The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-07-23
WILL ERECT HIS REPAIR SHOP
Italian Land Owner Insisted That He
Has Taken Advice From His Attor-
ney and Questions Validity of Resi-
dence District, Ordinances in City.

Z
set aside residence districts and main
tain them against the building of shops
for business purposes is to be under fire
in the courts of the county and state.
Giuseppe Vite, an Italian, owning prop
erty at 458 Grover street. has defed the
police department and the city council
and has declared his intention to pro-
coed at once with the erection of a re-
pair shop on the lot owned by him re-
CARELESS Of the city ordinance which
sets aside this portion Of Grover street
as a residence district.
Acting on the orders of the city coun-
Gil and the order was given by the
unanimous vote Of the members of that
body, Chief O'Hare went to the prop
erty of Vite this morning and served
notice on him that he would not be per-
mitted under the city ordinance to
erect the repair shop. The Italian was
gentlemanly in his defiance. He told
the chief OF police that he was not
looking for trouble but that after he
had taken the matter up with his attor-
ney that he could not abide by the
order of the council and the police de-
partment. He insisted that the prop
erty was his in fee simple and that he
believed that he had perfect right to
erect a repair shop on it so long as the
shop was maintained in a manner that
not ahlie nilsaslsss
Vite let the nolice understand that
his attorneys had gone fully into the
matter and that he was prepared to
fight in court any action on the part Of
the city to interfere with him in the
use Of the property for this purpose.
The next step of the city has not
been outlined, but it is thought that
Vite will be arrested for violation of
the city ordinance and this will bring
the question Of the rights Of other
property owners to an immediate test
in the courts. Vite is said to be ready
to appeal to the supreme court should
the lower courts decide against him.
Many of the officials of the city will
be glad to see test of the right of
the city to set aside districts as ''resi-
Dental districts. = The right of Keno
sha under the present population to
pass such ordinances has been raised
before by attorneys. The law under
which provision is made for residence
districts applies to cites having pop
ulation of $4,000 or over and it is I'M
derstood that the defense in the fight
against the enforcement of the order
was that the city did not have 2 legal
population in excess of $4,000 at the
time Of the passage of these ordinances.
If the members of the council lind that
the ordinances which have been passed
are not strictly in keeping with the
provisions of the law it is probable
that all of them will be repealed and
new ordinances passed after another
census of the city has been taken.
The members Of the council hold that
it is unfair to the people in these
seemingly protected districts to be left
liable to assaults on these ordinances in
future years and they believe that now
is the time to settle the question of the
right Of the city to enact such ordi-
nances. There is no doubt but that
Kenosha has population of $4,000 peo-
pie, but the last government census did
not give the city credit for such a
population and attorneys declare that
the right Of the city to pass these or
dinances will depend on the census
figures given out at that time.
The position of the aldermen is taken
with a view of making it possible to
give the people the greatest possible Sc
curity and if the present ordinances
are open to assault they are anxious
to repeal them and pass ordinances
later when the city will have some le-
gal claim to the population named in
the state law.