Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-01
WITHOUT LITIGATION
KENESAw APARTMENT HOUSE
COMPANY OBTAINS PERMIT.
Decision Announced by Commissioners
Today-Mandate Issued by Dis
trict Supreme Court.

| The Kenesaw Apartment House Company
| will be granted permit for the construc-
| ton of a large apartment house on the
| triangle at 18th street and Kenesaw avenue
| without further interference on the part of
| the District authorities. The District Com
| missioners at board session held this
| morning decided to proceed no further with
| litigation to prevent the erection of the
! apartment house on the triangle, which the
Commissioners and various citizens desired
| to be preserved as a public park.
The conference of the Commissioners to-
day was occasioned by the action of JUS
tice Clabaugh in the District Supreme
| Court yesterday, in issuing a mandate re-
quiring Building Inspector Snewden Ash
ford to issue the permit to the Kenesaw
| Apartment House Company. In addition
| to the three Commissioners at the confer
ence were Corporation Counsel A. B. Duvall
and Building Inspector Ashford.
The question of taking appeal to the
| District Court of Appeals from Justice Cla-
baugh's decision was brought fup by the
Commissioners and the opinion of Mr.. Du-
vail en- the question was requested MI
Duvall informed the Commissioners that
they could not prosecute an appeal. but
| that if an appeal were taken Mr.. Ash
| ford, the building inspector, would have
| to prosecute it. The court yesterday held
that the building inspector, and not the
Commissioners, was the person who was
responsible for the issuing of permits, and
that this was merely a ministerial func-
ton.
Bond Would Be Necessary.
Mr. Duvall stated that If Mr.. Ashford APP
peaied the case to the Court of Appeals he
would be required to give a supersedeas
bond in the of probably not less than
$4,000, to indemnify the apartment house
company for any damage they might sus-
tain in the event the higher court de-
cided the case against the building IN
spector. The case. he said, is not one IN
which the Commissioners, acting for the
District of Columbia, can appeal by giving
cost bond. but Mr.. Ashford would have
| to make the appeal in the case as an IN
diyfdual officer.
The Commits sioners, under the circum-
stances, did not desire Mr.. Ashford to give
a large bond, in view of the possibility that
the higher court would decide the case
| against him, end thus subject him to pay
| damages in the sum of $4,000 or more.
Nor was Mr.. Ashford anxious to rush into
| the breach and obligate himself to pay
damages in large sum for the mere privi-
| lege of refusing to issue a permit for a
| building, when the applicants have literally
complied with the regulations and laws.
| The Commissioners, although reluctant to
do so, decided to let the matter drop, and
| so instructed the corporation counsel. A
| formal order will soon be issued by them
| resembling their previous order to Mr. Ash
| ford, which directed him not to issue the
permit, and when the building inspector is
| Supreme Court he will forthwith issue the
| permit to the apartment house company.
Commissioners Express Regret.
The Commissioners state that they regret
| their inability to prevent the erection of
| the apartment house on the site in ques-
| ton. for the reason that they desired to
| maintain 10th street as a great boulevard
and to use the triangle at 10Th street and
| KeneSaw avenue a public park. They
| also were interested to have the courts de-
| fine the limits of their authority in ques-
| tons in which public policy is involved.
Messrs. Dulin and Harding of the apart
| ment House Company, and Mr.. John Lowe
| Newbold, representing the contractors for
| the erection of the structure called on the
| Commissioners this morning and further
| presented their side of the case MeSsrs.
Charles H. Armes and John B. Sleman, jr.,
/ also called on the Commissioners and
| urged them to decline to issue the permit.
| It is understood that the Apartment
| House Company intimated that whether
| the case was appealed or not, they would
proceed with the excavation and other
| preHminaries for the erection of the build
| ing.