare elfare at the tho same time such recompensing the owners of property for their losses The term public welfare has been Interpreted to mean also public J safety n nees- nees es- es I sity or convenience thus the thc openIng opening open- open Ing In of a new street or the widening of a to too narrow existing one can be required for public necessity or con con- And no one Is troubled by this ancient right of eminent domain Ithal It Itha ha has hal been exercised ever since the beginning of of- organized government But eminent domain does not go go far enough POWER CURTAILMENT In Tn the ver very r phrasing of the American laws that give municipalities ties the right of ot eminent domain lies liesa a curtailment of power that is practically practically bound to bring the wash wasIl to the edge of the beautiful new boulevard For the laws in 35 states statE's provide that cities may take land shown to be for public public pub pub- lic lie improvements but not an inch more This In cases of ot street improvements improvements im im- im- im invariably creates ir irregular irregular irregular ir- ir regular parcels of land that are good for nothing but tho the undignified structures that rise upon them For example a no new street is to tobe tobe tobe be cut through an area area of diversely owned lond load A street sh Is never the exact width of so many rows of lots It may mav gobble up two lines of lots entirely and then require require- a half or three quarters or just a a. small piece of the next adjoining line If It the city hasn't excess condemnation It dare dare not take tale a fraction more but it cannot take tate less les for the street must bt bl just so wide To be sure the ow rl ow vr f hll f-hll 11 taken are Jel reimbursed b rsc pp cui ani ta tP the co courts hold courts r hold Ul hat t the owners of land taken must be paid for the entire plot lot but what hat happens to the pieces that hat are left The city cant can't have them and their owners cant can't use themAs themAs themAs them As an illustration this is what happened in the city of Chicago when its Us Twelfth street was widen wIden- ed The street widening project called for adding sufficient land to the south side of the street to give part of Twelfth street a width of feet Ceet This required the taking of land on the south side of or the street to a depth of 69 63 feet Between i Wabash avenue and an alley to the east was a parcel of land with wilh a frontage of 71 feet on Wabash abash avenue ave aye nue extending feet along twelfth street to the the alley The action of the city in taking 68 feet of this property left the owner a strip of land feet long and only 3 feet teet I deep Chicago now has the right o of excess condemnation but at the time this parcel parce of land was the subject of litigation between the owner O and the time city The rhe supreme court of Illinois held that the city not only could not assess benefits for or the widening project against such a remnant but that it should compensate the owner for the full ful value of the entire parcel of or which it took but sixty-eight sixty feet Buthe Bui Bu Bus the city could not take this strip of land for which it had paid and It still remained a remnant to lie idle and form a dumping dumping- place for refuse or to be put to whatever use a strip of oC land three feet feel wide would be good for fOI REDUCE ASSESSMENTS The suggestion might be made that such irregular In pieces be combined combined com corn with adjacent land but in practice this does not work worle out The municipality cannot lay hay down rules under under- which such parcels might be bought and sold and aggrieved owners of up cut-up plots realizing the strategic location o otheir of their land often hold out for exorbitant exorbitant ex ex- prices Such remnants o oland of land brought about by public Improvements Improvements Improvements Im Im- Im- Im often orten remain vacant for many years ears They are e eye sores sores e 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 forthe forthe forthe the financing of public improve improve- ments New streets street widen- widen ings lags subways and sewers enhance the value of abutting or nearby property and modern municipalities are empowered empo by the state to cal cal-