Frederick v. Pickett
| Decision Date | 19 April 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 74, September Term, 2005.,74, September Term, 2005. |
| Citation | 897 A.2d 228,392 Md. 411 |
| Parties | CITY OF FREDERICK, Maryland v. Allan M. PICKETT. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Justin P. Hayes, Frederick, for appellant.
Richard M. Winters (William L. Haugh, Jr. of Haugh & Winters, LLP, Frederick), on brief, for appellee.
Argued before BELL, C.J., WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE and JOHN C. ELDRIDGE, (retired, specially assigned), JJ.
The case sub judice presents this Court with the task of determining whether the Circuit Court for Frederick County properly dismissed the City of Frederick's ("the City") condemnation action with respect to Allan M. Pickett's property. Because we hold that Maryland Code (1957, 2001 Repl.Vol.), Article 23A, Section 2(b)(37) permits a municipal authority to condemn individual blighted properties that are not within a "blighted area" or "slum area" for urban renewal purposes as a matter of law, we shall reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court and remand the case to that court for further proceedings.
In 1982, Allen Pickett purchased a two-story brick home located at 20 West Fourth Street, Frederick, Maryland ("the Property"), lived there for approximately one week and thereafter leased it until 1993 to a tenant, after which it remained unoccupied. In 1996, the Frederick City Police Department reported to the Office of Code Enforcement for the City of Frederick that the Property was littered with broken glass and that the rear entrance to the building was broken open. The Office of Code Enforcement verified the complaint and, upon visiting the premises, determined that vagrants were using the Property and removing the building's contents. Michael Blank, a building inspector with the Office of Code Enforcement, observed that fires were being set within the building and that the floor was covered in trash and fecal matter. Moreover, he noted that the foundation in the rear of the building was sinking, which compromised its structural integrity. On May 8, 1996, the Property was condemned. The City sent notice to Pickett instructing him to secure the Property and clean it up within five days. On May 16, 1996, Blank again visited the Property and confirmed that the building was secured but that the trash on the premises remained. The City removed the garbage and billed the costs to Pickett.
Two years later, the Office of Code Enforcement once again received a complaint from the police stating that the basement door of the Property was broken open and that the Property was covered in litter. An inspection confirmed the allegations of the complaint, and the Office of Code Enforcement again sent a letter to Pickett instructing him to clean up the Property within five days. When a subsequent inspection revealed that the Property remained in non-compliance, the City cleaned the Property and sent a bill to Pickett for the costs as well as a penalty of three hundred dollars.
After receiving repeated complaints from the police regarding the Property in 1998 and 1999, the Office of Code Enforcement conducted a comprehensive inspection of the premises on September 14, 1999, and sent a Notice of Violation to Pickett informing him that he had a month to make necessary repairs to the Property consisting of removing the garbage from the lot and repairing the rear door to bring it into compliance with the Property Maintenance Code. In October, the Office of Code Enforcement inspected the Property again; it remained in a state of noncompliance. On January 20, 2000, Pickett was sent seventy-seven citations for the period from October 16, 1999 through December 31, 1999. The citations were sent to Post Office Box 378, Mount Airy, Maryland, which was an address that the City had for Pickett. On February 9, 2000, the citations were returned to the Office of Code Enforcement as undeliverable. The Office of Code Enforcement subsequently posted the citations on the Property.
A subsequent inspection on January 2, 2002, revealed that the corner of the building on the Property continued to sink into the ground and that the Property continued to be used by transients for the consumption of alcohol and crack cocaine. One week later the City took action to reinforce the sinking foundation and declared the building "an unsafe structure" under the Property Maintenance Code.1
On March 21, 2002, the City's Board of Aldermen2 passed Ordinance G-02-3, the purpose of which was to "authorize the City to acquire blighted properties by eminent domain and to subsequently dispose of said properties, and thereby to promote public health, safety, and welfare, and to facilitate the use and enjoyment of property." Ordinance G-02-3 provided in pertinent part:
(1) Pursuant to the express authority described above, the City may:
(a) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (4) of this section, acquire, within its boundary lines, land and property of every kind, and any right, interest, franchise, easement or privilege therein, by purchase, lease, gift, condemnation or any other legal means, for development or redevelopment, including, but not limited to, the comprehensive renovation or rehabilitation thereof; and
(b) Sell, lease, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of said property, regardless of whether or not it has been developed, redeveloped, altered or improved and irrespective of the manner or means in or by which it may have been acquired, to any private, public or quasi-public corporation, partnership, association, person or other legal entity.
(2) No land or property taken by the City for any of the aforementioned purposes, or in connection with the exercise of any of the powers authorized hereunder, shall be taken without just compensation, as agreed upon between the parties or awarded by a jury, being first paid or tendered to the party entitled to such compensation.
(3) All land or property needed, or taken by the exercise of the power of eminent domain, by the City for any of the aforementioned purposes, or in connection with the exercise of any of the powers authorized hereunder, is hereby declared to be needed or taken for a public use or a public benefit.
(4) Before the acquisition of any single family or multiple family dwelling unit, or other structure, is made under this Chapter, a finding or determination shall be made that:
(a) The dwelling unit or structure has deteriorated to such an extent as to constitute a serious and growing menace to the public health, safety and welfare;
(b) The dwelling unit or structure is likely to continue to deteriorate unless corrected;
(c) The continued deterioration of the dwelling unit or structure will contribute to the blighting or deterioration of the area immediately surrounding the dwelling unit or structure; and
(d) The owner of the dwelling unit or structure has failed to correct the deterioration thereof.
(5) The City shall adopt an Ordinance for each acquisition of land or property made under the provisions of this Chapter. Each specific ordinance so adopted shall be maintained by the Legislative Clerk of the City in a file titled "Eminent Domain."
Immediately after passing Ordinance G-02-3, the Board of Alderman discussed Ordinance ED-02-1, which permitted the City to acquire the Property at 20 West Fourth Street through its eminent domain powers. During the meeting the following colloquy occurred:
Pickett has conceded that on March 25, 2002, Frederick Mayor Dougherty signed the enabling ordinance, Ordinance G-02-3, immediately prior to signing Ordinance ED-02-1, which specifically authorized the taking of the Property.
On April 10, 2002, the City initiated condemnation proceedings in the Circuit Court for Frederick County. Five days later, the Circuit Court issued a summons for Pickett, which listed his address as 755 East Watersville Road, Frederick, Maryland 21701. The City, however, was unable to effectuate service prior to the expiration of that summons. On June 28, 2002, the City applied to have the Circuit Court reissue the summons for Pickett with the same address. The court did so. Once again, the City was unable to serve Pickett prior to the expiration of the reissued summons. On September 25, 2002, the City again requested that the Circuit Court reissue a summons for service on Pickett at the same address, which the court did. The City attempted to effect service of process throughout the following year.
After repeatedly being unable to effect service upon Pickett, on July 7, 2003, the City filed a motion for alternate service, which the Circuit Court granted, thereby permitting the City to serve process upon Pickett through mailing him a copy of the summons, complaint and other relevant papers at his...
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