Associated Milk Producers, Inc. v. City of Midwest City

1978 OK 38, 583 P.2d 491, 1978 Okla. LEXIS 340
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 21, 1978
DocketNo. 49495
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 1978 OK 38 (Associated Milk Producers, Inc. v. City of Midwest City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Associated Milk Producers, Inc. v. City of Midwest City, 1978 OK 38, 583 P.2d 491, 1978 Okla. LEXIS 340 (Okla. 1978).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, Justice.

This is an appeal by the City of Midwest City and certain of its officials, defendants below, from a judgment and order of the district court of Oklahoma County granting permanent injunction against the City which in effect prevented the City from enforcing certain provisions of city ordinances as against the plaintiff below, Associated Milk Producers, Inc.

Plaintiff corporation operates a milk processing plant on about ten acres of land in Midwest City. Running north and south along the west side of this tract is Sooner Road, which is designated a “major street” by Midwest City ordinances. During the “flood season” of each year (spring and summer) milk is produced in quantities which greatly exceed the market demand, and plaintiff corporation, in its processing plant on the premises, converts the excess milk to a powder so that it may be stored for later sale. Most of it is sold during the fall and winter, when production is at a lower rate. Because of inadequate facilities on its own premises, plaintiff corporation, in past years, has stored the powdered milk in public warehouses in Oklahoma City. When sold, the powdered milk is loaded directly onto railroad cars parked on a railroad right-of-way which abuts plaintiff corporation’s premises on the southeast. Thus, under existing conditions, plaintiff is required to transport the powdered milk from its plant to the public warehouses in Oklahoma City, and then from the warehouses back to its premises for loading.

In 1975, in order to eliminate the cost of warehousing, and the cost of transportation to and from the warehouses, plaintiff applied for a building permit to authorize the construction of a warehouse on its own premises. The permit was granted, subject to two conditions required by Midwest City ordinances. They were (1) that plaintiff dedicate for street purposes a 27-foot-wide strip of its land running along Sooner Road on the east; and (2) that plaintiff, at its own expense, pave the strip so dedicated.

Plaintiff has no objection to requirement (1) above, and no question is raised in that regard. It did object to requirement (2), and formally requested that it be waived by the City Council. This request was denied.

Plaintiff then filed an action in the district court which in effect asked for a writ of mandamus to compel the defendant City to grant the building permit without requirement (2). Defendant City filed a demurrer, a motion for summary judgment, and a motion to dismiss.

On the day set for the hearing, the trial court, during a preliminary conference with counsel, expressed the view that mandamus was not the proper remedy, but that the plaintiff should file an amended petition asking for an injunction. The court also suggested that, in order to avoid unnecessary delay and inconvenience to the parties, their counsel and witnesses, it was willing to proceed with the hearing with that understanding. No objection to this procedure was made, and both parties produced the testimony of certain witnesses. They also stipulated as to the application for the building permit, the granting thereof subject to the requirements previously mentioned, and the refusal of the City Council to waive requirement (2), all as set out in the trial brief of defendant City in support of its motion for summary judgment. The matter was then continued to a day certain, with plaintiff to file the amended petition for writ or injunction within 2 days, and defendant to plead thereto within ten days after that.

For reasons not shown in the record before us, but apparently by agreement of the parties, the second hearing was held four days in advance of the date previously set. At this hearing certain exhibits were introduced in evidence and both parties were afforded an opportunity to present further testimony. Later the same day, with counsel for both plaintiff and defendants [493]*493present, the trial judge announced his judgment granting the injunction, with findings (1) that enforcement of Section 16-77 and Section 32-64 of the Midwest City ordinances, requiring plaintiff to pay for the improvement of the strip of land to be dedicated, would be invalid in that such sections are in conflict with 11 O.S.1971, Sec. 85(e); and (2) that such requirement as against plaintiff would be unreasonable in that no benefit would result to plaintiff. Defendant City then appealed to this Court.

Section 16-77, a portion of Midwest City’s “Major Street Plan”, requires in subsection (a) that:

“Any person, firm, or corporation who hereafter develops any * * * industrial property or who constructs or moves any building for use * * * along the major streets, * * * due to the increase of traffic * * * shall be required to dedicate to the City of Midwest City such additional right-of-way as may be necessary to equal fifty (50) feet from the center line of such major street.” (Emphasis added.)

Sub-section (b)(1) of the same section provides that “Such person, firm, or corporation shall also be required * * * to do the following”:

“Improve the existing major street in order that such major street will provide two 12-foot traffic lanes between center line and right-of-way line, in accordance with the specifications for paving hereafter prescribed * *

Section 32-64, a portion of Midwest City’s “Transportation Plan”, contains, in sub-section (b), a requirement in language identical with that quoted immediately above from Section 16-77, sub-section (b)(1).

Under uncontradicted evidence in the record before us, the building of the warehouse on plaintiff’s premises in Midwest City will not result in any “increase of traffic”. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true; a considerable amount of heavy truck-traffic between plaintiff’s Sooner Road premises and the public warehouses in Oklahoma City will be eliminated. There is no other evidence in the record with regard to any increase, or decrease, in traffic to result from the building of the warehouse on plaintiff’s premises.

In briefs in this Court, defendant City argues generally that the sections of its ordinances quoted above are valid and amount to a proper exercise of its police powers. For reasons set out below, we do not agree.

The general powers of cities and towns in this State with regard to roads and streets are set out in 11 O.S.1971, Chapter 3. Under 11 O.S.1971, Sec. 83, et seq., procedures to be followed by municipalities in laying out or improving streets are set out. Such procedures may be initiated either by the municipality or by the owners of property abutting the streets concerned. When the procedure is initiated by the municipality, the statutes require a public notice to be given, with a hearing to be held at which property owners may object. If the owners of more than one half of the abutting property object, the street concerned must be eliminated from the project. Of course no such procedure was followed in this case, either by the City or by the abutting property owners.

As we have noted, the trial court in the case now before us found that the sections of the Midwest City ordinances previously mentioned are in conflict with 11 O.S.1971, Sec. 85(e). That portion of the statute provides:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Barnes v. BOARD OF ADJUST. OF BARTLESVILLE
1999 OK CIV APP 76 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1999)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1978 OK 38, 583 P.2d 491, 1978 Okla. LEXIS 340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/associated-milk-producers-inc-v-city-of-midwest-city-okla-1978.