1430 F1FTY-six'r11 coneanss. sm. 11. cs. sai. mi. shall not be less than the current market price of the ground in the —whc¤f¤eisl¤ contiguous lots; that if the fee title to the land in the alley or part m` of alley so to be closed is not in the United States the title to said land shall revert to the person or persons who dedicated the same for alley purposes, or to his or their heirs or assigns.
- "“‘ ‘” ““‘**`· Sec. 1609. That it shall be the duty of the surveyor of said District,
as soon as may be thereafter, to distinctly mark off such alley in the manner in which it may be designated in the petition therefor, and make out triplicate plats of such alley, showing its courses and boundaries and the quantity in square feet which may be taken from the lots or parts of lots in the square by the opening, extending, widening, or straightening thereof, and showing also the alley or part of alley to be closed, if any, and the lots or parts of lots to which the land contained —¢lll¤g. in such closed alley is to be annexed; one of which plats shall be deposited with the recorder of deeds of said District, to be filed among the records of his office, another kept in the office of the surveyor of said District, and one filed in the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. 8gQg(§§$§§§’;’,§§§gl§j,§,{; _ Sec. 1610. That in the opening, extension, widening,_or straightenmmm an- yiugefjiaie ing of an alley or minor street, as .h€1:€1H provided for, it shall be lawfgyjifg m ° °‘€ a ful for the Commissioners of the District of Columbia to close any alley or part of an alley thereby rendered useless or unnecessary, the fee to which is in the United States, by entering into an agreement with the owners of the lots or parts of lots contiguous thereto for the purchase by them of the land contained in said alley sought to be closed, at a price to be agreed upon by the said Commissioners and said owners, which price shall not be less per square foot than the assessed value per square foot of the contiguous lots; said agreements to be in duplicate, one of which shall be filed in the office of the recorder of deeds and the other in the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia, and the sums so agreed to be paid shall be assessed severally against the lots or parts of lots to which the land so purchased shall be annexed; such assessments to bear interest at the rate of ten per centum per annum until paid, and shall be collected as other taxes P’<>¤¥$0· are collected: Pmzvicled, }wwez~e7·, That the Commissioners of the Dis- §,‘1{‘°“S“‘“"“’ ““°` trict of Columbia may, in their discretion, sell and convey the land contained in the alley to be closed, for cash, to any person or persons; _Ql¤si¤g alley on pv- that the Commissioners of the District of Columbia may, in the opent1uon_ or owner and · · - · _ _ · - _ Y abutting owners, mg, €Xt€IlSlOU, widening, oi stiaightemng of an alley, close an alley, or part of an alley, the fee to which is not in the United States, provided the owners of all the lots or parts of lots abutting thereon and the party or parties holding the fee title to the land contained in the alley to be closed shall first sign and file a petition therefor in triplicate, together with a plat thereof in triplicate, as provided by section sixteen hundred and eight of this code. One copy of said plat shall be filed and recorded in the office of the surveyor of the District of Columbia, one in the office of the recorder of deeds, and the other in the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia. l>=¤·¤¤¤~~- Sec. 1611. DAMAeEs.——That upon the filing of such plat by the surveyor in the office of the Commissioners of the District of Columbia; —l¤¤¤l·**¤=‘ll***= l‘">‘- as aforesaid, the said Commissioners shall make an application in writing to the marshal of the District of Columbia to summon and impanel a jury of twelve citizens who have no interest in the real estate mentioned in the said petition (and it is hereby made his duty to summon and impanel the same in all such cases, upon application to him in writing by said Commissioners), and who, having iirst taken and subscribed an oath in writing to discharge the duty imposed upon "“l‘l""l‘“l·°‘"· them by the provisions of this act justly and impartially, shall proceed to ascertain and appraise the damages which may accrue to the real estate of any person or persons by the opening, extending, widening,
