Anne Arundel County v. Annapolis

• Decision Date: 10 December 1998
• Docket Number: No. 47,47
• Parties: ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Maryland et al. v. CITY OF ANNAPOLIS et al.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

721 A.2d 217

352 Md. 117

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Maryland et al. v. CITY OF ANNAPOLIS et al.

No. 47, Sept. Term, 1998.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

December 10, 1998.

Sarah M. Iliff, Asst. County Atty. (Phillip F. Scheibe, County Atty., on brief), Annapolis, for Appellants.

Paul G. Goetzke, Jonathan A. Hodgson (Hyatt, Peters & Weber, P.A., all on brief), Annapolis, for Appellees.

Argued before BELL, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, RODOWSKY, CHASANOW, RAKER, WILNER and CATHELL, JJ.

CATHELL, Judge.

In this case we are called upon to determine whether an annexation by the City of Annapolis, which left an area of Anne Arundel County separated from the rest of the County by waterways on three sides and the City of Annapolis on the other, violated Maryland Code (1957, 1998 Repl.Vol.,) Article 23A, section 19(a)(2), because it created the type of enclave prohibited by that statute. We hold that under the plain meaning of the statute, the annexation by the City of Annapolis did not create a prohibited enclave because it did not create an unincorporated area completely surrounded by the City of Annapolis. Accordingly, we shall affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I. Facts and Procedural History

The City of Annapolis (City of Annapolis or Annapolis) sits on a peninsula called the Annapolis Neck. On the easterly edge of the Annapolis Neck is the Chesapeake Bay and on the northern and southern boundaries of the neck are the Severn and South Rivers. Most of Annapolis is located along the peninsula's northeastern edge, off of the Severn River. Creeks, inlets, and coves pierce the body of the peninsula, creating other smaller peninsulas and projections of land.

Farmers National Land Corporation (Farmers) owns a 103.647 acre tract of land in Anne Arundel County (Chrisland property) situated between Annapolis and one of the southerly smaller peninsulas that branches out from the main peninsula. That smaller peninsula is bounded by the South River, Church Creek, and Crab Creek and is referred to as the Bywater Road Peninsula or Bywater Peninsula. The Chrisland Corporation (Chrisland) is the contract purchaser of this tract of land.

On May 9, 1995, Farmers and Chrisland petitioned the City of Annapolis to annex the Chrisland property and include it within the boundaries of Annapolis. On November 4, 1996, the City Council adopted a resolution annexing this property, effective December 19, 1996. The result of the annexation was to extend the city's boundary into the upper portion of the Bywater Peninsula, leaving the lower portion of the peninsula beyond the new city boundary remaining under Anne Arundel County (County) jurisdiction. The non-annexed portion on the lower southern end of the Bywater Peninsula is now bounded by the newly annexed part of Annapolis to the north and on all other sides by the waters of the South River and Church and Crab Creeks, all of which are within Anne Arundel County. These waterways are not within the corporate boundaries or limits of the City of Annapolis. Thus, because of the annexation, a portion of County "fast" land is separated from the rest of "fast" land areas of the County.

The County, the original plaintiff below, and Intervenor-Plaintiffs Diana H. Josephson, the Bywater Church and Crab Creek Association, Barbara Samorajczyk, and the Annapolis Neck Peninsula Federation, appellants, brought suit against the City of Annapolis, Farmers, and Chrisland, appellees, in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County seeking a declaratory judgment and other relief. Appellants challenged the annexation at issue as creating an enclave prohibited under Maryland Code (1957, 1998 Repl.Vol.), Article 23A, section 19(a)(2).¹

After a hearing on cross-motions for summary judgment, in a written opinion and order docketed October 29, 1997, the circuit court found that Annapolis's annexation of the Chrisland property did not create a prohibited enclave and granted appellees' motions for summary judgment.

The County filed a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals on November 25, 1997, and the remaining appellants filed their appeal on November 26, 1997. Appellee City of Annapolis filed a cross-appeal on December 3, 1997.² This Court issued a writ of certiorari on its own motion before the intermediate appellate court heard arguments on the matter in order to address the important issues raised by this appeal.

Appellants present the following question for our review:

Should the legislature's intent govern interpretation of Article 23A, § 19(a)(2) where a strictly literal reading of the law produces an illogical and unreasonable result which permits creation of the very tax islands which the law was drafted to prohibit?

Appellee and cross-appellant City of Annapolis presents the following question:

Whether an annexation that left unincorporated land bounded on several sides by waters located in the county offends a statute precluding annexations that create an unincorporated area bounded on all sides by real property in the municipality[?]

Our task is to determine the meaning of section 19(a)(2) and then to resolve whether Annapolis's annexation of the Chrisland property violated this statutory provision.

II. Discussion

A. Statutory Interpretation: Plain Meaning

We have said that "[t]he cardinal rule of statutory interpretation is to ascertain and effectuate the intention of the legislature." Oaks v. Connors, 339 Md. 24, 35, 660 A.2d 423, 429 (1995). Legislative intent must be sought in the first instance in the actual language of the statute, "giving those words their ordinary and natural meaning." Lewis v. State, 348 Md. 648, 653, 705 A.2d 1128, 1131 (1998). See also Marriott Employees Fed. Credit Union v. Motor Vehicle Admin., 346 Md. 437, 444-45, 697 A.2d 455, 458 (1997)

; Stanford v. Maryland Police Training & Correctional Comm'n, 346 Md. 374, 380, 697 A.2d 424, 427 (1997) (quoting Tidewater v. Mayor of Havre de Grace, 337 Md. 338, 344, 653 A.2d 468, 472 (1995)); Coburn v. Coburn, 342 Md. 244, 256, 674 A.2d 951, 957 (1996); Romm v. Flax, 340 Md. 690, 693, 668 A.2d 1, 2 (1995); Oaks, 339 Md. at 35,

660 A.2d at 429; Mauzy v. Hornbeck, 285 Md. 84, 92, 400 A.2d 1091, 1096 (1979); Board of Supervisors v. Weiss, 217 Md. 133, 136, 141 A.2d 734, 736 (1958). Furthermore, where the statutory language is plain and free from ambiguity and expresses a definite and simple meaning, courts normally do not look beyond the words of the statute itself to determine legislative intent. Marriott Employees, 346 Md. at 445,

697 A.2d at 458; Kaczorowski v. Mayor of Baltimore, 309 Md. 505, 515, 525 A.2d 628, 633 (1987); Hunt v. Montgomery County, 248 Md. 403, 414, 237 A.2d 35, 41 (1968).

In Tracey v. Tracey, 328 Md. 380, 387, 614 A.2d 590, 594 (1992), however, this Court opined, in reference to construing an alimony statute:

While the language of the statute is the primary source for determining legislative intention, the plain meaning rule of construction is not absolute; rather, the statute must be construed reasonably with reference to the purpose, aim, or policy of the enacting body. The Court will look at the larger context, including the legislative purpose, within which statutory language appears. Construction of a statute which is unreasonable, illogical, unjust, or inconsistent with common sense should be avoided. [Citations omitted.]

Our inquiry into the meaning of section 19(a)(2) begins with the language of the statute. Section 19 provides, in pertinent part:

(a) Legislative body authorized to enlarge corporate boundaries.—The legislative body, by whatever name known, of every municipal corporation in this State may enlarge its corporate boundaries as provided in this subheading; but this power shall apply only to land:

(1) Which is contiguous and adjoining to the existing corporate area; and

(2) Which does not create any unincorporated area which is bounded on all sides by real property presently within the corporate limits of the municipality, real property proposed to be within the corporate limits of the municipality as a result of the proposed annexation, or any combination of such properties.

The annexation of the Chrisland property offends the plain language of section 19(a)(2) if it (1) created an unincorporated area, here, the Bywater Peninsula area, and (2) that unincorporated area is or would be bounded on all sides, (3) by areas within, or that after the annexation would be within, the corporate limits of the City of Annapolis.

Appellees argue that Annapolis's annexation of the Chrisland property does not violate the plain meaning of section 19(a)(2) because the unincorporated area "is bounded on only one side by real property within the corporate limits of Annapolis." The remaining sides are bounded by waterways that are within the County. Appellants, on the other hand, contend that the plain meaning of the language of the statute is contrary to the Legislature's intent because the "effect" of this annexation is to isolate this property into a prohibited enclave. Appellants urge this Court to analyze the legislative history of this provision and to hold that the annexation creates an enclave of the type prohibited by section 19(a)(2). Appellees respond that, notwithstanding that no need exists for us to look beyond the plain meaning of the statute, legislative history nonetheless supports their position that the annexation of the Chrisland property does not create the type of enclave or tax island³ the statute was designed to prevent.

We believe the plain meaning of the language of section 19(a)(2) is clear. At the heart of this issue are the meanings of the words "bounded on all sides," "real property," and "within" the corporate limits. First, the term "bounded" typically means "having bounds or limits." THE RANDOM HOUSE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 175 (unabr. ed.1983) [hereinafter RANDOM HOUSE]. "Bounds," as relevant to this matter, means "territories on or near a boundary" or ...