City of St. Louis v. City of Bridgeton, 50323

• Decision Date: 17 December 1985
• Docket Number: No. 50323,50323
• Citation: 705 S.W.2d 524
• Parties: CITY OF ST. LOUIS, Respondent, v. CITY OF BRIDGETON, Appellant.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 524

705 S.W.2d 524

CITY OF ST. LOUIS, Respondent, v. CITY OF BRIDGETON, Appellant.

No. 50323.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Eastern District,

Division Two.

Dec. 17, 1985.

Motion for Rehearing and/or Transfer

Denied Feb. 13, 1986.

Application to Transfer Denied

March 27, 1986.

William A. Richter, Martin P. Zucker, St. Louis, for appellant.

Julian Bush, St. Louis, for respondent.

REINHARD, Judge.

The City of Bridgeton appeals from a judgment after a court trial declaring that the City of St. Louis is immune from the Bridgeton Zoning Ordinance in all activities related to its ownership and operation of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and permanently enjoining Bridgeton from enforcing its zoning ordinance against the City of St. Louis. The trial court further held that Bridgeton's Zoning Ordinance is unconstitutional as applied to the property in question. We affirm.

The present dispute involves land owned by the City of St. Louis and located in an area of Bridgeton zoned R-4 (residential). St. Louis proposes the construction of a 1400 space parking lot for airport employees on this property, a use not permitted in R-4 districts. ¹ After the Bridgeton City Council unanimously rejected a proposed ordinance granting St. Louis permission to construct the lot under a section of the zoning ordinance applicable to off-street parking, St. Louis filed a two count petition for injunctive and declaratory relief. In Count I, St. Louis sought a declaration that Bridgeton's Zoning Ordinance has no application to the construction and operation of the proposed parking lot, while in Count II it sought a declaration that the R-4 classification of the property involved in this dispute was arbitrary and unreasonable. It requested in both counts that Bridgeton be enjoined from taking action to interfere with the proposed parking lot construction.

The trial produced a voluminous record; however, for purposes of this appeal the pertinent facts can be summarized succinctly. The City of St. Louis has owned and operated Lambert-St. Louis International Airport in northwest St. Louis County since the 1920's. Consisting of only 2,300 acres, Lambert is the second smallest major airport in the United States in terms of acreage, although it now ranks sixth in number of passengers served. The airport's space problems are complicated by its location in the midst of a highly urbanized region. Most of the airport lies in an unincorporated portion of St. Louis County, while parts of it fall within the boundaries of the Cities of Bridgeton, Bridgeton Terrace, Hazelwood, Berkeley, Woodson Terrace, Edmundson and St. Ann. During the late 1960's and early 1970's consideration was given to closing Lambert and opening a new airport on an 18,000 acre site in Illinois. This proposal was, in fact, endorsed by former Secretary of Transportation Coleman despite referenda indicating overwhelming citizen support for Lambert. Coleman's successor, Secretary Adams, reversed his decision and a period of planning and improvement for Lambert began in 1977.

Despite improvements in other areas, lack of parking space remains a serious problem at Lambert. Public parking was so scarce during the winter of 1984-85 that some cars were being "triple-parked" and other travelers could not be accommodated at all. After a new lot was added in March 1985, the crisis was somewhat alleviated, but public parking space remains inadequate. Employee parking areas are also over capacity; typically anywhere from 45 to 100 automobiles are parked in aisles or other unmarked locations. Furthermore, projections at trial showed that an additional 1,500 to 2,000 employee parking spaces will be needed within the next year.

The property upon which the City now proposes to build an employee parking lot consists of 18 acres of land which have been part of the airport since approximately 1960. The parcel is located just north of Interstate 70 and west of the intersection of Hunter Drive and Cypress Road; part of a neighborhood bounded by I-70 on the south, Lindbergh on the west, Natural Bridge on the north and Cypress on the east. Across Cypress to the east is the airport, and immediately to the north and west are industrial areas. All property that is contiguous to the parcel, with the exception of I-70, is owned by the City of St. Louis, in connection with the airport, or Hunter Engineering Corporation. Within the broader neighborhood described above are two areas containing single-family residences. These homes are being purchased by the airport at the request of the owners, and when that process is completed the area will no longer contain single-family residential housing. It is undisputed that because of airport noise and other environmental conditions the neighborhood is unsuitable for such residences. ²

The northeast corner of the property lies within the "clear zone" of runway 6-24 as defined by federal regulations and the Federal Aviation Administration, an area extending from the primary surface of the runway which is generally protected from development. The proposed parking lot would not encroach upon the "clear zone," but would be constructed upon the rest of the parcel and lie within the "approach area", which extends past the "clear zone" boundary. Height restrictions applicable to "approach area" construction are contained in 14 C.F.R. § 77 and the FAA generally discourages "approach area" development, although limited construction is not uncommon, particularly at "landlocked" airports such as Lambert. At the present time, navigational lights, frangible from the ground up, are located in both the "approach area" and "clear zone" off runway 6-24. The proposed parking lot would not necessitate the removal of those lights. In addition, maps introduced at trial showed that several roads, including a portion of I-70, are present in the "clear zone" and "approach area".

Because of the proposed lot's location FAA approval was necessary, and St. Louis requested an "air space determination". Pursuant to that request the FAA reported that it had "determined from [its] aeronautical study that the Concept Plan for an Employee Parking Lot at Hunter and Cypress Road would not exceed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) obstructions, would not be a hazard to air navigation and that obstruction marking lighting would not be necessary." Although it found no "objection", the FAA did express the opinion that the plan was "inconsistent with good planning practices". In addition, St. Louis secured the approval of the Metropolitan Sewer District and applied for approval by the Missouri Highway Department, which is still reviewing the proposal.

The land at issue has been zoned R-4, denominated as a one-family dwelling district, since Bridgeton enacted its zoning ordinance in the early 1950's. The areas to the north and west are zoned M-1 (industrial), the area to the east M-3C (also industrial), the area to the southeast B-3 (commercial), and, across I-70 to the south, R-2 (residential). The property in question is the only airport property which falls within a district zoned residential by Bridgeton; in fact, it is the only "approach area" property located in any municipality or St. Louis County which is so zoned.

The origin of the present dispute can be traced to 1980, when the City of St. Louis requested that Bridgeton rezone the property to allow construction of a public parking lot. Hunter Engineering Company led opposition to this proposal, with Chairman of the Board Lee Hunter, whose office overlooks the property, testifying before the Planning and Zoning Commission that the land was "gorgeous" and that the airport was "trying to move in on Hunter Engineering". The Commission voted against approving the rezoning application, which was subsequently withdrawn. When the present proposal was developed in 1984 efforts were made to accommodate Mr. Hunter and solicit his support. Meetings between airport personnel and Bridgeton officials were also held. After incorporating several proposals for changes into the design of the lot, St. Louis submitted a request under § 11.3-5 of the Bridgeton Zoning Ordinance for permission to build the parking area. Authorization for non-residential parking areas in a residential district under that section can be given only by the City Council, and passage of an ordinance is required. The proposed ordinance granting authorization for the airport lot was not adopted and this suit followed.

On appeal Bridgeton alleges that the trial court erred in declaring that the City of St. Louis is immune from the Bridgeton Zoning Ordinance in all airport related activities because: 1) St. Louis is not a superior sovereign; 2) under § 305.200, RSMo 1978, land acquired for airport use is subject to the zoning of municipalities; and 3) a "balancing of interests" favors application of the Bridgeton Zoning Ordinance in this instance.

The issue of governmental immunity from zoning has been considered by the Missouri Supreme Court in four cases: State ex rel. St. Louis Union Trust Co. v. Ferriss, 304 S.W.2d 896 (Mo. banc 1957); State ex rel. Askew v. Kopp, 330 S.W.2d 882 (Mo.1960); St. Louis County v. City of Manchester, 360 S.W.2d 638 (Mo. banc 1962); and Appelbaum v. St. Louis County, 451 S.W.2d 107 (Mo.1970). Ferriss held that the City of Ladue could not restrict, through its zoning ordinance, the School Board's power to select, locate and take by eminent domain private property for a public school. In Kopp the Court decided that the City of Raytown was not subject to the zoning laws of Jackson County in locating a sewage disposal plant. However, Kopp was distinguished in Manchester, where the Court held that the City of Manchester was restricted in the selection of a sewage treatment plant by the zoning laws of St. Louis County, which, unlike Jackson County, operated under a constitutional charter. Finally, in Appelbaum the Court found that St. Louis...