Shields v. Spokane School Dist. No. 81
| Decision Date | 28 July 1948 |
| Docket Number | 30461. |
| Citation | 196 P.2d 352,31 Wn.2d 247 |
| Parties | SHIELDS et al. v. SPOKANE SCHOOL DIST. NO. 81. |
| Court | Washington Supreme Court |
Rehearing Denied Sept. 13, 1948.
Suit by W. W. Shields and others against the Spokane School District No. 81, a municipal corporation, to enjoin the construction and maintenance of temporary buildings on school property and the operation of a proposed trade school thereon. From a decree in favor of the plaintiffs, the defendant appeals.
Affirmed.
Appeal from Superior Court, Spokane County; R. M Webster, Judge.
Leslie M. Carroll, Hugh H. Evans, Hamblen, Gilbert & Brooke, and H. E. T. Herman, all of Spokane, for appellant.
Skeel, McKelvy, Henke, Evenson & Uhlmann, Willard E. Skeel, Altha P. Curry, and Harold Shefelman, all of Seattle, and Smith Troy and Lucile Lomen, both of Olympia, amici curiae.
George W. Young, of Spokane, for respondent.
This is an appeal from a decree adjudging that the construction and maintenance of temporary buildings on the Webster grade school property in Spokane, and the operation of a purposed trade school therein and thereon, constitutes a public nuisance which shall be abated and the temporary structures removed therefrom; that the alteration, construction and maintenance and purposed use of the Webster grade school property as a trade school constitutes a violation of the zoning ordinance of the City of Spokane from which the defendant shall be enjoined; that a trade school is not a common school within the purview of the constitution of the State of Washington (Art. IX, §§ 2 and 3); that the maintenance and operation of the purposed trade school through funds allocated to the use of the common schools constitutes an unlawful diversion of such funds, and is enjoined; and that the effective date of the injunction shall be June 30, 1949.
The Webster school occupies a city block in the City of Spokane. It is bounded on the north by Sinto Avenue; on the south by Sharp Avenue; on the west by Standard Street; and on the east by Dakota Street. It was built in 1900, and maintained continuously as a grade school until September, 1940. At that time the student enrollment had dropped to approximately one hundred students and the school board closed the school. In August, 1941, it was leased to Gonzaga University and operated as a private high school until April, 1945, when the building was partially destroyed by fire.
In the early part of 1946 plans were initiated to remodel the Webster school building. The second floor was eliminated and the basement and first floor converted in such a manner that it could be used as an adjunct to the Hawthorne Trade School, then being maintained by the school board. The plans were drawn so that, with very little expense, the building could be reconverted into an elementary school to accommodate one hundred fifty pupils, if and when the necessity therefor arose. No objection was made by the residents of that area to the change. The new building was of brick construction, and was a decided improvement over the old building, which was especially unsightly after the fire.
But in the latter part of 1946, articles appeared in the press indicating that the school board was contemplating bringing in some wooden barracks from Baxter Hospital, placing them on the grounds, and maintaining them, together with the brick building, as a trade school, on a rather large scale. Immediately there was great unrest among the people living in the immediate vicinity. Meetings were held and a formal protest was prepared and presented to the school board.
The subsequent action of the school board in this respect is rather enlightening. September 11, 1946, the board considered the possibility of securing necessary federal aid, through the Federal Works Agency, to increase the facilities of the trade school in order to train veterans. This would consist, in the main, of buildings, equipment, tools, furniture, etc. October 29, 1946, the board employed an architecht to prepare drawings and specifications. It also decided to determine if the proposed buildings could be lawfully placed on the Webster school grounds. October 29, 1946, Superintendent of Schools, Shaw, wrote to the City Plan Commission, asking permission to locate temporary housing on the Webster site. November 2, 1946, the City Plan Commission replied that it had no objections, that the city zoning ordinance did not prohibit temporary school construction.
November 26, 1946, a protest was filed with the school board, signed by twenty-seven property owners residing in the immediate vicinity. November 27, 1946, a hearing was held on this protest. Superintendent Shaw advised that plans were very indefinite at that time and that few facts were known. He considered it a possibility that an addition could be made at the present trade school site. The president of the board stated: 'We will keep you advised of our building plan so you may have a chance to voice your opinions Before we go ahead.' The petition was tabled for the present.
December 26, 1946, the board wrote to A. W. Codd, the spokesman for the property owners, that a meeting of the board would be held January 2, 1947. (Mr. Codd was in California and did not receive the letter until several weeks after the meeting.) January 2, 1947, the board approved plans for the improvement and granted authority to proceed. (No protestants were present, none having received notice of the meeting.) January 21, 1947, a written agreement was entered into between the Federal Works Agency and the school district, by which the FWA agreed, at its own expense, to provide a building or buildings, to be located on the grounds of the 'Spokane Trade School.'
Mr. Codd learned of this action on February 12, 1947, and wired the board to reconsider its action. A hearing was held February 26, 1947. However, the government had already taken steps to award contracts for the construction of the buildings, and the board agreed that no action could be taken to change the situation.
A request was then made to the City Plan Commission to hold a public hearing on the proposal to conduct a trade school at the Webster site. The commission was of the opinion that it did not have jurisdiction to either grant or deny the school district permission to erect or maintain a trade school or other school structure used for the purposes of instruction. This was based upon the fact that the land occupied by the Webster school was used for school purposes by the school district prior to the adoption of the zoning ordinance. An appeal was then taken to the city council, which refused to act on the ground that it had no jurisdiction. The present action was then commenced.
The area involved in this action has been classified as a Class 1 Residential District. Ordinance No. C 4533 (), Sec. 4, provides:
The neighborhood surrounding the Webster school consists of nice homes; many of them old, but well kept up. The values range on the average between $6,000 and $14,000, although some homes have a value as high as $30,000. There are no factories in the area. It is strictly a residential district. Most of the families are large. One witness testified that his was an average family consisting of a son and seven little girls. There is a prevalence of small children in the neighborhood.
The temporary buildings consist of two buildings which were moved from Baxter Hospital. They were cut in two lengthwise, then placed on a concrete foundation approximately ten feet apart, making rooms in between, with a roof over the whole structure. It covers an overall area of approximately sixty-two feet by two hundred ninety feet. It is divided into eight shop rooms.
It is planned to teach the following in the various shops: Auto accessories, using generators and starters; auto engines, disassemble and assemble, using gasoline, emory wheels, grinders, presses, lathes; battery generators; auto painting, using spray guns, the fumes to be controlled; body and fender works, heating metals with acetylene torches. resulting in noise and fumes; diesel accessories, learning to repair, resulting in considerable noise; carpentry, using saws, nails, and planes; bricklaying and plastering; woodworking, using lathes and saws; aircraft, using airplane engines, small trainer plane, drill presses, lathe, revving up motors; acetylene welding and electric welding, both giving off fumes and resulting in a certain hazard.
The Spokane Trade School, of which the proposed project is to be an adjunct, is located on Fourth Avenue, between Wall and Post Streets. This is virtually a commercial and industrial district.
The objection of the property owners to the proposed installation of a trade school at the Webster site consisted of depreciation in value, unsightliness of temporary buildings undue noise, fumes, danger of fire and explosion, inconvenience due to traffic congestion, and danger to children due to traffic. It is planned to operate two shifts, from nine a. m. to nine p. m. Most of the students would be adults and would drive their...
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