Marvin v. Housing Authority of Jacksonville

• Decision Date: 27 July 1938
• Citation: 133 Fla. 590,183 So. 145
• Parties: MARVIN v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF JACKSONVILLE et al.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

183 So. 145

133 Fla. 590

MARVIN v. HOUSING AUTHORITY OF JACKSONVILLE et al.

Florida Supreme Court

July 27, 1938

En Banc.

Suit by William Marvin, as administrator of the estate of John L Marvin, deceased, against the Housing Authority of Jacksonville, Fla., and others for a temporary and permanent injunction to restrain the carrying out of contracts between the Housing Authority of Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville, the issuing of any bonds or debentures by the Housing Authority, and the acquisition of realty for housing project. From an order sustaining motion to dismiss the bill of complaint, the plaintiff appeals.

Affirmed.

BROWN J., dissenting in part. Appeal from Circuit Court, Duval County; DeWitt T. Gray, judge.

COUNSEL

W. C Johnson, of Jacksonville, for appellant.

Kent, Kassewitz, Wheeler & Crenshaw and Austin Miller, all of Jacksonville, for appellees.

OPINION

CHAPMAN Justice.

On June 15, 1938, plaintiff, as a tax payer, filed in the Circuit Court of Duval County, Florida, his bill of complaint alleging, among other things, that The Housing Authority of Jacksonville, Florida, was organized pursuant to Chapter 17981, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1937; that the Housing Authority selected a site for a municipal low cost housing project and authorized the acquisition of land and a survey of slum conditions in the City of Jacksonville; that for the purpose of obtaining capital the Housing Authority entered into a loan contract with the United States Housing Authority whereby it was provided that a loan would be made by it to the Housing Authority of Jacksonville, Florida, in the sum of $1,027,000, being 90% of the estimated cost of the project; that the Housing Authority of Jacksonville agreed to issue debentures or bonds for said amount purchasable by the United States Housing Authority for the purpose of retiring the indebtness represented by the loan. The bill of complaint also described the lands by metes and bonds and alleged that it is situated within the City of Jacksonville and commonly known as Brentwood Park Housing Project, and that the plaintiff's decedent owned an interest, in part, in and to the lands therein described.

The Housing Authority of the City of Jacksonville proposed to issue additional bonds in the sum of $125,000 to be absorbed by investors of the City of Jacksonville and vicinity. The $125,000 represented the remaining 10% of the estimated cost of the project. The Authority had entered into a contract with the United States Housing Authority whereby, over a period of sixty years, the bonds of the Housing Authority of Jacksonville are to be amortized, and the U.S. H. A. will make to the Housing Authority of Jacksonville annual contributions of $43,925 as a part of the retirement or sinking fund whereby the principal and interest of said bonds will be paid.

The Housing Authority of the City of Jacksonville entered into a contract with the City of Jacksonville providing for the elimination of unsafe and unsanitary dwelling units of said City and other services were pledged by the City of Jacksonville to the Housing Authority of said City. The U.S. H. A. agreed to advance to the Housing Authority of Jacksonville $80,000 for the purpose of paying preliminary expenses in connection with the project; the Authority proposes to issue its said bonds for said project and to do so without obtaining the approval of the qualified freeholders of said City prior to the issuance; the Authority represents that the real and personal property owned and administered by the authority is exempt from all State, County, and Municipal ad valorem taxes under the terms and provisions of Chapter 17983, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1937.

The bill of complaint further alleges that the trust indenture to be signed by the authority and the U.S. H. A. will not constitute a lien upon the corpus of the real estate or the physical property of the Authority, but merely creates and constitutes a lien on the rentals and revenues derived from the operation of the completed project. It is likewise alleged that the proposed 'low cost housing project' is not for a public purpose, as contemplated by law, and that the power of eminent domain should not be exercised by said Authority to acquire property, because it is not for a public purpose and that to permit it so to do would be in contravention with the Constitution of Florida; and that the proposed issuance of the debentures or bonds of the Authority without a vote of the freeholders is likewise in contravention with the Constitution of Florida.

The prayer of the bill of complaint is for a temporary and permanent injunction against the City of Jacksonville (a) from carrying out the contracts between the Housing Authority of Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville identified as Exhibits 5 and 6; (b) that the Housing Authority be enjoined temporarily and permanently from issuing any of the bonds or debentures for the purposes named in the bill of complaint; (c) that it be temporarily and permanently enjoined from acquiring title to lands and property within the City of Jacksonville for a slum clearance low cost housing project; (d) that the power of taking over property under Chapter 17981 is not a public purpose; (e) that the proposed bonds are obligations of the City of Jacksonville within the meaning of Amended Section 6 of Article 9 of the Constitution of Florida. Other allegations are a part of the bill of complaint but are unnecessary to recite. Exhibits numbered from 1 to 7, inclusive, are attached to and by appropriate language made a part of the bill of complaint.

On June 15, 1938, the Housing Authority of Jacksonville filed a motion to dismiss the bill of complaint on the grounds, (a) that there is no equity in the bill; (b) that it affirmatively appears from the bill of complaint that the purposes of Chapter 17981, Acts of 1937, are public purposes; (c) that Chapter 17981, Acts of 1937, Laws of Florida, providing for the exercise of the power of eminent domain, will not violate the Declaration of Rights of the Constitution of Florida; (d) it appears upon the face of the bill of complaint that the bonds or debentures of the Housing Authority are not obligations of the City of Jacksonville within the meaning of Section 6, Article 9 of the Constitution of Florida; (e) that Chapter 17983, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1937, exempting real and personal property of the Housing Authority of Jacksonville, does not violate Section 1 of Article 9 of the Constitution of Florida; (f) the bill of complaint shows that the taxing power of the City of Jacksonville is not pledged, nor any of its revenues obligated, but that the lien affects the income only of the Housing Authority of Jacksonville.

The City of Jacksonville filed a motion to dismiss the bill of complaint on the grounds, viz., (a) that the City of Jacksonville was not a proper party to the suit; (b) the bill of complaint states no equitable grounds for the relief against the City of Jacksonville.

Upon a hearing on the part of counsel for the respective parties, the court below made and entered an order sustaining the motions to dismiss and did dismiss the bill of complaint on June 16, 1938, and an appeal was perfected from said order of dismissal and the cause is here for review on a number of assignments of error. The parties will be referred to in this opinion as they appeared in the court below as plaintiff and defendants.

1. It is contended that Chapter 17981, Laws of Florida, Acts of 1937, is invalid because the low cost housing and slum clearance is not a public purpose within the meaning of the law. In construing a statute, resort may be had, if necessary, to the history of the legislation and to public history of the times in which it was passed in order to determine its purpose, meaning and effect, as an aid in determining its validity. See Sheip & Co. v. Amos, 100 Fla. 863, 130 So. 699. The 1937 Legislature made a finding and declaration of necessity when enacting Chapter 17981, and in so doing employed the following language:

'Section 2. Finding and Declaration of Necessity.--It is hereby declared:

'(a) that there exist in the State insanitary or unsafe dwelling accommodations and that persons of low income are forced to reside in such insanitary or unsafe accommodations; that within the State there is a shortage of safe or sanitary dwelling accommodations available at rents which persons of low income can afford and that such persons are forced to occupy overcrowded and congested dwelling accommodations; that the aforesaid conditions cause an increase and spread of disease and crime and constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents of the State and impair economic values; that these conditions necessitate excessive and disproportionate expenditures of public funds for crime prevention and punishment, public health, welfare and safety, fire and accident protection, and other public services and facilities; (b) that slum areas in the State cannot be cleared, nor can the shortage of safe and sanitary dwellings for persons of low income be relieved, through the operation of private enterprise, and that the construction of housing projects for persons of low income (as herein defined) would therefore not be competitive with private enterprise; (c) that the clearance, replanning and reconstruction of the areas in which insanitary or unsafe housing conditions exist and the providing of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income (including the acquisition by a housing authority of property to be used for or in connection with housing projects or appurtenant thereto) are exclusively public uses and purposes for which public

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