Wrigley Properties, Inc. v. City of Ladue

• Decision Date: 15 July 1963
• Docket Number: No. 49465,No. 1,49465,1
• Citation: 369 S.W.2d 397
• Parties: WRIGLEY PROPERTIES, INC., et al., (Plaintiffs) Appellants, v. CITY OF LADUE, Missouri, a City of the Fourth Class, et al., (Defendants) Respondents
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

Page 397

369 S.W.2d 397

WRIGLEY PROPERTIES, INC., et al., (Plaintiffs) Appellants, v. CITY OF LADUE, Missouri, a City of the Fourth Class, et al.,

(Defendants) Respondents.

No. 49465.

Supreme Court of Missouri, Division No. 1.

July 15, 1963.

Granville L. Gamblin, Clayton, for appellants.

J. H. Cunningham, Jr., St. Louis, Willson, Cunningham & McClellan, St. Louis, of counsel, for City of Ladue, Mo., respondent.

HYDE, Judge.

This action, which plaintiffs call declaratory judgment, sought to have the court determine that their ten acres of land zoned as residential should be rezoned as commercial and asked a mandatory injunction for that purpose. At the close of plaintiffs' case, the trial court ordered judgment for defendants and plaintiffs have appealed.

As the basis for our jurisdiction plaintiffs say the refusal to rezone was arbitrary and unreasonable, deprives them of their property without due process of law and denies them of equal protection of the law in violation of the 14th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and Sec. 10, Art. I, of the Mo. Constitution, V.A.M.S. However, plaintiffs fail to show how the construction of these constitutional provisions is involved (see Sec. 3, Art. V, Mo. Const.) making no claim that they did not have notice of the proceedings (which in fact they commenced) and full opportunity to be heard. Moreover plaintiffs make no claim of unconstitutionality of any zoning statutes or ordinances and their so-called constitutional issue amounts to nothing more than a contention of incorrect application of zoning laws by the city. See State ex rel. Doniphan Telephone Co. v. Public Service Commission of Missouri, Mo., 369 S.W.2d 572; Goodson v. City of Ferguson, Mo.Sup., 339 S.W.2d 841; McClard v. Morrison, Mo.Sup., 273 S.W.2d 225. However, we have decided we do have jurisdiction because of the amount in dispute. Plaintiffs allege 'that the land described in this petition is, and has always been unimproved ground, and for residential purposes the reasonable and fair market value thereof would approximate $50,000; and that its reasonable and fair market value for commercial purposes would approximate $450,000.' Thus the value of the relief sought is claimed to be in excess of our jurisdictional amount of $15,000. Sec. 3, Art. V, Const.; Sec. 477.040, RSMo, V.A.M.S.; see Chemical Bank & Trust Co. v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 360 Mo. 877, 231 S.W.2d 165; Superior Concrete Accessories v. Kemper, Mo.Sup., 284 S.W.2d 482, and cases cited.

The 10-acre tract, sought to be rezoned, is the east 10 acres of a 14-acre tract owned by plaintiff Wrigley Properties, Inc. (hereinafter called Wrigley) which in 1961 had made a contract for its sale to plaintiff Taylor Gamblin for $382,021.20, subject to obtaining rezoning from residential to commercial. Gamblin desired to build a large shopping center building on this 10 acres with paved parking space for about 800 cars, at an estimated cost of $1,500,000.00. Wrigley had bought the 14 acres before 1958 for $300,000.00 and was using the west 4 acres (the west 300 feet) for a supermarket and a parking space. The 14-acre tract is at the western limits of the City of Ladue at the intersection of Lindbergh Boulevard (on the west) and Clayton Road (on the south) with U.S. Highway 40, an express highway, on the north. Across the east side, there is a graded bank, east of which is the Fieldcrest residential subdivision on somewhat higher ground. On the north side of the highway is the Salem Methodist Church. Also nearby on the north side of the highway is Ladue High School.

When Wrigley bought the entire 14 acres, the west 250 feet was zoned commercial and upon its petition this was extended 50 feet farther east. The commercial zone on the south side of Clayton Road likewise extends 300 feet east of Lindbergh. (It is occupied by a service station and a restaurant with a branch of the St. Louis County Public Library to the south.) From that point east the land on the south side of Clayton Road (like the land on the north side) is zoned residential along and beyond the 10-acre tract involved, with the requirement of 30,000 square feet per family. This was true of the land adjoining the 10-acre tract on the east, as well as on the south side of Clayton Road and on the north side of Highway 40. The present value of the 10-acre tract, if zoned commercial, would be $440,000 to $450,000 according to plaintiffs' evidence. (The prospective value of the 10-acre tract if 12 houses were constructed on it was estimated at $360,000.) Plaintiffs offered to give a strip of the south side of their land for an additional westbound lane of Clayton Road if rezoned as they requested. The 10-acre tract has been in Ladue since 1947 when its boundaries were extended to Lindbergh Boulevard and has always been zoned residential. ll of the testimony was produced by plaintiffs and the witnesses included the mayor and city clerk of Ladue. The City Zoning and Planning Commission recommended against rezoning because (1) insufficient major changes to justify it; (2) adequate area for commercial development to serve city's future population with still vacant commercial areas along Clayton Road; (3) proposed 850 parking spaces would add to existing traffic congestion along Clayton Road even though an additional traffic lane was provided; (4) adverse effect upon nearby and adjacent residential development; (5) rezoning area would invite requests for additional zoning changes, particularly along Lindbergh, not needed to serve Ladue residents. There was testimony to support these findings and also that paving the area for parking would increase flow of water after rains so as to adversely affect nearby residential subdivisions. These also were the reasons of the mayor and city council in refusing plaintiffs' application for rezoning. The history of Ladue and a description of its zoning will be found in our opinion in Flora Realty & Investment Co. v. City of Ladue, 362 Mo. 1025, 246 S.W.2d 771.

Plaintiffs' principal argument is that the growth and development of the region outside Ladue to the west, southwest and northwest has been so great and has so completely changed conditions in the area that rezoning of the ten acres from residential to commercial is necessary for the physical and economic needs of the area and therefore refusal to rezone is arbitrary and unreasonable. Other cities and towns adjoining Ladue on the north, west and south are Olivette, Creve Coeur, Frontenac, Huntleigh and Warson Woods, with weveral other towns just beyond them; and there was evidence that the planned shopping center would serve all these municipalities. However, it also appeared that on the southwest corner of the intersection of Clayton Road and Lindbergh, in Frontenac, there was a tract reaching 500 feet west on Clayton Road and 1500 feet south along Lindbergh, undeveloped and available for commercial development; and that there were other such open areas in Frontenac. (A new Shriners Hospital was being built south of the 1500-foot tract on Lindbergh on the west side of Lindbergh and to the north of Clayton Road, in Frontenac, there was a furniture store and a motel.) The Planning Director of St. Louis County, who testified concening the development of the area and stated the view that a neighborhood shopping center was needed in the area, also said that residential development of the 10-acre tract would be a reasonable use, particularly some type of high density residential use (multiple or apartment) for at least part of it. It also appeared that there had been people wanting to buy it for residential development; and the Assistant County Planning Director said residential development would be a reasonable use.

The St. Louis County Planning Director and his assistant testified that they had prepared a preliminary land use plan for the entire county; that they considered a reasonable use of the 10-acre tract would be commercial; and that the entire area both in and beyond Ladue was increasing in population and could be served by a shopping center there. They also expressed the view that this would have no detrimental effect on adjacent residential districts; and that it would be better to have the shopping center there next to the supermarket rather than on the southwest corner of the intersection (then unimproved and zoned commercial) which would require constant back-and-forth movement of people across Lindbergh to do normal shopping. These views were 'from the standpoint of overall planning of St. Louis County rather than from the planning of an individual municipality.' An officer of a real estate appraisal and planning firm testified that the shopping center would provide service to a large...