Coulter v. City of Rawlins
| Decision Date | 19 April 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 5764,5764 |
| Citation | 662 P.2d 888 |
| Parties | Milton L. COULTER, d/b/a Stage Coach Apartments, a limited partnership, Appellant (Plaintiff), v. The CITY OF RAWLINS, Glen Woodbury, Mayor, Doug Smith, Pauline Gonzales, Debari Martinez, Jay Grabow, Harlan Patchen and Donald G. Comeaux, as members of the City Council, City of Rawlins, Appellees (Defendants). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Edwin H. Whitehead of Urbigkit & Whitehead, P.C., Cheyenne, for appellant.
Rebecca H. Noecker of Johnson, MacPherson & Noecker, Rawlins, for appellees.
Before ROONEY, C.J., and RAPER, THOMAS, ROSE and BROWN, JJ.
This appeal involves important questions regarding the power of Wyoming municipalities to charge developers fees for connecting their property to water and sewer lines, as well as the power to require dedication An action was brought by the appellant challenging the authority of the City to enact and enforce the above ordinances. The district court upheld each of the challenged ordinances and, pursuant to a contract entered into by the parties, awarded the City such attorney's fees as were associated with the defense of the action. In response to an adverse ruling, appellant appeals to this court and raises the following issues for our review:
of land or payments in lieu of dedication for parks and recreational purposes. Specifically, we are asked to rule on the validity of several ordinances adopted by the City Council of the City of Rawlins requiring appellant to pay fees for the privilege of connecting his development to the sewer and water system, and one ordinance requiring the appellant to remit to the City a sum in lieu of dedicating a portion of his property for the establishment of a park.
Appellant's position is that the City of Rawlins is without statutory or constitutional authority to enact the challenged ordinances. This argument is premised upon the belief that each of the questioned fees must be characterized as either a tax or assessment and, as such, the City is without authority to burden appellant's property for taxation or assessment purposes.
The City of Rawlins responds by asserting that the charges levied are not taxes or assessments but are such fees or charges as the City may require appellant to pay before developing his property. The City also contends that the challenged ordinances were adopted in compliance with the authority vested in the City Council by the constitution and statutes of the state of Wyoming.
We agree with the position expressed by the City of Rawlins relative to its authority to adopt the challenged ordinances, but we find no authority for the award of attorney's fees. We will therefore affirm in part and reverse in part.
In 1980, appellant Milton Coulter developed a 96-unit low-income housing project in the City of Rawlins, Wyoming. This development is known as the Stage Coach Apartments, which is also the name of a limited partnership in which appellant is the only general partner.
With the onslaught of energy development in Wyoming during the 1970's, the population of Rawlins increased substantially and projections indicate that by 1990 the City's total number of inhabitants will increase 148% over the 1970 population. In response to these projections, the City Council reasoned that the demand for City services such as water, sewer and park facilities would also increase and that there was a need to offset the projected impacts. According to a plan developed by the City, it was estimated that approximately $36,000,000 in capital improvements would be needed to expand the sewer and water system in order to meet the 1990 population estimate.
On January 21 and 14, respectively, the City Council of the City of Rawlins adopted Ordinance No. 1B-80 requiring water service "BE IT ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Rawlins, Wyoming:
connection fees and Ordinance No. 1-80 requiring fees for tapping into the City's sewer system. Ordinance No. 1B-80 provides:
' X 5/8"' meter, the sum 125 dollars for the meter and meter yoke plus 125 dollars for the meter pit and cover if the meter is located in a pit or vault, plus 150 dollars for pit excavation and backfill, if not provided by the owner.
' meter, the sum of 155 dollars for the meter and meter yoke plus 125 dollars for the meter pit and cover if the meter is located in a pit or vault, plus 150 dollars for pit excavation and backfill if not provided by the owner.
' meter, the sum of 205 dollars for the meter and meter yoke plus 125 dollars for the meter pit and cover if the meter is located in a pit or vault, plus 150 dollars for pit excavation and backfill, if not provided by the owner.
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