Anderson v. Town of Forest Park, Oklahoma

239 F. Supp. 576, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7073
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 24, 1965
DocketCiv. 64-89
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 239 F. Supp. 576 (Anderson v. Town of Forest Park, Oklahoma) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anderson v. Town of Forest Park, Oklahoma, 239 F. Supp. 576, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7073 (W.D. Okla. 1965).

Opinion

BOHANON, District Judge.

The plaintiff alleges generally that he is a Negro citizen and resident of Oklahoma, that the defendant Town of Forest Park is a corporation under the laws of Oklahoma, and that the individual defendants are the Trustees and Officer? thereof. This action is brought against the defendants under Title 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (Civil Rights Act), with jurisdiction authorized under Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 1343, and injunctive relief provided for in Title 28 U.S.C.A. § 2201.

The plaintiff alleges that he has purchased by written contract from M. N. Brown certain residential real estate in South Forest Park in order to build his family home; that he filed his application for the construction of said home upon the purchased land and complied with Ordinance No. 4 of the Town of Forest Park.

It is claimed by the plaintiff that on the 12th day of September, 1963, the plaintiff was notified by the Town Clerk of Forest Park that the application for a permit was denied for the following reasons :

1. The plans do not contain the requirements of Ordinance No. 28 relating to septic tanks, distributor boxes and laterals. Neither do said plans comply with the minimum requirements for septic tanks and sanitary systems as compiled by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Department of Sanitary Engineering.
2. The plans do not show or indicate intended compliance with Ordinance No. 23 providing for the drilling of wells or the placement thereof and the depth requirements thereof.
3. Your application is not accompanied by a proper application for a drill *578 ing permit to drill a well in accordance with the provisions of Ordinance No. 23.
4. Your plans do not show compliance with the terms and provisions of Ordinance No. 29 relating to the surfacing of streets and the requirements and specification thereof.

The plaintiff contends that under color of Ordinances No. 23, No. 28, and No. 29 (enacted in 1961 and 1962), the defendants intend to create a “buffer zone” of South Forest Park to prevent Negroes from encroaching upon the white residents of the North portion of the Town of Forest Park; that the use of such ordinances under the guise of the police power of the Town deprives the plaintiff of his rights under the Constitution of the United States, such rights as are enjoyed by the white residents upon whom said ordinances are not imposed in South Forest Park and the North portion of Forest Park.

The plaintiff asks that the Court declare Ordinances No. 23, No. 28, and No. 29 void and unenforceable, that the defendants and their successors be permanently enjoined from enforcing said ordinances, and the doing of any acts which will prevent the plaintiff from constructing his home.

The Complaint of the intervenors, who are also Negroes, is substantially the same as that of the plaintiff.

The defendant answers that it is a municipal corporation under the laws of the State of Oklahoma; that the Court is wholly without jurisdiction to render judgment against the defendants; that the plaintiff is not the owner, either legal or equitable, of the land described in the Complaint, and is without sufficient interest to invoke the jurisdiction of the Court; that the fee simple title to the land is in M. N. Brown and Orlie Dills Brown; that there is now an aetion pending in the District Court of Oklahoma County asking for the same relief as sought in this action.

The Court finds that the Town of Forest Park was incorporated in 1955, and originally was composed of 160 acres (NW/4 Sec., T. 12N., R. 2W., Oklahoma County) immediately north of South Forest Park (being generally NE/4 of SW/4 Sec., T. 12 N., R. 2W., Oklahoma County, with minor variations). The area known as South Forest Park was platted and annexed and made a part of Forest Park proper, sometimes known as North Forest Park. Prior to 1955 North Forest Park was known as Forest Park Addition and was substantially, if not fully, developed as a dwelling area. South Forest Park, which had only four houses, is still only partially settled, there being just sixteen dwelling houses in the area.

The evidence is clear that the area generally south of South Forest Park, including Northeast 23 Street, of Oklahoma City, and in the area, is populated by Negroes, and that the area west of South Forest Park is populated with Negroes. The Town of Forest Park has no municipal water system, no municipal sewer department, no fire department, and has an annual revenue of approximately $5,000. It has one policeman, but no other employees except the Town Clerk. Each residence built in North and South Forest Park obtains water from water wells drilled in the ground upon which they are situated, from depths of Í00 to 270 feet. There is one well in North Forest Park drilled to a depth of 400 feet. A number of residents in North and South Forest Park have swimming pools in their backyards, the water for which is supplied by the water wells on the respective properties. Some of the streets in North-and South Forest Park have been hard surfaced by the employees of the Board of County Commissioners of Oklahoma County, and the cost of material paid for by voluntary contributions made ~by property owners whose property is benefited. The streets are maintained by employees of the *579 Board of County Commissioners of Oklahoma County without cost to the property owners. The streets in South Forest Park were covered with 4 inches of gravel at the time the area was platted, in 1955. The sewage from the residents of both North and South Forest Park is disposed of through septic tanks, distribution boxes, and laterals, constructed on each property by the owner thereof, each of which septic tank systems were built in accordance with the rules of the Department of Health of the State of Oklahoma. None of the laterals heretofore constructed on properties of the individual residents of either North or South Forest Park exceeded 750 feet. No health problem has developed in the Town of Forest Park from the septic tank system. The proof shows that some residents in North Forest Park have had some trouble in the summer season periodically in obtaining sufficient water supply from their respective wells.

The proof is clear that M. N. Brown and Orlie Brown, owners and developers of South Forest Park, have offered lots for sale in its addition since 1955 and have sold only to white people. In 1959 a Negro built a residence on Bryant Avenue, immediately west of South Forest Park, and no further sales of lots in South Forest Park have been made to white people. In August 1961, the Browns sold a lot in South Forest Park to Dr. James A. Cox, a Negro physician, and later sold him an adjoining lot. In May 1963, Dr. Cox made application to the Town of Forest Park for a permit to build a residence upon the two lots he had purchased in South Forest Park, and submitted plans and specifications for the house, costing between $40,000 and $54,000. On May 7, 1963, the Town Clerk denied the application on the grounds that Ordinances No. 4, No. 23, No. 28, No. 29 and No. 30 had not been complied with, and on the further ground that the Town was considering the condemnation of a portion of said lot for the opening of a street. Notwithstanding the denial, Dr. Cox, through his contractor, G. M.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
239 F. Supp. 576, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anderson-v-town-of-forest-park-oklahoma-okwd-1965.