Reel Pipe & Valve Co., Inc. v. Consolidated City of Indianapolis-Marion County

• Decision Date: 26 April 1994
• Docket Number: INDIANAPOLIS-MARION,No. 49A05-9211-CV-403,49A05-9211-CV-403
• Citation: 633 N.E.2d 274
• Parties: REEL PIPE & VALVE COMPANY, INC., Viola Sheffield and Andrew Sheffield, Jr., d/b/a Swancy's Auto Laundry; Eleanor Swatts and Hobart Banks; Greg Know; and Evelyn Rusthoven, Jeanetta B. Greene, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. The CONSOLIDATED CITY OFCOUNTY, et al., Appellees-Defendants.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

Page 274

633 N.E.2d 274

REEL PIPE & VALVE COMPANY, INC., Viola Sheffield and Andrew Sheffield, Jr., d/b/a Swancy's Auto Laundry; Eleanor Swatts and Hobart Banks; Greg Know; and Evelyn Rusthoven Jeanetta B. Greene, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. The CONSOLIDATED CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS-MARION COUNTY, et al Appellees-Defendants.

No. 49A05-9211-CV-403.

Court of Appeals of Indiana Fifth District.

April 26, 1994.

Transfer Denied July 27, 1994.

Douglass R. Shortridge, Indianapolis, for Reel Pipe & Valve Co., Inc.

Jerry W. Newman, Indianapolis, for Viola Sheffield and Andrew Sheffield, Jr., d/b/a Swancy's Auto Laundry; Eleanor Swatts and Hobart Banks; Greg Knox; Evelyn Rusthoven; and Jeanetta B. Greene.

Andrew P. Wirick, City-County Legal Div., David F. Hamilton, David R. Warshauer, J. Mark Mutz, Barnes & Thornburg, Indianapolis, for appellees.

RUCKER, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

The Marion Superior Court sitting en banc affirmed a resolution of the Metropolitan Development Commission (Commission) which amended a plan adopted under provisions of the Indiana Redevelopment Act. The resolution provided in part that certain real property located in an area previously designated as blighted should be included on a list of property to be acquired by the Commission. Landowners whose property was added to the list now appeal.

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

1. Whether the Commission's "blighted area" designation is void because owners of property located in the area received no actual notice of the 1982 public hearing at which the designation was adopted.

2. Whether the Commission's decision adding appellants' property to the acquisition list is void because Landowners were denied an opportunity to challenge the "blighted area" designation at a 1992 public hearing.

3. Whether the trial court erred in finding that Landowners will have the right to contest the "blighted area" designation in any future eminent domain proceedings.

We affirm. ¹

BACKGROUND

This case arises under provisions of the Indiana Redevelopment Act (the Act) which sets forth a comprehensive statutory scheme for the clearing, replanning, and redevelopment of blighted, deteriorated, and deteriorating areas in a redevelopment district. Ind.Code § 36-7-15.1-30. Under the statute Once the Commission finds that an area in a redevelopment district has become blighted it must prepare maps and plats describing the affected area, list the owners of property proposed to be acquired, and estimate the cost of acquisition and redevelopment. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-8. Thereafter, the Commission must adopt a proposed resolution declaring that the blighted area is a detriment to the social or economic interests of the city and its inhabitants, and that it will be of public utility and benefit to acquire and redevelop the area. Id. After the Commission determines whether the proposed resolution and redevelopment plan conforms to the comprehensive plan of redevelopment for the city, the Commission must then either approve or disapprove the proposed resolution and plan. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-9.

a consolidated city ² is vested with authority to establish a Metropolitan Development Commission to carry out provisions of the Act. The Commission's duties include investigating, studying and surveying blighted, deteriorated and deteriorating areas; selecting and acquiring areas to be redeveloped; and replanning and disposing of the areas in a manner that best serves the social and economic interests of the city and its inhabitants. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-6. The Commission may purchase any real or personal property needed for redevelopment of blighted areas; clear real property acquired for redevelopment purposes; and exercise the power of eminent domain in the name of the city. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-7.

Once the resolution and plan have been approved, the Commission must give notice by newspaper publication of the approval and substance of the resolution. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-10. Among other things, the notice must identify the date when the Commission will receive and hear remonstrances and other testimony from interested parties. Id. At the hearing, the Commission shall hear all persons interested in the proceedings. After considering the evidence presented, the Commission shall take final action determining the public utility and benefit of the proposed project, and confirming, modifying and confirming, or rescinding the resolution. Id. If the Commission thereafter proposes to amend the resolution, then a subsequent public hearing must be conducted. Notice by certified mail must be given to affected property owners if the proposed amendment either enlarges the boundaries of the area by more than twenty percent or adds one or more parcels of land to the existing list of property to be acquired. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-10.5

Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Commission may appeal to the Superior Court which must hear the matter sitting en banc. I.C. § 36-7-15.1-11. The Court then decides the appeal based on the record and evidence before the Commission, not by trial de novo. By at least a majority vote, the judges may either confirm the final action of the Commission or sustain the remonstrances. Id.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

On March 12, 1982, the Commission approved a proposed resolution declaring a large section of the City of Indianapolis as blighted, deteriorated and deteriorating. The affected area was bordered on the north by 10th Street, 11th Street and Interstate Highway 65, bordered on the south by New York Street, bordered on the east by Senate Avenue and Capitol Avenue, and bordered on the west by West Street and Indiana Avenue. In support of the resolution, the Commission found that one-fourth of the land had been cleared and remained vacant, one-third of all residences were vacant, one-fifth of all buildings were vacant, one-third of the buildings had major structural defects, and the population of the area had dropped significantly from 1969 to 1981. According to the Commission, the area required disproportionate public spending on crime, public health and safety, fire and accident prevention and other public services, and the visibly deteriorating conditions detracted seriously from the quality of residential life and undermined improvement efforts in the project area and surrounding areas. Record at 73.

Pursuant to statute, notice of the Commission's resolution was published in three newspapers: The Indianapolis Recorder, The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis News. The notice indicated that maps, plats, and an Urban Renewal Plan had been prepared and were available for inspection at the offices of the Commission. The notice also set a time, date, and location for public hearing at which any person interested in or affected by the proceedings could appear and be heard.

Plaintiffs-Appellants Reel Pipe & Valve Company, Inc., Viola Sheffield and Andrew Sheffield, Jr., d/b/a Swancy's Auto Laundry, Eleanor Swatts, Hobart Banks, Greg Knox, Evelyn Rusthoven, and Jeanetta B. Greene (referred to collectively as "Landowners") all own real estate property located within the area designated as blighted. Landowners did not appear at the April 21, 1982 public hearing at which the Commission confirmed and adopted the proposed resolution.

As funds became available over the next several years the Commission proceeded with its urban renewal project. The project included construction and rebuilding of a residential housing development known as Lockfield Gardens, restoration of the historic Madame Walker Theatre, and partial redevelopment of a 19th Century Canal referred to as the Canal Walk Project.

In 1992, the Commission adopted a proposed amendment to the 1982 resolution. Because the amendment sought to add additional parcels of land in the redevelopment area to the existing list of property to be acquired, affected property owners were given notice by certified mail.

Public hearings were held May 6, 1992, and June 17, 1992. In addition to written submissions, the Commission received testimony in support of and in opposition to the proposed amendment. The City of Indianapolis presented testimony that it proposed to spend approximately $10 million restoring and improving the northern portion of the Central Canal to complete the Canal Walk Project already underway south of St. Clair Street; that the canal improvements south of St. Clair Street have involved public investments of about $25 million which are fostering additional investments of approximately $165 million; and that, when completed, those developments will provide more than 1,800 housing units, and nearly 500,000 feet of commercial, office and development facilities where more than 1,600 people will be employed.

The Commission heard testimony that in order for the area to be redeveloped, additional property near the canal, including Landowners' properties, needed to be acquired by the Commission in order that marketable parcels for redevelopment compatible with the overall redevelopment plans for the area may be realized. The Commission also heard testimony that the City plans to assemble marketable parcels along the restored canal for redevelopment of multi-family housing, commercial, and research and technology uses.

Landowners opposed inclusion of their property on the list of property to be acquired but did not object to the overall project of improving the canal and redevelopment area. Landowners were not permitted to cross examine witnesses nor introduce evidence challenging the 1982 resolution declaring the area as blighted.

After considering the testimony and evidence presented at the hearing, the Commission approved and adopted the Consolidated Redevelopment Project Area III, Northwest Redevelopment Project Urban Renewal Plan (Resolution 92-43) along with an acquisition list that included Landowners' property. Thereafter, Landowners appealed the Commission's decision to the Marion Superior Court...