TRIBUZED ARTICLES 



Special Use Problems 



by 



Dwlght C. Birch 



During the past two years, the Sierra Forest has 

 seen a rapid development of the special use business. T/lth 

 this development has come a new set of conditions and prob- 

 lems of policy to solve, and the one great problem that has 

 called for more thought, perhaps, than any other is tho 

 basis of charge for the various classes of special use per- 

 mits. 



The principle of makinc a charge based on a unit 

 area of land (as a pure land rental} has worked well for 

 those who lease lots for summer residence purposes only. 

 The sites suitable foi* residence purposes are classified 

 according to their accessibility and" the desirability of 

 the location, and a rental charge is made according to 

 their value. But in granting a business concession to a 

 store keeper , hotel keeper or transportation company sev- 

 eral questions enter that are not easy to settle at once. 

 The natvjre of the business nay be such that a very large 

 income may be derived from the use of a small area of land 

 while the man next door may need a large area to carry on 

 a much less profitable business. Our experience has been 

 that each concessioner thinks the price he i^ays for his 

 concession should bear some relation to the amount of in- 

 come he has from his business. So why should we not adopt 

 something of the plan used in making charge for a water 

 power permit and base the tax on the net income ? The 

 principle is theoretically sound but putting it Into puac- 

 tioe Is somewhat difficult. The important point is that 

 the charge on any business concession represents a certain 

 very small percentage of the net income from the business, 

 and under present conditions , the judgment of the Porest 

 officer should not go far wrong In placing this arbitrary 

 charge on any one class of business. 



Another serious question is that of placing a re- 

 striction on the number of concessions in any one class of 

 business. This seems necessary in certain cases to provoj ; ; 

 cut-throat competition and to insure good service. To offse 

 the criticism that a monopoly is granted, the ?orest S 



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