City of Sunland Park v. Santa Teresa Concerned Citizens Ass'n, Inc., 18875
| Decision Date | 24 May 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 18875,18875 |
| Parties | CITY OF SUNLAND PARK, Petitioner, v. SANTA TERESA CONCERNED CITIZENS ASSOCIATION, INC., Respondent. |
| Court | New Mexico Supreme Court |
This case has reached us by traversing the following stages.
On June 5, 1986, Petitioner, City of Sunland Park (the city), wrote letters to various property owners in southern Dona Ana County encouraging them to seek annexation into the city. On July 23, 1986, the Dona Ana County Commission unanimously disapproved of the planned annexation as proposed in the city's letters to the property owners. On August 11, 1986, various property owners, many of whom had received the city's letter and who had formed themselves into the Santa Teresa Concerned Citizens Association, Respondent herein (the association), filed a petition to incorporate as a municipality pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 3-2-1 et seq. (Repl.Pamp.1987). The land that was the subject of the association's petition was "urbanized territory" as defined by NMSA 1978, Section 3-2-3, because it lay within five miles of the city's boundaries and because the city had a population of more than five thousand persons.
On August 20, 1986, the city filed a petition with the New Mexico Municipal Boundary Commission, pursuant to NMSA 1978, Sections 3-7-11 to -16 (Repl.Pamp.1987), seeking annexation of virtually the same territory. On August 26, 1986, the county manager of Dona Ana County notified the city by letter that the county commission would hold hearings pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 3-2-3 (Repl.Pamp.1987), for the purpose of determining how services to the territory proposed to be incorporated could more quickly be provided. See id. § (B)(3). At a hearing before the commission on September 3, 1986, the city argued that the commission was biased, owing to its unanimous vote on July 23 against the city's planned annexation, and asked the commission to recuse itself from adjudicating the issue of the association's planned incorporation. At another hearing, on September 9, 1986, the city challenged the commission's jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue. Nevertheless, the commission held hearings on the issue, and on October 6, 1986, it ruled that the association conclusively had proven, as required by Section 3-2-3(B)(3), that the association could more quickly provide services to the area proposed to be incorporated than could the city.
The city filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the District Court for the Third Judicial District asking the court, in pertinent part, (1) to stay any action by the county commission to schedule an election on the issue of the proposed incorporation; (2) to find that the commission lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the issue; and (3) after reviewing the evidence, to overturn the commission's decision of October 6. On May 21, 1987, the district court issued its decision. It construed Section 3-2-3(B)(3) so as to permit the association to proceed as it did, thereby denying the city's challenge to the commission's jurisdiction. However, the court found that the association had not proven conclusively, as required by Section 3-2-3(B)(3), that it could provide services to the territory proposed to be incorporated sooner than could the city. Accordingly, the court reversed the commission's decision of October 6 and made permanent a previous order staying any election on the question of incorporation.
The association appealed the district court's decision. In its opinion issued on August 3, 1989, the court of appeals reversed the district court, while nonetheless agreeing with the district court's reading of Section 3-2-3(B). That is, the court of appeals held that the association was entitled to proceed with its petition for incorporation as it had done--presenting evidence pursuant to Subsection (B)(3) to prove conclusively that it could provide services sooner than could the city--without first adhering to the requirements of Subsections (B)(1) and (2). The city had argued for the latter reading, namely, that the association should have been required to proceed by first seeking a resolution of incorporation from the city (pursuant to Subsection (B)(1)), and, if it failed at that, then to file a petition with the city to have the territory annexed to the city (pursuant to Subsection (B)(2)).
The court of appeals upheld the commission's finding that the association conclusively had proven that it could provide municipal services to the territory proposed to be incorporated sooner than could the city. The court construed "conclusively prove" in Subsection (B)(3) to mean "prove by clear and convincing evidence." The court of appeals independently did not review the record to determine if the commission had erred in reaching its conclusion.
The court stated:
Rather than review the full record on our own, we rely on [the city] to point out the manner in which the evidence before the county commission was inadequate. [The city's] answer brief, however, merely notes that there was evidence contrary to the commission's findings. [The city] does not direct us to any particular finding of the commission that lacks support in the record.
Santa Teresa Concerned Citizens Association v. County of Dona Ana, N.M. (Ct.App.1989).
Further, the court of appeals interpreted Subsection (B)(3) as establishing the proper procedure for "resolving a dispute when a municipality wishes to annex some neighboring territory and the residents of the territory wish to incorporate a new city." Id. (Emphasis added). Finally, the court ruled against the city on its allegation of bias, holding that the commission's previous ruling against the city's planned annexation did not amount to such bias as would preclude the commission from conducting a fair hearing of issues related to the association's petition to incorporate.
The city moved for a rehearing, alleging that the court of appeals had erred by (1) failing to review the whole record of the proceedings below; (2) failing to find that the association had not met its burden of proof that it could provide municipal services sooner than could the city; and (3) failing to find in the record that the city indeed had pointed out the manner in which the evidence before the commission was inadequate.
The New Mexico Municipal League (amicus) filed an amicus curiae memorandum supporting the city's reading of the statute in question. Amicus contended that (1) the doctrine of prior jurisdiction precluded the commission from resolving a supposed dispute between the association and the city; (2) the commission had no jurisdiction over the supposed dispute; (3) the court's reading of Section 3-2-3(B) leads to absurd and illogical results; (4) the statute gives the city a right of first refusal rather than a veto right to deny any petition for annexation under Subsection (B)(2); (5) the court erroneously construed the words in Subsection (B)(3), "territory proposed to be annexed;" and (6) the court in its ruling frustrated the public policy of New Mexico as set forth in NMSA 1978 Sections 3-1-1 to 3-7-18.
The court granted the motion for rehearing in part, stating that "[t]he sole matter upon which rehearing is granted is the matter addressed in amicus curiae's memorandum brief, which deals with the interrelationship of the subparts of NMSA 1978, Section 3-2-3(B)." In a new opinion issued on November 20, 1989, the court repeated the major portion of its findings and rulings as set forth in the opinion filed on August 3. As to the city's and amicus' contentions that the association should have proceeded first under Subsections (B)(1) and (2) before presenting evidence under (B)(3), the court ruled, "[W]e do not decide whether Section 3-2-3(B) required [the association] to seek annexation of the Territory [proposed to be incorporated] to [the city] before trying to incorporate a new municipality." Santa Teresa Concerned Citizens Association, Inc. v. County of Dona Ana, N.M. (Ct.App.1989). The court elaborated:
The appellants--[the association]--did not address the possible interrelationship of subparagraphs 2 and 3 of Section 3-2-3(B) in their docketing statement or in their brief-in-chief. The issue also does not appear in [the city's] answer brief. The issue was first raised in [amicus'] answer brief. Nothing in [the city's] answer brief refers to [amicus'] answer brief. Nothing in [the city's] answer brief refers to [amicus'] brief or purports to adopt any of its arguments. [The association's] reply brief responded to [amicus'] arguments on this issue, but it also contended that the issue was not before this court because it had been raised only by amicus curiae.
On December 7, 1989, the city filed a petition for writ of certiorari with this court, which we granted. The city asserts as error (1) the court of appeal's failure to conduct a whole record review under its newly enunciated "clear and convincing evidence" standard, or, in the alternative, its failure to remand the case to the district court for such a review; (2) the court of appeal's failure to decide that the commission had no jurisdiction under Subsection (B)(3) to resolve a dispute between the city and the association; and (3) the court of appeal's failure to remand to the district court for a determination of bias on the part of the commission.
After considering the briefs on appeal and in support of the petition, attachments to the briefs from the record, and...
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