Faris v. City of Caruthersville

• Decision Date: 22 March 1957
• Docket Number: No. 7491,7491
• Citation: 301 S.W.2d 63
• Parties: Marie C. FARIS, James W. Faris, William B. Faris, Mary Lee Faris, Adalyn Faris Moore, Hellen Faris Meyers, Carolyn Faris Wheeler, Robert Lee Faris, Jr., Elizabeth Faris Schlarb, Lisbeth Williams Faris, Charles William Faris and Carolyn Faris, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The CITY OF CARUTHERSVILLE, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 63

301 S.W.2d 63

Marie C. FARIS, James W. Faris, William B. Faris, Mary Lee Faris, Adalyn Faris Moore, Hellen Faris Meyers, Carolyn Faris Wheeler, Robert Lee Faris, Jr., Elizabeth Faris Schlarb, Lisbeth Williams Faris, Charles William Faris and Carolyn Faris, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The CITY OF CARUTHERSVILLE, a municipal corporation Defendant-Respondent.

No. 7491.

Springfield Court of Appeals, Missouri.

March 22, 1957.

James W. Faris, Jefferson City, Don Kennedy, Nevada, for plaintiffs.

Ward & Reeves, Caruthersville, for defendant.

RUARK, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the circuit court which upheld the validity of an extension of the city limits of Caruthersille. In 1948 the city council submitted to the electorate, and the voters approved, a proposition for the annexation of four tracts. The largest of these tracts appears to be one of 51.3 acres located immediately adjacent to the northwest corner of the city limits, and it is this tract over which the battle rages. On June 26, 1950, the owners brought suit to have the ordinance and consequent annexation declared invalid because such was arbitrary, unreasonable and oppressive and worked a fraud on the owners. Thereafter the suit apparently lay dormant until December 17, 1954, when it was tried, and, judgment being rendered against the owners, they have appealed.

Caruthersville is a city of the third class which lies and preens itself behind the levee of the Mississippi River, which river runs in a slight curve along the north and northeastern boundary of the city. The present corporate limits, including the area annexed, are irregular. The most nearly we can describe the outside boundary is that it is somewhat in the shape of a flying squirrel lying with its head in the slight curve of the river and the extended wings on either side running along the levee to the right and left, the body and tail extending south. The plat which follows shows the 51.3 acres in question here in relation to the extreme northwest corner of the city prior to annexation, which portion of the city, together with the annexed area, makes up the left wing of the flying squirrel. The tract in question is part of a 342-acre farm which lies immediately adjoining the west side of the city. Prior to the annexation a portion of the city, that shown on the plat as the fair-grounds, stuck out into the east side of this farm like a fat, stubby thumb. A fragment of the land taken encircles the fair-grounds and makes the city boundary in that vicinity somewhat more regular. The tract annexed is bounded on its west side by what is called 'the old Hayti gravel road.' Immediately to the east of the annexed land is a blacktopped city street on the old city boundary line. Crossing the south portion is a freight line of the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway, and the north boundary is the Mississippi River levee. Running across the north one-third of the tract is a paved highway (Missouri No. 84). Thus, the greater portion of the tract is enclosed by a gravel road on the west, by city streets on the east, by a railroad on the south and the river on the north, and it is bisected by a state highway. This highway is one of the main trafficways in and out of the city. After crossing the tract in question and extending further to the east it becomes West Third Avenue, which is one of the main business thoroughfares of the city running east and west. The land along both sides of this highway inside the city is largely taken up with business and commercial establishments, and we gather from the evidence that farther west of town, after the highway leaves plaintiffs' land, there are also some commercial or business establishments along this highway. Northeast of this highway is a narrow strip of land (a part of the annexed tract) running between the highway and the levee. On approximately two acres of this strip north of the highway is located an oil storage tank yard owned by the Refiners Relay, Inc., which has pipelines across the levee in order to receive oil from river barges. Across the levee from the northeast corner is a busy ferry landing with a road or street which connects with the highway and with the street running down the east side of the tract in question. (See map.)

NOTE: OPINION CONTAINS TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE

The principal portion of the so-called industrial section of Caruthersville lies along or near to the river and in the northeast part of the city. The principal north and south street is Ward Avenue, which runs through the center of the city. On it are located a good many commercial or business establishments. West Third Street (Highway 84) connects with Ward Avenue about ten blocks east of plaintiffs' land.

By the 1940 census Caruthersville harbored some 6,612 souls. Commencing with the end of World War II (and we suspect good crops and prices for cotton) the city experienced considerable expansion of activity and population growth. By 1950 the population was more than 8,600. (One witness intimated that 'more people live on the alleys than on the front of the lots.') Subdividing and home building increased with the presure of added population. Between 1945 and date of trial at least eleven subdivisions for residential purposes were developed and substantially built upon. Most of this residential growth has been to the south. In 1950, since the extension which is the bone of contention in this lawsuit, a further annexation was made to take in a small additional tract on the south end of the city. This tract has also been platted and substantially filled with residences.

As bearing upon the need for additional land, plaintiffs produced evidence of several small unplatted, or partially platted, tracts in the city. One was a triangular piece of ground located in the southeast portion of the city. This tract contained twenty-two or twenty-three acres and was partly platted. As to the suitability and availability of this tract for development the evidence is not sufficient to enlighten us. Another tract was comprised of about twenty acres on the east side of the city, the site of a former oil mill, of which about two acres was occupied by a junk yard. There was also evidence of several smaller unoccupied tracts of varying sizes. It does not appear that any of the tracts so mentioned were located on the river. Some of them have available railroad facilities; some of them do not.

As bearing upon the need for space for residences, the plaintiffs produced a list of 212 lots which were vacant within the city at the time of the annexation in 1948. It appears from the evidence that some of these lots were used for parking purposes; some of them were church or lodge property; some were adjacent to a drainage ditch. A number of others were improved with residences after 1948 and prior to trial of the case. As to just how many of these vacant lots which were suitable for residential or business construction remained at the time of trial in 1954 we would not hazard a guess.

The land over which the controversy arises is a part of a larger farm and, with the exception of the small tract previously sold off to the Refiners Relay north of the highway, has been devoted exclusively to farming for a great many years. The only structures upon the land in question are four buildings which were referred to as 'shacks,' occupied by laborers on the farm. The land contains no utility lines, and for so long as used for farm purposes there is need for none, nor is there developed area to the west which requires such utilities. The land appears to be quite valuable for farming purposes. One of the owners testified that it was held and kept as a part of the farm and for the income derived from its operation as a farm, and that there was no desire or intention to apply it to or hold it for sale for any other purpose. The land itself is sometimes subject to seeps from the pressure of the river, which the owners contend make the land undesirable for development purposes. But this condition of seepage, under certain circumstances, appears to be common to the area along the levee, including portions of the main business district within the city. Under the bulk of the evidence, plaintiffs' land was worth from $400 to $500 per acre for farming purposes, but has a value in excess of $1,000 for development, residential, business or commercial purposes. One of the...