Block House Municipal Utility District v. City of Leander

291 S.W.3d 537, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5322, 2009 WL 1981427
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 10, 2009
Docket03-08-00551-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 291 S.W.3d 537 (Block House Municipal Utility District v. City of Leander) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Block House Municipal Utility District v. City of Leander, 291 S.W.3d 537, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5322, 2009 WL 1981427 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinions

OPINION

G. ALAN WALDROP, Justice.

Appellee, the City of Leander, Texas, approved the condemnation of an easement through parkland for a wastewater line. Appellant Block House Municipal Utility District, which had dedicated the property as parkland, filed suit opposing the condemnation. Under section 26.001 of the parks and wildlife code, to condemn parkland property, the City is required to determine that there is no feasible and prudent alternative to the taking. See Tex. Parks & Wild.Code Ann. § 26.001(a) (West 2002). The District contends that a feasible and prudent alternative exists and, therefore, that the City’s determination was improper and no condemnation proceeding should occur. The district court [540]*540granted summary judgment in favor of the City. We hold that a determination under section 26.001 that there is no feasible and prudent alternative to the use or taking of parkland is subject to judicial review only where there is a showing that the condem-nor acted fraudulently, in bad faith, or arbitrarily and capriciously. The summary judgment evidence demonstrates that the City did not act fraudulently, in bad faith, or arbitrarily and capriciously. Therefore, we affirm the district court’s judgment.

Factual and Procedural Background

On July 17, 2007, the City Council of the City of Leander, in a public meeting, passed a resolution authorizing condemnation of a portion of parkland property for a 24-inch wastewater line. The condemnation would consist of a twenty-foot-wide utility easement and a thirty-foot-wide temporary construction easement. The parkland property is located outside the municipality, and within the Block House Municipal Utility District. In authorizing the condemnation, the City1 relied on the recommendations of its City Engineer and an independent engineering consultant, and concluded that no feasible and prudent alternative route for the wastewater line exists. The City considered an alternative route that does not traverse the parkland, but rejected that route “due to a large increase in cost and considerable engineering challenges as compared to the proposed Parkland Route.”

The City’s condemnation of District parkland stems from efforts by the City to prepare for its expected need to increase wastewater disposal capacity based on rapid population growth. Having determined that its existing wastewater treatment plant is inadequate to handle the anticipated increases, the City approved a project by which the Horizon Park Lift Station would be taken offline, a percentage of the wastewater flow would be transferred to the Brushy Creek Waste-water Interceptor, and costly expansion to the Leander Wastewater Treatment Plant could thereby be postponed. The transfer of wastewater flow to the Brushy Creek Wastewater Interceptor requires that a new wastewater line be installed. The City approved a route for this wastewater line that requires the City to obtain an easement across District parkland (the “Parkland Route”).

The District parkland includes 91.793 acres of land formally designated as a park and recreation area in July 1998, and a 2.765-acre tract previously occupied by a wastewater treatment plant and formally designated as a park and recreation area in November 2006. Representatives of the District appeared before the Leander City • Council in the July 17, 2007 meeting opposing selection of the Parkland Route for the City’s wastewater line. In addition, on August 22, 2007, the board of directors of the District made its own determination that the alternative route considered by the City for the wastewater line (the “Alternate Route”) was both feasible and prudent.

On July 30, 2007, the District filed suit against the City, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief that a feasible and prudent alternative route exists for the waste-water line, which route does not require condemnation of the District’s parkland property, and therefore, that the City may not initiate condemnation of any parkland property. The parties filed competing motions for summary judgment. On August [541]*54119, 2008, the district court granted the City’s motion for summary judgment, denied the District’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissed all of the District’s claims. The District appeals.

Analysis

The gist of the District’s lawsuit is that the City’s decision to condemn the District’s parkland property must be overturned because a feasible and prudent alternative route exists that does not result in condemnation of parkland property. The City filed a “traditional” motion for summary judgment on the ground that the district court could not substitute its judgment for that of the City on whether a feasible and prudent alternative exists. The District also filed a “traditional” motion for summary judgment, asking the district court to find and declare that a feasible and prudent alternative exists to the taking of the District’s parkland property.

We review the district court’s summary judgment de novo. Joe v. Two Thirty Nine Joint Venture, 145 S.W.3d 150, 156 (Tex.2004). Under the “traditional” Rule 166a(c) standard, a summary judgment should be granted only when the movant establishes that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(c); Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 215-16 (Tex.2003). When, as here, both parties file motions for summary judgment and the court grants one and denies the other, we must decide all questions presented and render the judgment that the trial court should have rendered. City of Garland v. Dallas Morning News, 22 S.W.3d 351, 356 (Tex.2000).

Scope of Judicial Review

It is well settled that a condem-•nor’s discretion is nearly absolute in the absence of any applicable constitutional or statutory limitation. See Malcomson Rd. Util. Dist. v. Newsom, 171 S.W.3d 257, 268 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2005, pet. denied); Luby v. City of Dallas, 396 S.W.2d 192, 196-97 (Tex.Civ.App.-Dallas 1965, writ ref'd n.r.e.). Where the legislature delegates to an entity the power to condemn, and the entity condemns property for public use, the extent to which the property is taken is a legislative question not generally reviewable by courts. Housing Auth. v. Higginbotham, 135 Tex. 158, 143 S.W.2d 79, 88-89 (1940); Mercier v. MidTexas Pipeline Co., 28 S.W.3d 712, 717 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2000, pet. denied) (citing West v. Whitehead, 238 S.W. 976, 978 (Tex.Civ.App.-San Antonio 1922, writ refd)). The condemnor’s exercise of discretion may be subject to judicial review, but only where there is a showing that the condemnor acted fraudulently, in bad faith, or arbitrarily and capriciously. See Newsom, 171 S.W.3d at 268-69; Boswell v. Brazos Elec. Poiver Coop.,

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291 S.W.3d 537, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 5322, 2009 WL 1981427, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/block-house-municipal-utility-district-v-city-of-leander-texapp-2009.