Allen v. Stockwell

178 N.W. 27, 210 Mich. 488, 1920 Mich. LEXIS 419
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJune 7, 1920
DocketCalendar No. 29,086
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 178 N.W. 27 (Allen v. Stockwell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Allen v. Stockwell, 178 N.W. 27, 210 Mich. 488, 1920 Mich. LEXIS 419 (Mich. 1920).

Opinion

Stone, J.

In this proceeding plaintiff seeks to compel the defendants to approve a plat. The court below refused the writ of mandamus for the reasons hereinafter stated. The plaintiff has brought certiorari. The governing statute is Act No. 251 of the Public Acts of 1915 (1 Comp. Laws 1915, § 3350 el seq.).

The plat which it is sought to have approved by the defendants, constituting the Oakland county plat board, is a plat of land situate and being in the city of Pontiac, and when presented to such plat board had not been approved by the commission of the city of Pontiac, or the auditor general of the State.

The plat was presented to the commission on November 3, 1919, for approval, but was not approved because the improvements specified in an ordinance made and passed by the commission of said city on May 1, 1916, as amended July 3, 1916, entitled, “An ordinance regulating the adoption and approval of plats” in the city of Pontiac, had not been made on the streets in said plat, and the proprietor of the plat, Edwin T. Allen, had not filed with said commission a good and sufficient bond, conditioned that he would within three years cause to be installed and constructed on said proposed plat, without expense to the city, the improvements which are set forth in said ordinance, and which are as follows: Grade and gravel the streets; put in surface drains; lay sidewalk, and install sanitary sewers.

[490]*490On November 5, 1919, a copy of said reasons was served on plaintiff, as appears by his affidavit for-the writ of certiorari. On November 6, 1919, the plat was presented to the defendants, composing the Oakland county plat board, for approval, but such plat was disapproved for the following, among other, reasons:

(1) Because said plat and map had not the approval of the commission of the city of Pontiac, as provided by the statute above referred to.

(3) Because the commission of the city of Pontiac had refused to approve the plat for the reason that the proprietor thereof had not complied with the ordinance of the city, with reference to the adoption and approval of plats as- hereinafter set forth, and that a copy of the reasons of said board in refusing to approve said plat was by it served on said Allen, on November 6, 1919.

At the time the plat was presented to the commission of the city of Pontiac for approval, the said ordinance, as hereinafter set forth, was in full force and effect. The city of Pontiac, at the time in question, had been organized-under the home-rule act, and had adopted a commission form of government. The “general welfare” clause of the charter of the city of Pontiac reads as follows:

“Section 21, chapter VII. The commission may exercise all municipal powers necessary, or which may be deemed expedient, for the complete and efficient management and control of the municipal property and the administration of the municipal government and necessary or expedient to maintain the public peace, morals and good order, protect persons and property and promote the general .welfare and preserve the health pf the inhabitants of the city, whether such powers be expressly enumerated herein or not; may do any act to advance the interest of the city; the good government and prosperity of the municipality and its inhabitants, may enact all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal concerns; and shall [491]*491have and exercise all governmental and police powers, subject to the limitations prescribed by this charter, the Constitution and laws of the State and of the United States.”

Under section 13, chapter 14, of the city charter, the city has authority to require owners of property to build sidewalks.

Under section 16, chapter 15, of the charter, the city may enact such ordinances as may be necessary for the protection and control of the sewers and drains, and to carry into effect the powers herein conferred.

The relevant ordinance of the city is as follows:

“Proposed Plats or Subdivisions to Have Certain Improvements.
“Section 1. That hereafter no plat or subdivision shall be accepted or approved by the commission of the city of Pontiac, Michigan, until the owner or owners of such proposed plat or subdivision shall have caused the improvements hereinafter enumerated to have been made thereon without expense to said city, except as hereinafter provided.
“Streets to be Graded.
“Section 2. All streets shall be graded and covered with at least six inches of suitable gravel at least 16 feet wide, subject to the approval 'of the commissioner of public improvements.
“Surface Drains to be Installed.
“Section 3. Surface drains with suitable catch basins and manholes shall be constructed and laid in all streets, the size and kind of crock and the method of installation shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner of public improvements. .
“Cement Sidewalks to be Constructed.
“Section 4. Cement sidewalks at least five feet in width shall be constructed on both sides of all streets. All sidewalks shall be built in accordance with the specifications for the construction of cement sidewalks on file in the office of the city engineer of said city and shall be laid on the grades established by the city engineer and shall all be subject to the approval of the commissioner of public utilities.
[492]*492“Sanitary Sewers to be Installed.
“Section 5. Sanitary sewers with the necessary lampholes and manholes shall be laid in all streets with connections extending from the same to the curb line on both sides of such street; at least one connection to every fifty feet of frontage, and at least one connection to each lot frontage if less than fifty feet on each side of all streets. The size and kind of crock and the method of installation shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner of public improvements. “Grade of Streets and Sidewalks to be Determined by the Commissioner of Public Improvements.
“Section 6. The grade of all streets and of all sidewalks and the depth of all sanitary sewers and surface drains shall be determined by the commissioner of public improvements and the commissioner of public utilities, before such improvements shall be installed, so that the same may conform wherever necessary to like improvements on property adjoining said plat or subdivision.
“Bond May be Filed Guaranteeing That Improvements Will be Made.
(Section 7 as amended July 3, 1916.)
“Section 7. Provided the commission of the city of Pontiac, Michigan, may accept and approve of the proposed plat or subdivision, without the installation and construction required in sections two, three, four, five and six; provided the owner or owners of such proposed plat or subdivision shall file with the city

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
178 N.W. 27, 210 Mich. 488, 1920 Mich. LEXIS 419, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/allen-v-stockwell-mich-1920.