Four States Realty Co., Inc. v. City of Baton Rouge

• Decision Date: 02 December 1974
• Docket Number: Nos. 55298 and 55410,s. 55298 and 55410
• Parties: FOUR STATES REALTY CO., INC. v. CITY OF BATON ROUGE et al. CITY OF BATON ROUGE v. FOUR STATES REALTY CO., INC.
• Court: Louisiana Supreme Court

Page 659

309 So.2d 659

FOUR STATES REALTY CO., INC. v. CITY OF BATON ROUGE et al.

CITY OF BATON ROUGE v. FOUR STATES REALTY CO., INC.

Nos. 55298 and 55410.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

Dec. 2, 1974.

On Rehearing March 17, 1975.

Rehearing Denied April 3, 1975.

Joseph F. Keogh, Parish Atty., Baton Rouge, for defendant-appellant in No. 55298 and for plaintiff-relator in 55410.

Robert L. Roland, Watson, Blanche, Wilson & Posner, Baton Rouge, for plaintiff-appellee in No. 55298 and defendant-respondent in No. 55410.

R. Gordon Kean, Jr., Sanders, Miller, Downing & Kean, Baton Rouge, for intervenor-relator in No. 55410 and for intervenor-appellant, B. R. Bank & Trust Co. in No. 55298.

SUMMERS, Justice.

A comprehensive zoning ordinance was adopted by the City Council of the City of Baton Rouge on July 19, 1950. Zoning regulations and districts were established. The ordinance, with changes, was reenacted effective in October 1958. Zoning regulations and districts were again created in accordance with a comprehensive plan to promote the health, safety, morals and the general welfare of the community. They are designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements.

At the time, the regulations and districts were designed with reasonable regard, among other things, for the character of the district, and its peculiar suitability for particular uses; and with a view to conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the community.

The area involved in this litigation is situated along the banks of the Mississippi River and comprises the central business district of the city. Here the city was born in 1719. It is 'downtown', and since 1971 the locality has been referred to as the Riverside Area in an attempt to focus on the Mississippi River as an inspirational characteristic. Today it is bounded on the north by the grounds occupied by the State Capitol and the complex of state buildings located there. The new Civic Center for the Greater Baton Rouge area lies to the south. An interstate highway bounds the area on the east. The mighty Mississippi flows on the west.

Within these limits lies densely populated commercial property in the heart of the central business district. Riverside also contains three major levels of governmental organization: a small Federal complex at the post office building, a rapidly growing State complex centered around the State Capitol Building and a Parish group with the newly designed Government Civic Center Complex at its heart. Riverside contains the best of the past heritage of Baton Rouge, is undergoing a rapid economic growth at present, and is the center of the hopes of the people of that city for a strong and prosperous future.

By the terms of the 1958 ordinance, the area involved here was contained in a district zoned C--5. This permitted the general use of the property allowed in other higher zoned districts, and, in addition, authorization was provided for such uses as: assembly plants, barge loading repairs and fabrication, canneries (except meat and fish products), cellophane products manufacturing, concrete mixing or batching plants, foundry casting, grain elevators, ornamental ironworks (no foundry, drop hammer, and no punch presses over 20 tons capacity), paint mixing and treatment (not employing a boiling process), bulk terminals for petroleum products, poultry processing plants, and a variety of other manufacturing activities.

In 1967 the City-Parish Council, upon recommendation of its Planning Commission, authorized a study of traffic and parking conditions in the central business district. This study was made by a firm of architects and planning consultants with the cooperation of all agencies of the City-Parish government and the Louisiana Department of Highways. The data and projections developed during the study disclosed a very significant future increase in traffic congestion and a decrease in parking capacity.

Predicting that the future of Baton Rouge and its central business district would be one of remarkable and unprecedented growth, the study considered the current and future problems. By the year 1985, according to the study, the then existing traffic volume in the central business district would be over two times the 1967 volume. A finding bearing upon this case

'. . . revealed that many persons parked in overcrowded and sub-standard lots, in lots where attendants crowd automobiles into every available niche, where customer service and convenience are sacrificed in the interest of merely having a place to park. Many persons park illegally on the streets, overpark at meters, and occupy metered curb space continuously for several hours.'

Clearly the acute parking problem has been one of long standing. Included in a comprehensive plan to cope with this condition, the study recommended that on-street parking be eliminated as soon as adequate off-street parking facilities could be provided.

In October 1971 an ordinance was adopted by the City-Parish government in which it proclaimed the Mississippi River as one of its greatest assets. Citing the example of St. Louis, Memphis and other cities which capitalized on riverside locations, and the development of that asset into a major resource for educational, recreational, cultural and economic betterment, the ordinance announced that Baton Rouge had not properly understood the great potential of and had not employed and developed its 'Riverside Area'.

Development and expansion by the State of Louisiana of its riverbank in the governmental complex surrounding the State Capitol Building was recognized. The City-Parish acquisition and development of a multi-purpose Civil Center was also acknowledged. The Old State Capitol Building serving a major part of the City's cultural activities was also adjacent to Riverside. Streets and sidewalks were being resurfaced, ornamental light standards and subsurface wiring installations were in progress. A plan of beautification was being undertaken with a mall, trees and decorative sidewalks. All these factors, the ordinance declared, presented an opportunity for the people of the city to undertake a program of renewal, improvement and betterment, the elimination of unsightly and run-down structures and to accomplish solutions of parking problems.

To encourage, promote and assist in this endeavor, the area was named 'Riverside'; a symbol or logogram was authorized to identify and publicize the area. Street names were changed to conform with the 'Riverside' concept, while historic and architecturally significant buildings were identified as part of the Riverside area. Businesses and all others in the area were memorialized to undertake a comprehensive program of renewal and revitalization. A color chart was authorized to serve as a guide for this effort. 'The Riverside Association', a combination of business and professional interests, was designated to serve as a coordinating body. The ordinance contemplated that interested agencies would be kept informed, would be consulted and would assist in the plan of development and improvement the ordinance envisioned.

In part, the implementation of this declaration of public policy was undertaken by the City-Parish Planning Commission. An 8 1/2 month study by that body ended in January 1974. The purpose of the study was to investigate the downtown area which was undergoing tremendous land and building-use changes. In its findings, the Commission recounted the history of the central business district, observing that since creation of a shopping center outside the central business district in 1960, downtown Baton Rouge was no longer the trade center. As a result many retail establishments relocated outside the area. Many believed the downtown area was dead. To others this signified a change in the dominance of functions in the area.

Three events of the early sixties served to indicate the growth potential of Riverside: The interstate highway was constructed making Riverside easily accessible from all points, the expansion of the State Capitol complex served to strengthen Riverside as the seat of State Government, and the construction of a 22-story office building forecast Riverside's resurgence as a major business center.

A proposed government Civic Center begun in April 1973, expansion of the state capitol complex, designation of the city as a national Bicentennial City, construction of a 25-story office building, extensive renovation of buildings and landscaping in the area, street improvements and the preservation of historic or visually significant structures all served to add to the revitalization of Riverside.

The study's comprehensive analysis of the area's major handicaps included recommendations to alleviate transportation and parking problems. As a primary objective, it proposed that zoning ordinance changes should be made to require that all new construction in C--5 commercial zones provide for its parking demands.

Four States Realty Company, Incorporated, is the plaintiff in these proceedings. Four States builds and constructs bus terminals which it leases to its sister corporation popularly known as Continental Trailways, a combination of two bus transportation businesses. The bus station site formerly in use by Continental was expropriated by the city for the Civic Center development on February 14 and March 7, 1974, and Four States acquired a new site described as lots 6, 7 and 8 of Square 6, Hickey, Duncan, Mather Town. The site measures approximately 148.5 feet front on the south side of Convention Street by a 291.6 foot depth along the west side of North 7th Street. This property is located...