Acer Paradise Inc. v. Kalkaska County Road Commission

684 N.W.2d 903, 262 Mich. App. 193
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 27, 2004
DocketDocket No. 242389
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 684 N.W.2d 903 (Acer Paradise Inc. v. Kalkaska County Road Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Acer Paradise Inc. v. Kalkaska County Road Commission, 684 N.W.2d 903, 262 Mich. App. 193 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Plaintiff appeals as of right from the trial court’s order granting defendants’ motions for summary disposition. We affirm.

I. MATERIAL FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

The issue in this case is whether jurisdiction over 0.26 miles of Glade Valley Road located in Kalkaska County, Clearwater Township, was properly transferred from the Kalkaska County Road Commission to Clear-water Township. The trial court set forth the material facts related to the main issue on appeal in a written opinion, and the parties do not dispute this factual rendition. Therefore, we adopt it as our own:

[195]*195As an abutting landowner, plaintiff filed a petition on September 24, 1999, with the Kalkaska County Road Commission (“the Road Commission”) seeking to have Glade Valley Road (“the Road”) abandoned pursuant to MCL 224.18. At a hearing on October 13, 1999, the Road Commission granted the petition to abandon the .84 mile stretch of the Road that is north and east of the river. The minutes of the hearing reveal that the petition was not granted as to the entire 1.1 mile length of the Road because the Road Commission believed that they were required to offer the remaining .26 mile stretch to Defendant Clearwater Township (“the Township”) and the [Michigan Department of Natural Resources]. This question resulted from language in MCL 224.18 that outlines special provisions for roads that cross the general course of a stream, which require that, before abandonment, a county must offer the portion of road to the township in which it is situated for purposes of access and ingress/egress to the stream. The Plaintiff then requested 60 days in which to discuss the matter with the Township.
There was some written correspondence between the Road Commission and the Township regarding the remaining .26 mile portion of Glade Valley Road. No formal action was taken, however, until the Township passed a resolution on April 18, 2000 in which it accepted jurisdiction over the .26 mile portion including the “Iron Bridge”. The Road Commission then passed a resolution dated April 26, 2000 in which it officially relinquished jurisdiction of the .26 mile portion to the Township.
The Plaintiff subsequently filed a four-count Complaint naming both the Road Commission and the Township as Defendants. Counts I and n seek declaratory relief with regard to ownership of the Iron Bridge; Counts ni and IV, pled in the alternative, seek relief under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act and injunctive relief.

The parties stipulated the dismissal of plaintiffs claim that the Michigan environmental protection act was violated, and the trial court dismissed plaintiffs claim for an easement by necessity on the basis that [196]*196plaintiff has every right to utilize the 0.26 mile portion of the road to access its property even though the road commission relinquished jurisdiction to the township. These two issues are not raised on appeal. With regard to count one, which is the basis for the main dispute on appeal, the trial court held that the township did not exceed its authority under MCL 224.18 by assuming jurisdiction over the 0.26 mile portion of the road, including the Iron Bridge. The trial court also dismissed plaintiffs request for an injunction to require defendants to take the affirmative act of maintaining and repairing the Iron Bridge so that it could support emergency vehicles, and to prohibit defendants from closing, removing, or adding further weight restrictions to the bridge.

II. ANALYSIS

The central issue on appeal is whether the road commission properly relinquished jurisdiction over the 0.26 mile stretch of the road to the township pursuant to MCL 224.18. Our review of the trial court’s grant of summary disposition, as well our review of its construction of MCL 224.18, is de novo. Eggleston v Bio-Medical Applications of Detroit, Inc, 468 Mich 29, 32; 658 NW2d 139 (2003); Veenstra v Washtenaw Country Club, 466 Mich 155, 159; 645 NW2d 643 (2002).

A. RELINQUISHMENTS OF JURISDICTION

In Rakestraw v Gen Dynamics Land Systems, Inc, 469 Mich 220, 224; 666 NW2d 199 (2003), our Supreme Court set forth how a court is to discern legislative intent:

In interpreting a statute, our obligation is to discern the legislative intent that may reasonably be inferred from the [197]*197words actually used in the statute. White v Ann Arbor, 406 Mich 554, 562; 281 NW2d 283 (1979). A bedrock principle of statutory construction is that “a clear and unambiguous statute leaves no room for judicial construction or interpretation.” Coleman v Gurwin, 443 Mich 59, 65; 503 NW2d 435 (1993). When the statutory language is unambiguous, the proper role of the judiciary is to simply apply the terms of the statute to the facts of a particular case. Turner v Auto Club Ins Ass’n, 448 Mich 22, 27; 528 NW2d 681 (1995). In addition, words used by the Legislature must be given their common, ordinary meaning. MCL 8.3a.

Plaintiffs main contention on appeal is that, contrary to the trial court’s ruling, the road commission did not have the authority under MCL 224.18 to relinquish jurisdiction of the 0.26 mile portion of Glade Valley Road to the township because that statutory provision has been superseded by the transfer of jurisdiction over highways act (transfer act), MCL 247.851 et seq.

The portions of MCL 224.18, operative at the time the relevant proceedings took place,1 read as follows:

(3) The board of county road commissioners of any county which has adopted the county road system, at any time, may either relinquish jurisdiction of or absolutely abandon and discontinue any county road, or any part of a county road, by a resolution adopted by a majority vote. The vote of the county road commissioners in respect to either relinquishment of jurisdiction or absolute abandonment and discontinuance shall be taken and entered, and notice given, in the same manner as required in this section in cases in which county roads are adopted. After proceedings to relinquish jurisdiction have been had, the jurisdiction and control of the road, or part of the road, except as otherwise provided in this section, shall revert to the township or municipality -within which the road is situated, and the county shall be relieved of the responsibility for the [198]*198road. After proceedings to absolutely abandon and discontinue, the road or part of the road shall cease to exist as a public highway unless the unit of government that acquires the property or control of the property permits such a use. Subject to subsection (8), the board, at the time of the passage of a resolution to absolutely abandon and discontinue any portion of a highway under its jurisdiction, shall determine in the resolution that it is to the best interests of the public that the highway or portion of the highway be absolutely abandoned and discontinued....
(5) If a petition for absolute abandonment and discontinuance of a road or portion of a road contains the signatures of all of the owners of record and occupants of land abutting thereon,.. . the board of county road commissioners shall, within 20 days after receiving the petition, subject to subsection (8),

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Related

Acer Paradise, Inc. v. KALKASKA CTY. ROAD COMM.
684 N.W.2d 903 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
684 N.W.2d 903, 262 Mich. App. 193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acer-paradise-inc-v-kalkaska-county-road-commission-michctapp-2004.