Dailey v. City of Lawton, Oklahoma, Civ. 67-471.

• Decision Date: 14 February 1969
• Docket Number: No. Civ. 67-471.,Civ. 67-471.
• Citation: 296 F. Supp. 266
• Parties: Willie Mae DAILEY and Columbia Square, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF LAWTON, OKLAHOMA, a Municipal Corporation, James Knox, City Clerk, Jim Sauerman, Building Inspector, Earl McKinzie, Sam Crutcher, Jr., and Buena Hoga, all of the City of Lawton, Oklahoma, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Oklahoma

296 F. Supp. 266

Willie Mae DAILEY and Columbia Square, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF LAWTON, OKLAHOMA, a Municipal Corporation, James Knox, City Clerk, Jim Sauerman, Building Inspector, Earl McKinzie, Sam Crutcher, Jr., and Buena Hoga, all of the City of Lawton, Oklahoma, Defendants.

No. Civ. 67-471.

United States District Court W. D. Oklahoma.

February 14, 1969.

Rhoads, Ashton, Johnson & Schacher, by Githen K. Rhoads, Lawton, Okl., for plaintiffs.

Manville Redman, Lawton, Okl., for the City of Lawton.

C. William Stratton, Lawton, Okl., for intervening defendants.

FINDINGS OF FACT

BOHANON, District Judge.

1. The Court finds it has jurisdiction in this case under the Civil Rights Act, Title 42, Section 1983, and Title 28, Section

1343 United States Code Annotated, and the United States Constitution, Amendment 14, Section 1.

2. The plaintiff, Willie Mae Dailey, a Negro person living and residing in the City of Lawton, Oklahoma, is a proper party plaintiff as representative of the class of persons who are, or may become, prospective beneficiaries of the proposed housing units which plaintiff, Columbia Square, Inc., seeks to build, under and by virtue of the Acts of Congress of the United States providing for and authorizing the construction of housing projects and providing for a rent supplement program for low income and needy families.

3. The Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the Blessed Sacrament Church of Lawton, Oklahoma, and Columbia Square, Inc., are engaged in a common activity under the auspices of the Catholic Church, and have as their motivation in this case to help provide needy and low income families with decent and adequate housing under the rent supplement laws providing for such housing by the United States Congress.

4. The property involved in this case is Block Twenty-six (26) North Addition to the City of Lawton, Oklahoma, which is a part of the South Half of Section 30, Township 2 North, Range 11 West, of the Indian Meridian, located in the City of Lawton, Comanche County, Oklahoma, and comprising approximately 320 acres. The City of Lawton, Oklahoma, was the original patentee of Block Twenty-six (26), North Addition, which the City of Lawton conveyed in 1953 to the Lawton Independent School District by quit claim deed, and in 1954 the Lawton Independent School District, having ceased to use Block Twenty-six (26) for school purposes, offered it for sale on the general market, resulting in a sale of the property to the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa for a price of $65,000.00. The Deed of Conveyance from the City of Lawton to the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa contains no reservations or restrictions.

5. When Block Twenty-six (26) North Addition was conveyed to the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the zoning ordinance in effect and covering this property permitted high density apartment use and was designated as (R-4) zoning, as was all of the other property, with minor exceptions, in the 320 acres which comprises North Addition. (See plaintiff's Exhibit 2, a map of the Addition)

6. Block Twenty-six (26) North Addition was used for many years as a school by the Lawton Independent School District, and when the School District had no further use for the property, it conveyed the same as hereinabove noted and it was thereafter used by the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa for school purposes, but later that Diocese had no further use for the same for school purposes and permitted said property to be used, without objection, by certain organizations in the City of Lawton such as Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other civic minded organizations.

7. It was determined by the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the owner, to use the property for the purposes of erecting a low-rent housing project under the rent supplement program authorized by the United States Congress to furnish decent and adequate housing for low income families who could not otherwise afford the same.

8. In 1964 the City of Lawton enacted a new zoning ordinance and re-classified the property here in question as "PF" (public facilities designation). A public facilities zoning is one used for a classification of property to be used by governmental and government subdivision agencies of land owned and held by these units of government.

9. At no time was the plaintiff in this case or his predecessor in interest, the Catholic Diocese of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, a governmental unit of the City of Lawton or a government agent or division of the City of Lawton, although it did operate a parochial school on this property.

10. In May of 1967, plaintiff, Columbia Square, Inc., though a de facto corporation not officially incorporated, upon inquiry was advised by the authorities of the City of Lawton that the property could not be used for the purposes for which plaintiff wanted to use it; that is, to construct a multiple-unit apartment complex because the property had a "PF" zoning, and before a building permit could be issued, it would be necessary to change the zoning classification to a high-density apartment district (R-4). After this advice and acting thereupon and on May 19, 1967, an application or request was made to the Lawton Metropolitan Area Planning Commission for a change in the zoning ordinance from "PF" to "R-4" zoning, the same classification, with minor exceptions, for all of the surrounding area. (See plaintiff's...