City of Creve Coeur v. Patterson, 29935

• Decision Date: 03 June 1958
• Docket Number: No. 29935,29935
• Citation: 313 S.W.2d 739
• Parties: CITY OF CREVE COEUR, a municipal corporation (Plaintiff), Appellant, v. Homer R. PATTERSON, Jr., and Delores M. Patterson et al. (Defendants), Respondents, Jack Copilevitz and Betty Copilevitz et al. (Intervenors), Respondents.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 739

313 S.W.2d 739

CITY OF CREVE COEUR, a municipal corporation (Plaintiff), Appellant, v. Homer R. PATTERSON, Jr., and Delores M. Patterson et al (Defendants), Respondents, Jack Copilevitz and Betty Copilevitz et al. (Intervenors) Respondents.

No. 29935.

St. Louis Court of Appeals, Missouri.

June 3, 1958.

Robert W. Henry, St. Louis, William H. Wyne, Jr., Clayton, for appellant.

Lewis, Rice, Tucker, Allen & Chubb, James A. Singer, and J. L. Pierson, St. Louis, for Industrial Properties, Inc.

WOLFE, Commissioner.

This is an action for a declaratory judgment under Section 71.015 and Chapter 527, RSMo 1949, and Supp.1957, V.A.M.S. The City of Creve Coeur seeks to annex an area of approximately 1200 acres which adjoins the city to the north. A number of defendants and intervenors oppose the proposed annexation. The court found in favor of the defendants and intervenors, and the city prosecutes this appeal.

The City of Creve Coeur is a city of the fourth class in the County of St. Louis. It was incorporated as such on December 21, 1949. The area within the city consists of 3,166 acres of land and the population at the time of the trial was estimated by one witness at 3,000 persons. Another witness estimated the city's area as 4,000 acres and placed its population at 3500.

The northern boundary of the city is a line 200 feet north of Olive Street Road and parallels that road from the eastern to the western city boundaries.

The eastern city boundary is Warson Road and this is also the western boundary of the city of Olivette. The eastern part of Creve Coeur is traversed from north to south by U. S. Highway 66, which is called Lindbergh Boulevard. The commercial district of the city is along Olive Street Road and along Lindbergh Boulevard south of Olive Street Road. At the intersection of these two thoroughfares there are traffic lights and it is a busy intersection.

There are a number of homes in the City of Creve Coeur on three, eight and ten acre tracts of land and there are also some farms. A former member of the city's planning commission testified on behalf of the city and stated that there were six or seven farms between his home and the western boundary of the city. He estimated that one fourth of the city was not platted and that from 600 to 800 acres within the city are unimproved land. Near the western city boundary is a spur of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and another witness for the city testified that the territory in the area of the spur could be used for industrial purposes. There is also within the city an area zoned for multiple dwellings.

In the southeastern part of Creve Coeur in the area between Olive Street Road on the north, Warson Road on the east, and Lindbergh Boulevard on the west, the Monsanto Chemical Company is constructing an office building and laboratories which will serve as the company's main headquarters. The value of such buildings was not in evidence other than it would run into 'millions'.

The area sought to be annexed extends westwardly from the western boundary of Olivette along the northern boundary of the City of Creve Coeur for slightly less than two thirds of the length of Creve Coeur's northern boundary. Its western boundary goes in almost straight line to the north. The northern boundary of the area parallels an electric transmission line and the northern line of a railroad right of way back to the city limits of Olivette. It was stated that this area was historically known as Creve Coeur before the City of Creve Coeur was incorporated.

The planning director for the St. Louis County Planning Commission was called by the plaintiff and he testified that the area is being used primarily for agricultural purposes. It was originally zoned by the county for one acre building lots, but it has been down graded to lots of 20,000 square feet for single family residences. This is slightly less than one half acre. There are several subdivisions in the area. One of these, started by a man named Patterson, has about twenty houses in it and more are being built. There is one called Country Squire in which there are six houses and more are being built. Another subdivision called Arrowhead has about twenty houses in it, and others are under construction along Schulte Road. Schulte Road is in the western part of the area and runs north from Olive Street Road.

To the east of Lindbergh Boulevard along the railroad right of way, which borders the area on the north, is an industrial section. This has been zoned and developed for industrial purposes. It lies slightly less than a mile from the northern boundary of the City of Creve Coeur. It is reached from Lindbergh Boulevard and has its own streets. There are but two main roads in the whole area except for Lindbergh Boulevard and Warson Road. These two are Schulte Road, which runs generally northwardly from Olive Street Road, and Schuetz Road which runs in a general east and west direction in the northern part of the area west of Lindbergh Boulevard. Graeser Road and Schulte Road are the only roads that run into Creve Coeur from the part of the area west of Lindbergh.

The City of Creve Coeur upon being incorporated took over the maintenance of roads within its corporate limits, which had previously been maintained by the county. Since then it has added one road to city maintenance. The city does not do any work on these roads but contracts with private contractors for their maintenance. For this purpose it spends about $25,000 a year. It also maintains one light at main road intersections. The streets maintained by the city constitute only twenty to twenty-five per cent of the streets in the city, and all the rest of them are maintained by the subdivision that they serve. It is a policy of the city not to take over the maintenance of any new streets.

The City of Creve Coeur has no fire department. It is served by a volunteer fire department which also serves part of the area that Creve Coeur seeks to annex. The city has no other services, such as garbage or trash collections. It has no city hall but is building up a surplus, which one witness said was 'seventh some thousand dollars', for the purpose of getting a city hall and 'a park and different things'. The city has no health department and contracts with the state and county health departments for such services as it needs. It does have a police department, consisting of five men. It has two police cars which have radios and can be directed from the St. Louis County Police Department. It has one man on duty in the daytime and two men at night. The police chief said that it would be easier to patrol Lindbergh Boulevard if the boundaries of the city were extended to the north. As the boundaries are now the police patrol only two hundred feet beyond Olive Street Road on Lindbergh Boulevard. Lindbergh Boulevard is patrolled by the county police and also by the State Highway Patrol. The county police maintain a station at the corner of Lindbergh and Olive Street Road at the filling station there, where they make out their reports and one man is always on hand, but he patrols a larger area than the Creve Coeur police.

The area proposed to be annexed is served by the county police force which the defendants said they considered adequate. The roads in the area are county maintained and with this the residents are also satisfied. There was testimony that the part of Schulte Road maintained by the county was kept in better condition than that part which was in the City of Creve Coeur. The industrial area has arranged for fire protection from an existing fire district to the north.

On behalf of the city, the chairman of annexation committee testified that the city needed the land in question east of Lindbergh for a multiple dwelling area to supply housing for the people who would work at the Monsanto offices and in the industries to the north. He said that the city needed the area to the west as a buffer to protect the present homes in the City of Creve Coeur. He also testified that the city needed the industrial area for tax purposes. It was stated that the city could more readily zone the area sought to be annexed than the county zoning commission.

The foregoing constitutes the pertinent evidence brought forth and upon this the court made the following findings of fact:

1. That the proposed annexation is not reasonable and necessary to the proper development of said City because:

(1) The City presently includes large tracts used for agricultural purposes.

(2) The City includes land along a railroad right-of-way, which is in use and could be zoned by the City for industrial purposes if the City desired industrial sites.

(3) The City has areas zoned for multiple dwelling which are not now used for multiple dwelling purposes and could be so used.

(4) The area proposed to be annexed is largely now used as agricultural property. Except for an insignificant area, this has not been platted for lots. The property owned by Industrial Properties, Inc., and those to whom it has sold at the extreme northeast corner of the area, is separated from the...