City of Centralia v. Norden

• Citation: 879 S.W.2d 724
• Decision Date: 05 July 1994
• Docket Number: No. WD,WD
• Parties: CITY OF CENTRALIA, MO, Respondent, v. Louis V. NORDEN, et al., Appellants. 48396.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Missouri (US)

Page 724

879 S.W.2d 724

CITY OF CENTRALIA, MO, Respondent, v. Louis V. NORDEN, et al., Appellants.

No. WD 48396.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Western District.

July 5, 1994.

As Modified July 28, 1994.

Thomas M. Schneider, Columbia, for appellants.

Merritt M. Beck, III, Centralia, for respondent.

Before SMART, P.J., and KENNEDY and ULRICH, JJ.

PER CURIAM:

Property owners appeal from the judgment of the trial court declaring that annexation of 426 acres of land by the City of Centralia for residential purposes is reasonable and necessary. ¹ The plaintiff in this case is the City of Centralia and the defendants are the owners of all the property interests in the land subject to annexation.

Judgment is affirmed.

In 1987, the Planning and Zoning Commission of the City of Centralia adopted a General Comprehensive Plan for the city, which was later adopted by the Board of Alderman ("Board") of the city. In April, 1990, the Board adopted a resolution expressing the city's intent to annex the 426 acres of land forming the basis of this action and authorizing the pursuit of annexation.

The subject land is contiguous and adjacent to the corporate limits of Centralia. The land subject to annexation is uninhabited. There are no structures on the land, except for a shelter house used by the Knights of Columbus as a recreation and picnic area. The land adjoins Centralia at its southwest corner. The annexation would increase the size of the City of Centralia, which is currently approximately 1,520 acres, by twenty-eight percent. State Highway 124, the most heavily traveled roadway in Centralia, crosses the annexation area from the northeast to the southwest. Most of the area to be annexed is cultivated farmland. A small creek and several drainage swales cross through the property. A major interceptor sewer line also runs through the property. A ten acre public park is situated adjacent to the subject land. The land currently in the City of Centralia which adjoins to the subject land is in the R-1 Zone District for residential use, including vacant, residentially-zoned land suitable for residential development.

The names and addresses of all of the property owners having a fee interest in the land were identified and notice of a public hearing to be held regarding the proposed annexation was mailed to each individual property owner. Notice of the hearing was also made by publication. On June 18, 1990, a public hearing was held as to the proposed annexation. The city presented its Plan of Intent to annex and provide services to the subject land. Evidence presented supporting the Plan of Intent included a list of major city services presently provided by the city; a proposed time schedule to provide the listed city services to the annexation area; the property assessment level and property tax rate; the way in which the city proposed to zone the land; and the date the proposed annexation would become effective. The Board adopted the ordinance following the public hearing.

Section 71.015, RSMo 1986 provides that, following the public hearing, the municipality seeking the annexation shall file a declaratory judgment action in circuit court seeking judicial authorization for the annexation. The suit shall be a class action, naming the inhabitants of the unincorporated area as defendants. Pursuant to the statute, the City of Centralia filed an action against owners of land located on the unincorporated area. The trial court found that the statutory procedures contained in § 71.015 governing annexation had been satisfied. It also concluded that the City of Centralia would be able to furnish normal municipal services of the city within three years after the effective date of the annexation. These municipal services would be extended on the same basis as currently being offered. The trial court found that the annexation was reasonable and necessary to the proper residential development of the city. Land owners appeal from the trial court's judgment.

"Fairly Debatable" Standard

First, defendants claim that the trial court erred in entering a judgment declaring that the annexation of the 426 acres for residential purposes is reasonable and necessary because plaintiff failed to show that the reasonableness and necessity of such annexation was fairly debatable. The standard of review applicable to a decision to annex land is whether there is substantial evidence showing that the reasonableness and necessity of the annexation is at least fairly debatable. City of Ballwin v. Hardcastle, 765 S.W.2d 324, 328 (Mo.App.1989). Under this standard, the extent of judicial inquiry is whether substantial evidence has been presented by the city to support the determination of its governing body such that reasonable men could differ as to the necessity of the extension. City of St. Peters v. Shop N' Save Warehouse Foods, Inc., 710 S.W.2d 409, 415 (Mo.App.1986). If there is substantial evidence both ways on the issue of annexation, then the legislative conclusion is determinative. City of Eureka v. Hall, 687 S.W.2d 917, 921 (Mo.App.1985). Thus, guided by these standards, our inquiry is limited to whether the exercise of legislative powers was arbitrary and clearly unreasonable. See City of St. Peters, 710 S.W.2d at 415.

A variety of factors are considered in determining whether the annexation decision was reasonable, which include: (1) a need for residential or industrial sites within the proposed area; (2) the city's inability to meet its needs without expansion; (3) consideration only of needs which are reasonably foreseeable and not visionary; (4) past growth relied on to show future necessity; (5) in evaluating future needs, the extent to which past growth has caused the city to spill over into the proposed area; (6) the beneficial effect of uniform application and enforcement of municipal zoning ordinances in the city and in the annexed area; (7) the need for or the beneficial effect of uniform application and enforcement of municipal building, plumbing and electrical codes; (8) the need for or the beneficial effect of extending police protection to the annexed area; (9) the need for or beneficial effect of uniform application and enforcement of municipal ordinances or regulations pertaining to health; (10) the need for and the ability of the city to extend essential municipal services into the annexed area; (11) enhancement in value by reason of adaptability of the land proposed to be annexed for prospective city uses; and (12) regularity of boundaries. City of Ballwin, 765 S.W.2d at 327-28. In reviewing the decision, no one factor is controlling and each case is decided on the totality of its own facts. City of St. Peters, 710 S.W.2d at 415.

Defendants contend that plaintiff failed to show that the reasonableness and necessity of the annexation was fairly debatable. First, they claim that the evidence showed that there was no "spillover" into the area to be annexed. The absence of "spillover," standing alone, is not determinative on the issue of whether the annexation was fairly debatable. The court noted in City of Des Peres v. Stapleton, 524 S.W.2d 203, 209 (Mo.App.1975) that the lack of migration from the city to the annexation area does not in and of itself show unreasonableness.

Defendants argue that plaintiff has not shown a need for residential sites within the proposed area. Centralia's City Administrator, Lynn Phillip Behrns, testified at trial that the annexation area is in the direction of the population growth for Centralia. Donald Bishop, a real estate broker, testified that there is a high demand for homes and not enough supply for the demand in the city. He stated that there was a high demand for rental property but no lots on which to build rental property. He characterized the real estate market in Centralia as "hot," stating that no new houses are sitting unsold and the housing demand has caused builders to tear down existing buildings to build new residential property. This testimony concerning the current demand for residential property was unrebutted.

Defendants contend that with vacant land within the city suitable for residential development, plaintiff is able to meet its needs without expanding. However, a city is not prohibited from annexing adjacent land merely because the city contains undeveloped tracts within its present boundaries. City of Eureka, 687 S.W.2d at 923. No requirement exists that a city must utilize all vacant land before it can expand its boundaries. Id. Defendants further argue that the trial court's finding that only 50 to 55 acres of vacant, residentially-zoned, developable land existed in Centralia for desirable and suitable residential development was against the weight of the evidence. Mr. Bishop testified that of the 150 acres of vacant land currently located in Centralia, various sections were not suitable for residential development. One area containing ten acres was located in a flood plain. Other areas were near undesirable facilities, including a palette factory, and an auto part or body shop business. Other tracts of land were too small to be considered desirable for development. Mr. Bishop concluded that there were approximately 50 to 55 acres of desirable, suitable, vacant land for residential development in Centralia. Defendants offered no evidence to the contrary. Thus, this finding was not against the weight of the evidence.

Also, defendants contend that the trial court's finding that the desirable residential land within the city may be fully developed within four or five years was not supported by substantial and competent evidence. The trial court's finding on this point was based on Mr. Bishop's testimony. Mr. Bishop testified that given the state of the economy and real estate market at that time, and assuming that the houses were built on one-third acre lots, which was the trend of recent construction in Centralia, it would take only four or five years to...