Village of Medford v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 23 May 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 44577,44577 |
| Citation | 230 N.W.2d 458,304 Minn. 250 |
| Parties | VILLAGE OF MEDFORD, Respondent, v. Versul WILSON, et al., Appellants. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Ronald O. W. Ylitalo, St. Paul, for appellants.
John M. Smith, Owatonna, for respondent.
Heard before OTIS, PETERSON, and MacLAUGHLIN, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.
This appeal arises from an ejectment action by which the village of Medford has attempted to remove Versul and Clara Wilson, defendants, from a portion of First Street Southeast, a platted but unopened street that defendants have been occupying.
In 1859, a plat of an addition to the village of Medford was recorded, dedicating the streets and alleys located therein to public use. First Street Southeast (also known as Park Street) was dedicated but was never opened between Grove Street (a.k.a. First Avenue Southeast) and Ridge Street (a.k.a. Second Avenue Southeast). 1 Defendants have operated a junkyard in Medford for nearly a half century; the junkyard includes a portion of the platted, but unopened, street in question.
In August 1969 the Medford Village Council enacted an ordinance to open First Street Southeast between Grove Street and Ridge Street. In May 1972 the village council adopted a motion instructing the village attorney to commence an action of ejectment against defendants.
A district court trial was held, and the jury, by special verdict, found that the action of the village council in opening the street was arbitrary and unreasonable, and was prejudicial to defendants. The trial court granted the motion of the village for judgment n.o.v., and defendants appealed.
It is settled law in Minnesota that, when a street is dedicated by plat, a city may choose its own time to occupy, open, and use the street. Until the city does so, such property may be used by the abutting landowner. Such use is not regarded as hostile and will not operate as an abandonment of a public street by the city. Village of Newport v. Taylor, 225 Minn. 299, 30 N.W.2d 588 (1948); City of Rochester v. North Side Corp., 211 Minn. 276, 1 N.W.2d 361 (1941); Pierro v. City of Minneapolis, 139 Minn. 394, 166 N.W. 766 (1918); Minn.St. 541.01. See, also, Minn.St. 412.221, subd. 6.
It is undisputed that the case at bar involves a legally platted street. Defendants claim, however, that the 1969 ordinance enacted by the village of Medford to open the street was arbitrary and capricious and was therefore invalid.
We have held that the building of a public street encompasses a 'public purpose.' Borgelt v. City of Minneapolis, 271 Minn. 249, 135 N.W.2d 438 (1965). As a general rule, the exercise of the powers of a municipality with respect to the making of public improvements designed to fulfill a public purpose rests in the discretion of the governing municipal authorities, in so far as the matter is not controlled by positive law. The discretion of the municipality is wide, and courts are not inclined to restrict the powers of municipalities over their streets and public ways. Rakowsky v. City of Duluth, 44 Minn. 188, 46 N.W. 338 (1890). See, also, 56 Am.Jur.2d, Municipal Corporations, § 560; 10 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations (3 ed.), § 30.31; Headley v. City of Rochester, 272 N.Y. 197, 5 N.E.2d 198 (1936); Town of Chouteau v. Blankenship, 194 Okl. 401, 152 P.2d 379 (1944); City of Chicago v. Wilson, 195 Ill. 19, 62 N.E. 843 (1902).
In Diamond v. City of Mankato, 89 Minn. 48, 93 N.W. 911 (1903), we also reviewed a municipal ordinance directing the paving of a platted street. We there said (89 Minn. 51, 93 N.W. 912):
...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Hill v. City of Lawrence
...landowner has the right to such use, at least where the use made does not interfere with use by others. In Village of Medford v. Wilson, 304 Minn. 250, 230 N.W.2d 458 (1975), for example, the Minnesota Supreme Court held that a village decision to open a legally platted street was not an ab......
-
Bolen v. Glass
...open a street" and advising owners to formally present request to town board to open and maintain roads); Village of Medford v. Wilson, 304 Minn. 250, 254, 230 N.W.2d 458, 460 (1975) (affirming right of village to open street dedicated by plat when it serves public purpose). Rather, the cit......
- Muhl v. Bohi
-
In the Matter of The Rental Dwelling License Held By Mahmood Khan For the Premises At 3223 Bryant Ave. N.
...to resolve conflicting evidence or to assume the role of a city council in weighing policy considerations. Village of Medford v. Wilson, 304 Minn. 250, 254, 230 N.W.2d 458, 460 (1975). This court may not substitute its own judgment, retry the facts, or weigh credibility; instead, this court......