St. Louis County v. Village of Peerless Park, 50711

Citation726 S.W.2d 405
Decision Date27 January 1987
Docket NumberNo. 50711,50711
PartiesST. LOUIS COUNTY, Missouri, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF PEERLESS PARK, Missouri and Ruben Geller, et al., Intervenors-Defendants-Respondents.
CourtCourt of Appeal of Missouri (US)

Andrew J. Minardi and Cynthia Garnholz, Asst. Co. Counselors, Clayton, for St. Louis County.

Robert K. Spalding, Ballwin, for Peerless Park.

Shulamith Simon, St. Louis, for Geller, et al.

PUDLOWSKI, Presiding Judge.

Saint Louis County appeals from the judgment of the Saint Louis County Circuit Court awarding summary judgment to the Village of Peerless Park and Intervenors in an action by the County to challenge the annexation by Peerless Park of three separate parcels of land in a previously unincorporated area of Saint Louis County contiguous to Peerless Park. The intervenors are alleged to be the owners of one of the three parcels. They were allowed to intervene as a matter of right, pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 52.12(a). The intervenors sought to be governed by the zoning and development regulations of Peerless Park. The judgment is affirmed.

Saint Louis County alleges that the trial court erred in four respects. First, the County contends that Peerless Park failed to follow the procedures for annexing property which are set out in Sections 71.015 and 71.860 to 71.920 1 and proceeded only under Section 71.012, despite the fact that the County allegedly foreclosed this method by filing an objection under 71.012.2(3). Secondly, the County contends that there were material issues of fact in dispute with regard to whether Peerless Park Ordinance 1-1985, by which Peerless Park purported to annex the area, was validly passed by the Peerless Park Board of Trustees pursuant to Section 71.012. County also alleges that the trial court erred in failing to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent Peerless Park from taking any action as the governing body of the allegedly annexed area. County's final contention is that intervention was inappropriately allowed.

Section 71.012 provides for a so-called petition method of annexation. The statute prior to its amendment in 1986 stated:

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 71.015 and 71.860 to 71.920, the governing body of any municipality may annex unincorporated areas which are contiguous to the existing corporate limits of the municipality as provided in this section.

2. (1) When a verified petition, requesting annexation and signed by the owners of all fee interests of record in all tracts of real property located within the area proposed to be annexed, is presented to the governing body of the municipality, the governing body shall hold a public hearing concerning the matter not less than fourteen nor more than sixty days after the petition is received, and the hearing shall be held not less than seven days after notice of the hearing is published in newspapers of general circulation qualified to publish legal matters.

(2) At the public hearing any interested person, corporation or political subdivision may present evidence regarding the proposed annexation. If, after holding the hearing, the governing body of the municipality determines that the annexation is reasonable and necessary to the proper development of said city, and the city has the ability to furnish normal municipal services to the area to be annexed within a reasonable time, it may, subject to the provisions of subdivision (3) of this subsection, annex the territory by ordinance without further action.

(3) If a written objection to the proposed annexation is filed with the governing body of the municipality not later than seven days after the public hearing, the provisions of sections 71.015 and 71.920, shall be followed.

3. If no objection is filed, the municipality shall extend its limits by ordinance to include such territory, specifying with accuracy the new boundary lines to which the municipality's limits are extended. Upon duly enacting such annexation ordinance, the municipality shall cause three certified copies of the same to be filed with the clerk of the county wherein the municipality is located, whereupon the annexation shall be complete and final and thereafter all courts of this state shall take judicial notice of the limits of that municipality as so extended.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 1, 2, and 3 of this section, no such annexation shall become effective as to any city with a constitutional charter until there has been an affirmative vote of the electors on such annexation under the provisions of section 20 of article VI of the Missouri Constitution.

The statute allows all of the property owners in unincorporated areas to join together to petition to become a part of a bordering incorporated area. Once the petition is filed, the governing body of the municipality must hold a public hearing to determine whether or not an ordinance annexing the properties described in the petition should be passed. Any person, corporation, or political subdivision may appear at the public hearing. The question raised by the County here is who may make a formal written objection under subsection 2.3.

The owners of the property in the area to be annexed filed two verified petitions on December 11, 1984. We note, that one petition is what the statute calls for. See, State ex rel. Nesslage v. City of Lake St. Louis, 718 S.W.2d 214 (Mo.App.1986). On December 27, 1984 the public hearing on the petitions required by the statute was held. In a letter, dated that same day, Gene McNary, St. Louis County Supervisor, informed the members of the Peerless Park Board of Trustees that: "St. Louis County, Missouri, pursuant to Section 71.012 RSMo Cum.Supp.1983, objects to the three annexations pending before the Board of Trustees by virtue of verified petitions for annexations received by the Board of Trustees on December 11, 1984," the legal descriptions of which were fully given in an exhibit attached to the letter. County's argument is that the letter was a written objection which made it impossible for Peerless Park to perform a legal annexation under 71.012.

Peerless Park admits that it proceeded only under Section 71.012, but it contends that St. Louis County does not have standing to make an objection, and it cites City of Town and Country v. St. Louis County, 657 S.W.2d 598, a 1983 Missouri Supreme Court en banc decision for this proposition. The Town and Country decision made it clear that counties were no longer intended by the General Assembly under its current annexation statutes to have a veto power over annexations.

Clearly, St. Louis County had standing to present evidence at the hearing, because counties are political subdivisions of the state; and any political subdivision, under subsection 2.2 has the authority to appear and present its position. See Miller v. Ste. Genevieve County, 358 S.W.2d 28, 30 (Mo.1962). The issue is whether County had standing, under the provisions of subsection 2.3, to make a formal written objection to the annexation proceedings.

The statute as it existed prior to its amendment in June of 1986 was equivocal on this point. However, § 71.012.2(3) was amended in June of 1986, while this appeal was pending, to provide:

(3) If a written objection to the proposed annexation is filed with the governing body of the city, town, or village not later than fourteen days after the public hearing by at least two percent of the qualified voters of the city, town, or village or at least eight qualified voters of the city, town, or village, whichever is the lesser of the two figures, or two qualified voters of the area sought to be annexed if the same contains two qualified voters, the provisions of sections 71.015 and 71.860 to 71.920 shall be followed.

See Section 71.012 V. A.M.S.Supp.1987 (emphasis added).

While the 1986 amendments were clearly not a part of the statute in 1984, the issue presented by the County is one of statutory interpretation which in fact means interpretation of the General Assembly's intent, and the General Assembly has...

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    ...of supervisors. You do not even need to be a lawyer. An unimpaired olfactory sense will suffice. In St. Louis County v. Village of Peerless Park, 726 S.W.2d 405, 409 (Mo.App.1987), the Missouri Court of Appeals responded as follows to the same argument made here by Harrison County's only co......
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