Brack v. Mossman

• Decision Date: 05 September 1969
• Docket Number: No. 53592,53592
• Citation: 170 N.W.2d 416
• Parties: Boyd F. BRACK, Appellant, v. Ray B. MOSSMAN, Elwin T. Jolliffe, Howard R. Bowen, the State Board of Regents of the State of Iowa, et al., Appellees.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 416

170 N.W.2d 416

Boyd F. BRACK, Appellant, v. Ray B. MOSSMAN, Elwin T. Jolliffe, Howard R. Bowen, the State Board of Regents of the State of Iowa, et al., Appellees.

No. 53592.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Sept. 5, 1969.

Cahill, Lovelace & Poula, Iowa City, for appellant.

Richard C. Turner, Atty. Gen., Elizabeth Nolan and Roger Ivie, Asst. Attys. Gen., and Arthur O. Leff, Special Counsel, for appellees.

LeGRAND, Justice.

This is a class action by an Iowa City taxpayer against Ray B. Mossman, Elwin T. Jolliffe, and Howard R. Bowen, who are respectively treasurer, vice president and president of the University of Iowa; against the Board of Regents of the State of Iowa; and against the individual members of the Board. For convenience we refer to the Board of Regents, or the Board, as though it were the sole defendant.

Plaintiff brought this action in equity alleging the action of the Board in authorizing construction of a multi-level parking ramp under chapter 262, Code of Iowa, 1966, is illegal and void. He asked a permanent injunction to restrain the Board and to enjoin the issuing of bonds to pay for the work.

Defendant asked a declaratory jdugment to determine the bonds, when issued, will be legal and binding.

The trial court's decree found the actions of the Board to be valid and binding. It also held bonds proposed to be issued would be legal and enforceable according to their terms.

The plaintiff relies on two propositions for reversal. They are: (1) The building of the parking ramp conflicts with chapters 390 and 390A and with section 389.12, Code of Iowa, 1966, which grant to cities and towns the jurisdiction to acquire, construct, operate and maintain parking lots and offstreet parking areas, together with supervision and control over all public highways, streets, avenues, alleys, public squares and commons within the city. As part of this proposition plaintiff asserts the building of the ramp places the university in illegal competition with the city; and (2) the parking ramp project violates chapter 262, Code, for reasons hereafter discussed, including the claim the method of financing authorized is unconstitutional because under its terms the state incurs a debt without complying with section 5, Article VII, Constitution of Iowa.

There is little dispute concerning the facts. Defendant has admitted practically all allegations of the plaintiff's petition except those dealing with the issue of constitutionality and legality. The record shows the university maintains numerous parking facilities spotted around its campus. Most are nonmetered surface lots. Several are metered and one, across the street from the Student Union, is a metered ramp.

When this suit was started, approximately 33 acres of university land were devoted to parking. These included nine metered areas with 696 parking spaces for faculty, staff, students and visitors; one free parking lot near the field house providing 153 parking spaces for visitors; 32 lots reserved for faculty and staff with 2731 parking spaces; nine lots (plus some dormitory parking space) reserved for students providing 1093 parking spaces; and three so-called storage lots with 629 parking spaces for students.

In all there were 5302 parking spaces available at that time.

As the needs change, there is a constant alteration in the university parking picture. Projected improvements and alterations suggest that by June 30, 1976, 2603 of the present parking spaces will be eliminated and 4714 new ones added--a net gain of 2111 parking spaces.

For the 1967--68 school year the total student enrollment was 18,659. The students brought with them to Iowa City a total of 8147 cars and 455 two-wheeled vehicles, a substantial increase over the previous school year.

Legal parking on university facilities is accomplished by permit issued by the university at a cost of $60.00 for 12 months or $45.00 for nine months. In 1967--68, 5508 permits were issued to faculty, staff and students. It will be noted this number actually exceeded the total number of parking spaces available. In addition to these groups there are 1000 to 1500 visitors' automobiles for which space must be found every day.

It is apparent from these statistics that present parking facilities for university purposes are inadequate and are likely to remain so for some time. The trial court so found and we agree.

Financially, too, the operation is big business. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, the university received gross income of $411,337.38 from parking fees. At the time of trial it was estimated the next fiscal year, ending June 30, 1969, would increase that total to $484,500.00 from parking permit fees, special fees from those attending conferences and meetings, meter money, and fines for prohibited parking.

Against this background the Board of Regents in October, 1967, approved plans and awarded contracts for the construction of a multi-level parking ramp structure on the site of a then existing surface parking lot just west of the University Hospitals. It is this action which is challenged here by plaintiff.

The ramp has now been completed, but the bonds authorized by the Board to meet construction costs have not been printed, issued or sold.

The ramp contains 514 parking spaces. Forty-nine are reserved for staff and faculty at the hospital. The remaining 465 are open to all--staff, faculty, students and visitors. Those using the ramp receive a ticket from an automated machine and pay a cashier when leaving. The machine records the time of entry and the cashier computes the cost at the time of departure. Rates are fixed according to a graduated schedule not to exceed $1.50 for 24 hours.

It is conceded the net revenue from this parking ramp alone will not be sufficient to meet the bond obligation, but the revenue produced from the entire parking operations of the university will be more than adequate to do so. The bonds, when issued, will pledge the income from the entire integrated parking system to their payment. As the amount of the outstanding bonds is reduced, the net revenue will help finance the construction of other parking ramps on the campus, several of which are already scheduled between 1971 and 1976.

The evidence showed this parking facility would probably be used by hospital staff and faculty, hospital visitors (including students), and medical, nursing, pharmacy and dental students.

The completion of the ramp also permits a surface parking lot in the same general area, previously used for hospital parking, to be converted to student parking. According to the evidence, this is one of the advantages of new parking facilities. As such facilities are built, their use frees other over-crowded or inadequate parking areas for more general use.

We adopt and approve the following specific findings of fact as made by the trial court:

'I expressly find the parking ramp * * * and the entire University parking system are necessary for the comfort, convenience and welfare of the State University of Iowa students and are suitable for the purpose for which the State University of Iowa was established.

'I further expressly find that the parking ramp and the entire University parking system are integral parts of the whole University function.

'I further expressly find that the actions of the Board of Regents * * * are all specifically authorized by 1966 Iowa Code Sections 262.44 through 262.53, inclusive.

'I further expressly find that the bonds (to be issued in payment for the ramp) are to be paid only out of the net revenue from the University's consolidated parking facilities operation, and no other funds or assets are pledged or otherwise obligated for use in paying the bonds. The general credit of the State of Iowa is specifically excluded * * *.'

No objection is made to the procedure by which the Board authorized the construction of the ramp, and the appeal raises only the right to do so at all under the facts already recited.

I. Plaintiff first asserts a conflict between chapters 390 and 390A (as well as section 389.12), Code of Iowa, 1966, and chapter 262 of the same code.

Chapters 390 and 390A grant to cities and towns the right to build and operate parking facilities within their boundaries. Section 389.12 vests in municipalities the duty to supervise and control all public highways, streets, avenues, alleyes, public squares and commons. Section 262.44 authorizes the Board to 'set aside and use such portions of the respective campuses * * * as (it) deems necessary for * * * parking structures and areas * * *.' Plaintiff argues that this provision in section 262.44 permits the university to enter into parking business in competition with the city. He concedes there is no specific constitutional prohibition which forbids this but claims it is nevertheless objectionable as being beyond proper governmental object and purposes. This same issue was raised in Iowa Hotel Association v. State Board of Regents, 253 Iowa 870, 884, 114 N.W.2d 539, 547. There we said, 'If it is necessary and proper for the university to provide housing for students, it is difficult to conclude that providing housing for guests of the university is an unconstitutional invasion of the rights of the people. Incidental competition is not a basis for an injunction against a state agency engaged in the performance of the constitutional and statutory function.'

We believe that statement is equally applicable here. We hold it is both necessary and proper to provide parking facilities for students and visitors who have business with the university.

None of the authority cited by plaintiff is in point. Some of his cases rely on constitutioanl or statutory provisions substantially different from our own, while others involve governmental agencies which undertook to compete Generally in some business activity. Plaintiff relies on Rippe v. Becker, 56 Minn. 100, 57 N.W. 331; White Eagle Oil and...