Senator TYDINGS. Mr. Jennings, would you tell us just briefly what the Federal City Council is, why it was organized, who belongs to it, what types of projects it is interested in?

Mr. JENNINGS. Well, the Federal City Council has approximately 100 active members. It has a certain number of trustees who are not located in Washington. They are important individuals in various fields who can advise with us here in Washington. The Washington membership consists of, let us say, 100 of the mercantile, commercial, real estate corporations and businesses. It is really the crux of the business life of our community.

It was organized originally, I believe, in 1954, because a need was felt for a group that would work quickly, efficiently, and effectively, a group that might serve to be a cohesive factor in bringing together diverse views on particular matters in the community. It does not desire to go into fields where other civic groups are already functioning adequately and well, but when problems do develop, the Federal City Council membership, the trustees, always stand ready to try and help resolve the differences in the best interests of the city of Washington and its metropolitan area.

Senator TYDINGS. What are some of the projects that you have supported for the betterment of the city?

Mr. JENNINGS. Well, one of the more important, last year, we supported the subway program, worked hard to see that it might be set up on a sound business basis. We worked very hard to endeavor to convince both Houses of Congress that it was in the best interests of our city.

That is one matter, and I might say we are still working on that, although the legislation was passed and signed by the President, but we are working very hard on many of the details, where we can be helpful.

The highway program is another area where we have taken a great interest. We have worked hard in connection with a proposed bridge to be known as the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, which crosses from Haines Point, not at the point, but the area that is generally known as Haines Point, across the water over to, I think it is, Maine Avenue.

Senator TYDINGS. Is that the commuter bridge?

Mr. JENNINGS. What?

Senator TYDINGS. Is that a kind of walkover bridge?

Mr. JENNINGS. It would be a walkover bridge, yes. Motor vehicles as such would not be permitted to go across it, but I believe it is planned that the miniature-type buses might carry tourists back and forth, and it would tie in with the aquarium that will be located on Haines Point.

It would provide a very wonderful attraction for tourists and for the people of the city of Washington in the metropolitan area. It would really provide access to the proposed aquarium that will be built, and it will be a very fine one, one of the finest in the country, and the bridge would have shops and stores and restaurants and things of that type.

We believe it would be a very fine addition to our city.

Senator TYDINGS. Well, I certainly thank you for coming down here. I commend you and the Federal City Council for your interest in the betterment of the District of Columbia. We certainly will give your testimony every consideration.

Mr. JENNINGS. Thank you very much.

Senator TYDINGS. Thank you very much, Mr. Jennings. Mr. Bernei Burgunder, Jr.

STATEMENT OF B. BERNEI BURGUNDER, JR., VICE PRESIDENT, S. KANN SONS CO.

Mr. BURGUNDER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Senator TYDINGS. I would say, Mr. Burgunder, we welcome you, and appreciate your being here. I might say that we extend you the same consideration we offered Mr. Jennings. If you would rather insert your statement and then comment on those portions of it which you think appropriate, that would be quite all right, or you can read it in its entirety.

Mr. BURGUNDER. Well, if it is all right with you, I would be delighted to read it quickly.

Senator TYDINGS. All right.

Mr. BURGUNDER. Mr. Chairman, my name is Bernei Burgunder, Jr. I am vice president of S. Kann Sons Co., a department store doing business in Washington. We also have a branch store in suburban Virginia. As a retailer concerned about the impact of the parking problem on the city's commercial core, I am pleased to have this opportunity to appear before your subcommittee.

I have been deeply troubled about the parking situation in Washington for many years, particularly because of its effect on our particular business. It was this concern that prompted me 12 years ago to conduct a survey of customers to determine their feelings about parking and its possible influence on their shopping habits. Even though the survey was conducted in 1954, I think its results might still be useful to this subcommittee today.

We sought to learn from a group of customers whether they would shop more in downtown Washington if the parking rates were less expensive and if there were more parking spaces available.

Of the 5,000 replies we received, 6%1⁄2 percent were from people who did not own automobiles. Another 141⁄2 percent of those responding indicated that downtown parking rates and spaces had little or no effect on their shopping habits.

The remaining 79 percent-3,950 of the 5,000 responses-indicated they would shop more in downtown Washington if the rates were more reasonable and the spaces more plentiful.

Four out of every five customers who responded indicated sufficient. concern over the parking situation in downtown Washington to state that it might affect their shopping habits.

That was in 1954. Since that time, there has been ample evidence that many of them did change their shopping habits, to the detriment of downtown. Despite population increases, despite general economic advances throughout the Washington area, downtown retail sales have declined.

The annual index of department store sales compiled by the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond shows that downtown department store sales have declined by more than 5 percent since that 1954 survey, while areawide department store sales have increased by well over 67 percent.

For the record, I would like to submit the year-by-year figures on department store sales for downtown Washington and for the metropolitan area as compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond since 1954.

From a retailer's standpoint, Mr. Chairman, it is very disturbing to see gains recorded by downtown department stores during only 4 out of those 12 years while areawide sales were recording 12 consecutive years without a decline.

And it is not only the department stores that are caught up in this negative trend in downtown retail sales. The Washington Sunday Post of January 9, in a section dealing with the business outlook, listed an index of 37 economic barometers. Thirty-three of the indicators showed varying degrees of growth during 1965. Total retail sales in the metropolitan area were up by 4.7 percent, but retail sales in the District were down by 0.5 percent.

It is interesting to note that in the same January 9 newspaper a story appeared quoting a high-ranking official of the District government saying that $8 to $10 million of additional revenue is needed in needed in 1966 to carry out the city's programs. A substantial portion of this additional $8 to $10 million would, I suppose, be expected to come from taxes on retail sales in the District which have unfortunately established a definite pattern of decline.

In my judgment, Mr. Chairman, continuation of this trend of increased taxes and reduced economic activity can only lead to a point of diminishing return if, in fact, that point has not been reached already. Unless the trend is reversed the outcome would be disastrous, not only for the District of Columbia but also for the surrounding suburban areas that are flourishing because of their proximity to Washington with all its attractions.

I hasten to add that I have no cut-and-dried or simple formula for redirecting the trend. It is a complex problem, born out of years of neglect and inaction on many fronts, and it will require bold action in several different areas. It will require, among other things, that we move ahead immediately with the District's interstate highway program and avoid any fruitless delays in the construction schedule of the proposed subway.

Transportation deficiencies and a number of other factors have helped to bring about the decline in retail activity in downtown Washington. Inadequate parking is only one of the factors, but I am convinced it has contributed materially to the overall reduction of the economic importance of the retail core area. Moreover, it is the only major factor that is not the object of some kind of corrective activity at the present time.

Progress is being made to provide efficient highways and a modern subway system to facilitate the movement of people and goods in the area. A promising start has been made on an urban renewal program to make the downtown environment more attractive. Many downtown businessmen have invested heavily to improve the efficiency and appearance of their plants. But these and other efforts can never be more than partial remedies as long as the parking situation is allowed to drift along without some direction from the community it is meant

to serve.

Mr. Chairman, the crux of the issue is the choice of the potential customer. No longer is he required to come downtown to do his shopping. He can choose, and is choosing, to turn his back on downtown in favor of suburban shopping centers with their acres of black-topped parking space.

Studies have shown that when people choose to shop in downtown urban areas they do so because of large merchandise selection, favorable prices and the convenience of being able to handle several errands in a concentrated area in a relatively short period of time.

Apparently these traditional attractions are not sufficient to overcome the shortcomings of Washington's commercial core, not the least of which is the parking dilemma. Therefore, if the status quo on parking is preserved, these same people can be expected to continue to forsake downtown in growing numbers. This would mean still lower downtown sales, less taxes for the city and more incentive for the merchant and businessman to join his customers in suburbia away from the parking problems of downtown.

The retailer can only go so far in his individual efforts to attract the volume of people his business requires. He can provide the right merchandise at the right prices. He can furnish the kind of service and friendly atmosphere that his customers want. He can dress up his establishment and he can advertise extensively. But he cannot build the subways and roads his customers want and, with rare exceptions, he cannot assemble the right amount of land in the right locations to construct the parking facilities his customers demand. These things require official concern and official action.

I trust, Mr. Chairman, that these hearings will shed enough light on the seriousness of the parking problem in Washington to encourage immediate, positive action.

I favor arming the Board of Commissioners with the tools necessary to do the job that needs to be done. I believe they should be empowered to plan parking facilities where they are needed, to assemble land-through the use of eminent domain, if necessary-for parking sites, to issue bonds to finance construction of permanent garages, to sell or lease the facilities for private operation, and to set rate guidelines for Government-constructed facilities. I believe these powers are fundamental needs for a workable parking program.

It is my feeling, too, Mr. Chairman, that S. 2769, cosponsored by you and Senator Kennedy, will fulfill these needs, and will prove to be the basis for the solution of the Washington parking problem.

I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for this opportunity to testify before you and also for the contributions which you and this committee are making toward the welfare of the Washington area. Senator TYDINGS. Thank you, Mr. Burgunder. You were member of the Citizens' Advisory Committee that worked on a draft of a parking bill?

a

Mr. BURGUNDER. Yes, sir.

Senator TYDINGS. Would you tell us what the Citizens' Advisory Committee was, and why it was set up?

Mr. BURGUNDER. Well, the Citizens' Advisory Committee was set up by the District Commissioners about 11⁄2 years ago, I think it was in December 1963, I believe, because the Commissioners were concerned about the seriousness of the parking situation.

They hoped by getting a group of representative citizens together, that a solution could be found to the parking problem which would meet with the approval of all the various business interests in the city of Washington. This committee worked for approximately a year, trying to seek legislation that would be acceptable to all the groups in the city of Washington, arriving at many, many compromises, and finally, a year later, issued a bill to the District of Columbia, or a proposed bill, I should say, to the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, which at this point, I understand, is sitting on their desk, and they have taken no action on it.

Senator TYDINGS. Let me say, Mr. Burgunder, that we appreciate very much your being with us this morning. You were very kind to prepare your statement, and we appreciate your efforts.

Thank you very much.

Mr. BURGUNDER. Thank you.

Senator TYDINGS. We are delighted to have with us today Mr. Thornton W. Owen, one of the most distinguished realtors in this area of the country. I know, from personal experience.

Mr. Owen, we are very honored to have you with us, to give us the benefit of your counsel and advice in this very important matter.

STATEMENT OF THORNTON W. OWEN, PRESIDENT, DOWNTOWN PROGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Mr. OWEN. Thank you, Mr. Tydings.

My name is Thornton W. Owen. I am president of Thomas J. Owen & Sons, real estate appraisers and consultants, I am happy to have this opportunity to discuss parking in Washington as it relates to real estate values and the overall economics of our Federal City. At the outset, it might be well to emphasize that any discussion of land values, in the District of Columbia, must begin with recognition of the unique nature of the city's geography and its dual political

purpose.

District of Columbia real estate is confined to an area that is roughly 62 square miles. Because of its role as the Nation's Capital, the District has surrendered more than half of its land resources to the National Government. Considering these severe land restrictions, and the height and zoning limitations imposed because of the city's character, the District faces a challenge greater than that of any other urban areas, to make the most productive and economical use of its remaining real estate.

The argument is often advanced that off-street parking is not an economical use of central business district land. On the contrary, off-street parking-located strategically and properly constructedis a highly productive and economic use of central business district land both in terms of return for the operator and benefit for business establishments in the general area.