59TH CONGRESS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 2d Session.

OPENING OF MILLS AVENUE.

JANUARY 25, 1907.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed.

Mr. ALLEN, of Maine, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 9326.]

The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 9326) for the widening of Mills avenue NE. from Rhode Island avenue to Twenty-fourth street, report the same back to the House with the recommendation that it do pass when amended as follows:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That under and in accordance with the provisions of sections four hundred and ninety-one a to four hundred and ninety-one n, both inclusive, of subchapter one of chapter fifteen of the Code of Law for the District of Columbia, within sixty days after the passage of this act the Commissioners of the District of Columbia be, and they are hereby, authorized and directed to institute, in the supreme court of the District of Columbia a proceeding in rem to condemn the land that may be necessary for the opening of Mills avenue with a width of fifty feet from Rhode Island avenue to its intersection with Twenty-fourth street northeast; said condemnation to be wholly to the westerly of the present easterly side of the private road known as Mills avenue. SEC. 2. That assessments shall be made by the jury as benefits as contemplated in section four hundred and ninety-one g of the subchapter of the code hereinbefore referred to: Provided, That the total amount found to be due and awarded as damages, plus the cost and expenses of the proceedings, shall be assessed by the said jury as benefits.

SEC. 3. That the sum of three hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated out of the revenues of the District of Columbia to provide the necessary funds for the costs and expenses of the condemnation proceedings taken pursuant hereto, to be repaid to the District of Columbia from the assessment for benefits when the same are collected, and a sufficient sum to pay the amounts of all judgments and awards is hereby appropriated out of the revenues of the District of Columbia. SEC. 4. That the Commissioners of the District of Columbia are hereby authorized to prepare a new highway plan for that portion of the District of Columbia lying west of said Mills avenue, north of Frankfort street, east of Twentieth street, and south of Rhode Island avenue northeast, under the provisions contained in the act of Congress approved March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, entitled "An act to provide a permanent system of highways in that part of the District of Columbia lying outside of cities," and an amendment to said act, approved June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight; that upon the completion and recording of said new

highway plan it shall take the place of and stand for any previous plan for said portion of the District of Columbia.

Amend the title so as to read "For the opening of Mills avenue northeast from Rhode Island avenue to Twenty-fourth street.'

The amendment recommended by your committee in the nature of a substitute is for the purpose of bringing the proposed legislation in harmony with sections 491a to 491n, inclusive, of the code of law for the District of Columbia, these sections regulating proceedings for the condemnation of land for streets.

As the opening of this street is considered to be of advantage mainly to the immediate section of the city through which the new street will extend, provision has been made in section 2 of the substitute so that the property benefitted will be assessed to cover the amount awarded as damages for land taken as well as for the costs and expenses of the condemnation proceedings, which entire amount will be returned to the District revenues, as it will be assessed as benefits, and the District of Columbia will ultimately bear no portion of the expense for this improvement.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to open a street, to be known as Mills avenue, from Twenty-fourth street to Rhode Island avenue NE., with a width of 50 feet.

There is at the present time a private road, 25 feet in width, extending from Twenty-fourth street to Rhode Island avenue, known as "Mills avenue," and named after Clarke Mills, the noted sculptor, who opened the private highway and permitted its use by the public some twenty years ago. The bill reported by your committee proposes to take not only that private thoroughfare but 25 feet additional from the southwesterly side of the private road, which is acreage property, to make the width 50 feet.

Your committee gave a hearing on this measure, at which it was demonstrated that the opening of this street is absolutely necessary for the convenience of the people residing in that immediate vicinity, who, together with 90 per cent of the residents of Langdon, use the private road in going to and from their homes to the electric car line on Rhode Island avenue, by which access is had to the city.

Your committee has received a large number of letters from the persons residing in that locality, also petitions and resolutions of the Northeastern Suburban Citizens' Association, all indorsing the bill and urging prompt and favorable consideration by Congress.

Your committee incorporates as a part of its report the following petition, signed by some 60 residents and property owners of Langdon living near or adjacent to the proposed new street, which advances a number of reasons for the necessity of the enactment into law of the bill herewith reported, as follows:

WASHINGTON, D. C., January 2, 1907.

The COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:

SIRS: We the undersigned residents and property owners of Langdon, D. C., living near or adjacent to Mills avenue, or owners of property located on or near said avenue, respectfully petition your honorable body for the considerate attention as soon as prac ticable to House bill No. 9326, now pending before your committee, which provides for the widening of Mills avenue NE., from Rhode Island avenue to Twenty-fourth street, in the District of Columbia.

We beg to submit the following as some of the reasons for the desirability of such early and favorable action:

It is more traveled than any other street of that vicinity.

The District Commissioners have recommended it and the citizens' association has indorsed it.

About 90 per cent of the people of Langdon use this street when possible to do so. All of the residents of Langdon want this street improved.

The District Commissioners will not accept of and improve, because it is now only 25 feet in width, and will not accept and improve less than 50 feet in width.

It is the most direct route to the electric cars, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station, the post-office substation, the public telephones, and market stores.

The bill seems fair, and provides payment for ground taken, and the entire cost is to be assessed against the properties benefited and will cost the Federal Government nothing.

This street is and has been in a deplorable condition, at times impassable for loaded teams, and at all times dangerous and disagreeable for both vehicles and pedestrians. It is not in the interest of any real-estate speculation, but is desirable as a necessity and relief of a large majority of the citizens of Langdon.

As proposed by the bill in question, land should be taken from the southwesterly side, on which no buildings are located, as on the opposite side there are now some twenty houses, many of which are near the present road line.

This measure was referred to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, who have reported upon the same favorably. The suggestion of the Commissioners that an amendment be added to the bill giving them authority to prepare a new highway plan for the section of the city through which Mills avenue will extend has been adopted by your committee and is contained in section 4 of the substitute bill. The Commissioners' report is as follows:

OFFICE COMMISSIONERS OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA,

Washington, March 6, 1906.

DEAR SIR: The Commissioners of the District of Columbia have the honor to submit the following on H. R. bill 9326, Fifty-ninth Congress, first session, "For the widening of Mills avenue northeast from Rhode Island avenue to Twenty-fourth street," which you referred to them for report touching the merits of the bill and the propriety of its

passage. A map is inclosed, showing in red the land proposed to be condemned, the estimated cost of which is $7,500.

The title of the bill is for the widening of Mills avenue. As what is known as Mills avenue is merely a private road about 25 feet wide, it will be necessary to condemn the entire width proposed for the avenue, and the title should therefore be amended to read as follows: "For the condemnation of Mills avenue northeast from Rhode Island avenue to Twenty-fourth street." The extra width is taken entirely from the eastern side of the private road.

The object of the bill is to make this private road a public thoroughfare in order that it may be subsequently improved. It is now in very bad shape, both as to grades and as to the condition of the surface, but being a private road can not be improved with public funds. It would not be good policy to improve it without widening, as 25 feet is not sufficient for a roadway and sidewalks.

The bill provides that the whole cost of the opening shall be assessed against property benefited, and as the street will be of local benefit only this provision is a proper one. The only objection of the Commissioners to the opening of the avenue is that in line it does not conform to the plan of the permanent system of highways. Lots, however, have been sold along this street, and they have been largely built up. There are 14 houses built or in course of construction. They are from 15 to 25 feet from the edge of the private road, so that it would not be practicable to widen on this side without

extra cost.

When the subdivision was first put upon the market in small lots this private road was the means of communication to the city, being laid out about perpendicular to Bunker Hill road. It also leads to the Bladensburg road to the northeast and to the Langdon railroad station. It would be more expensive to cut through and improve streets in accordance with the highway extension plan on account of the topography of the ground, which is very uneven, and it is questionable whether the character of the improvements which will be made in this vicinity would at present warrant the opening of streets in accordance with the approved system of highway plans.

The tract abutting this proposed street is divided into small lots which are not recorded in the surveyor's office, as they are not in accordance with the system of street extensions. Immediately to the east and west of the tract lies unsubdivided

property, and beyond these and to the south the property is divided in accordance with the highway plans. This tract lies close to the District line, however, and the streets will probably never be of importance as through streets, so that the necessity of following the system is not so great.

The owners of the property which would be taken for this opening are opposed to it, both because they do not desire to dispose of their land and because they fear assessment. It is the opinion of the Commissioners that there would be less assessment in the proposed plan than if the land were taken to the east, as the cost of moving the houses might have to be taken into consideration and form a part of the assessment for benefits.

While, therefore, the Commissioners believe the street-extension system should, as far as is possible, be carried out, yet on account of the fact that this tract is built up they recommend favorable consideration of the bill, though they regard it not as important as some other street openings.

They believe that if this bill is passed a section should be added to it authorizing the Commissioners to prepare a new highway plan for that portion of the District of Columbia lying west of said Mills avenue, north of Frankfort street, east of Twentieth street, and south of Rhode Island avenue NE. They therefore recommend that the following section be added to the bill and the bill be amended as indicated on inclosed substitute bill:

"SEC. 12. That the Commissioners of the District of Columbia are hereby authorized to prepare a new highway plan for that portion of the District of Columbia lying west of said Mills avenue, north of Frankfort street, east of Twentieth street, and south of Rhode Island avenue northeast, under the provisions contained in the act of Congress approved March second, eighteen hundred and ninety-three, entitled 'An act to provide a permanent system of highways in that part of the District of Columbia lying outside of cities,' and an amendment to said act, approved June twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-eight; that upon the completion and recording of said new highway plan it shall take the place of and stand for any previous plan for said portion of the District of Columbia."

Very respectfully,

Hon. J. W. BABCOCK,

HENRY B. F. MACFARLAND,

President Board of Commissioners District of Columbia.

Chairman Committee on District of Columbia, House of Representatives.