Town of Windsor v. Village of DeForest
| Decision Date | 22 May 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-0281.,02-0281. |
| Citation | 666 N.W.2d 31,265 Wis.2d 591,2003 WI App 114 |
| Parties | TOWN OF WINDSOR and Town of Burke, Plaintiffs-Respondents, WALGREEN CO., Meyer Holding, L.L.C., Duraform Lane Properties, L.L.C., Clack Building, L.L.C., Doug Karow, and Virginia Buhler, Intervening Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. VILLAGE OF DEFOREST, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Wisconsin Court of Appeals |
On behalf of the defendant-appellant, the cause was submitted on the briefs of Allen D. Reuter and Kim I. Moermond of Reuter, Whitish & Cole, S.C. of Madison.
On behalf of the plaintiffs-respondents and intervening plaintiffs-respondents the cause was submitted on the brief of Lawrence E. Bechler and Matthew J. Fleming of Murphy & Desmond, S.C. of Madison; Timothy D. Fenner of Axley Brynelson, LLP of Madison; Edward A. Hannan of Hannan & Associates, LLC of Brookfield; Constance L. Anderson of Merg & Anderson, S.C. of Madison; and Robert C. Procter of Axley Brynelson, LLP of Madison.
Before Dykman, Roggensack and Deininger, JJ.
¶ 1.
The Village of DeForest appeals judgment on the pleadings granted to the Town of Windsor, the Town of Burke and intervening plaintiffs,1 declaring annexation ordinance 2001-10 void. DeForest ordinance 2001-10 purported to repeal an annexation ordinance enacted two months prior, ordinance 2000-69, and to re-annex largely the same territory as previously annexed. The circuit court held that ordinance 2001-10 was void because DeForest did not comply with the statutory requirements for changing municipal boundaries found in WIS. STAT. ch. 66. We agree that judgment on the pleadings was proper and conclude that the attempted repeal of annexing ordinance 2000-69 by enacting a correcting annexing ordinance is invalid because it conflicts with the procedures set out in WIS. STAT. § 66.0217 (2001-02).2 Accordingly, because the power to annex land is purely statutory and DeForest failed to comply with the statutory directive when it enacted ordinance 2001-10, we affirm the circuit court's judgment setting aside annexation ordinance 2001-10.3
¶ 2. On December 18, 2000, the Village of DeForest enacted annexation ordinance 2000-69 to annex approximately 2100 acres of land located partly in the Town of Windsor and partly in the Town of Burke. Shortly thereafter, Windsor and Burke filed a complaint contesting the validity of the annexation. Two weeks later, the original promoters of ordinance 2000-69, Capitol Warehousing Corporation and CapWin 19, LLC, published in the DeForest Times-Tribune a "Notice of Intent" to circulate an annexation petition accompanied by a legal description of the property to be annexed. The territory identified by the notice of intent included the same 2100 acres annexed by ordinance 2000-69 plus an additional 100 acres of land.4 Capitol Warehousing and CapWin 19 filed the annexation petition with DeForest, and on February 12, 2001, DeForest enacted annexation ordinance 2001-10, that purported to repeal ordinance 2000-69 and re-annex the 2100 acres earlier annexed, plus an additional one hundred acres.
¶ 3. Windsor and Burke then filed a second action against DeForest, this time challenging the validity of ordinance 2001-10. The two cases were consolidated for purposes of discovery and pretrial motions. Windsor and Burke moved for judgment on the pleadings with regard to ordinance 2001-10, alleging that the ordinance was void as a matter of law. The circuit court granted their motion. DeForest appeals.
Standard of Review.
[1, 2]
¶ 4. Whether judgment on the pleadings should be granted is a question of law that we review de novo. Freedom from Religion Found., Inc. v. Thompson, 164 Wis. 2d 736, 741, 476 N.W.2d 318, 320 (Ct. App. 1991). The construction of a statute and its application to undisputed facts also present questions of law that we review without deference to the circuit court. Truttschel v. Martin, 208 Wis. 2d 361, 364-65, 560 N.W.2d 315, 317 (Ct. App. 1997).
Judgment on the Pleadings.
[3-5]
¶ 5. Judgment on the pleadings is proper only if there are no genuine issues of material fact. See Bantz v. Montgomery Estates, Inc., 163 Wis. 2d 973, 984, 473 N.W.2d 506, 510 (Ct. App. 1991). It is essentially summary judgment, minus affidavits and other supporting documents, where we apply the first two steps of summary judgment methodology. Schuster v. Altenberg, 144 Wis. 2d 223, 228, 424 N.W.2d 159, 161 (1988) (citation omitted). We first examine the complaint to determine whether it states a claim. Id. We then turn to the responsive pleadings to ascertain whether a material factual issue exists. Id. If the complaint is sufficient to state a claim and the responsive pleadings raise no material issues of fact, judgment on the pleadings may be appropriate.
¶ 6. DeForest argues that the circuit court erred by granting judgment on the pleadings because a material fact remained in dispute. We disagree. Here, the complaint states a claim that ordinance 2001-10 was not validly enacted due in part to the territory the ordinance sought to annex, and DeForest admits that ordinance 2001-10 affects all of the land annexed by the first ordinance. While there are other facts that the pleadings show are in dispute, their resolution does not affect our task here—to decide the validity of annexing ordinance 2001-10.
[6, 7]
¶ 7. Furthermore, while it is true, as DeForest contends, that when judgment on the pleadings was granted, the status of ordinance 2000-69 had been challenged and remained undecided. This prospect alone, however, does not create a material issue of fact for purposes of judgment on the pleadings regarding whether ordinance 2001-10 could effect annexation of the territory described in both ordinances. WISCONSIN STAT. § 66.0217(8)(c) provides that an "annexation is effective upon enactment of the annexation ordinance." And, it is well settled that an annexation ordinance continues in effect until declared invalid by a court. KW Holdings, LLC v. Town of Windsor, 2003 WI App 9, ¶ 22, 259 Wis. 2d 357, 656 N.W.2d 752; see also State ex rel. City of Madison v. Village of Monona, 11 Wis. 2d 93, 96, 104 N.W.2d 158, 160 (1960) (). Therefore, we need not address whether Windsor and Burke's challenges to ordinance 2000-69 are valid, and we move to the validity of annexation ordinance 2001-10. Annexation Ordinances.
[8, 9]
¶ 8. Annexation proceedings are purely statutory. City of Madison v. Town of Blooming Grove, 14 Wis. 2d 143, 144, 109 N.W.2d 682, 683 (1961). A municipal corporation has no power to extend its boundaries other than as provided for by legislative enactment or constitutional provision. Town of Madison v. City of Madison, 269 Wis. 609, 615, 70 N.W.2d 249, 252 (1955); Town of Greenfield v. City of Milwaukee, 272 Wis. 610, 611-12, 76 N.W.2d 320, 321 (1956) (). WISCONSIN STAT. ch. 66 prescribes the procedures for annexation. Therefore, whether ordinance 2001-10 is valid turns in part on the statutory requirements for annexation set out in ch. 66. See Town of Wauwatosa v. City of Milwaukee, 266 Wis. 59, 64, 62 N.W.2d 718, 720 (1954).
[10-12]
¶ 9. The purpose of all statutory construction is to ascertain the intent of the legislature, and our first resort is to the language of the statute itself. State v. Setagord, 211 Wis. 2d 397, 406, 565 N.W.2d 506, 509 (1997). If the words of the statute convey legislative intent, that ends our inquiry. Kelley Co., Inc. v. Marquardt, 172 Wis. 2d 234, 247, 493 N.W.2d 68, 74 (1992). We will not look beyond the plain language of a statute to search for other meanings; we will simply apply the language to the facts at hand. Id.
¶ 10. WISCONSIN STAT. § 66.0217 details the legislative scheme for direct annexation, which is what DeForest attempted, whereby land is detached from a town and annexed to a city or village. It initiates with the publishing of a notice of intent to circulate an annexation petition in the territory proposed for annexation. Section 66.0217(4). Under § 66.0217(4)(a), the notice of proposed annexation must contain:
2. A legal description of the territory proposed to be annexed and a copy of a scale map.
3. The name of the city or village to which the annexation is proposed.
4. The name of the town or towns from which the territory is proposed to be detached.
Within six months of the publication of the notice, a petition for direct annexation must be filed with the city or village clerk. Section 66.0217(5). The petition must also "contain a legal description of the territory proposed to be annexed and have attached a scale map." Id. Finally, an ordinance annexing the territory described in the petition may be "enacted by a two-thirds vote of the elected members of the governing body . . . ." Section 66.0217(8). The annexation is effective upon enactment of the annexation ordinance. Id.
[13]
¶ 11. Windsor and Burke argue that annexing ordinance 2001-10 is void because DeForest failed to meet the requirements outlined by WIS. STAT. § 66.0217 prior to enacting the ordinance. Specifically, they argue that because ordinance 2000-69's "effective date" was December 18, 2000, whereon 2100 acres of land in Windsor and Burke were annexed to DeForest, all but 100 acres of the land purportedly annexed by ordinance 2001-10 on February 12 was, "by law," already within DeForest. Accordingly, Windsor and Burke argue that DeForest's method of enacting ordinance 2001-10 conflicts with the unambiguous legislative intent regarding the effect of enacting an annexation ordinance. We agree.
[14]
¶ 12. It is unequivocal that an annexation ordinance is effective upon ena...
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