Why can't I get rid of leading zeros in equations?

I tihnk I have all of my settings correct to eliminate leading zeros and add trailing zeros.  However, when I create an equate, the solution always has a leading zero.  I am linking a custom property to this equation and I don't want a zero before the decimal.

Ex:  My dimension (D1@Sketch1) is .500, My equation is "Length" = "D1@Sketch1"+.05, but the equation evaluates to 0.550, not .550.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

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