City of Rusk v. Cox

665 S.W.2d 233, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 5044
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 9, 1984
Docket12-81-0209-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 665 S.W.2d 233 (City of Rusk v. Cox) 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
City of Rusk v. Cox, 665 S.W.2d 233, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 5044 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

COLLEY, Justice.

On October 19, 1981, the court below rendered a judgment following a bench trial voiding a rezoning ordinance enacted by the City of Rusk. The judgment also enjoined the City from changing the zoning on a 2.7-acre tract, the subject of said amendatory ordinance enacted on September 8, 1981, so as to allow any uses of such property other than the uses permitted by the residential (R-l) zoning designation set forth in a comprehensive zoning ordinance adopted by the City in January 1978. City brings error.

We reform and affirm the trial court’s judgment.

The record reveals that in January 1978 the City of Rusk enacted a comprehensive zoning ordinance. It is undisputed that under art. 5 of the comprehensive ordinance, the 2.7-acre tract was classified as “single family detached residential R-l” property. On September 8, 1981, the city council of the City of Rusk enacted an unnumbered ordinance entitled “Zoning Ordinance Lade,” purporting to change the classification of the subject property from “... R-l single family residential to B-2, general business.” Under such classification the property could be subjected to use for twenty-three or more different business and professional activities, including the owner's immediate contemplated use for *235 “vehicular and equipment sales and services.”

The evidence shows that the 2.7-acre tract of land was the sole property rezoned by the provisions of the amendatory ordinance of September 8, 1981. This property is located on the east side of U.S. Highway 69. There is located immediately north of the property a tract of land which at the time of the adoption of the comprehensive zoning ordinance was occupied by a meat packing or meat processing plant. Such tract was classified under the comprehensive ordinance as B-2, general business.

On the south side of the subject property, abutting the east right-of-way of Highway 69 is a rather large residentially zoned area. The properties directly across Highway 69 (west) from the subject property are classified as B-2 general business and extend along Highway 69 in a southerly direction for a considerable distance facing the residential areas located on the east side of Highway 69.

It is well settled that zoning is a legislative function delegated to the municipalities by the provisions of arts. 1011a-lOlld inclusive, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. and art. lOlle Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. (Vernon Supp. 1963-1982). Thompson v. City of Palestine, 510 S.W.2d 579 (Tex.1974). Ordinances enacted pursuant to these articles by a city are presumed to be valid, and “if reasonable minds may differ as to whether or not a particular zoning ordinance has a substantial relationship to the public health, safety, morals or general welfare, no clear abuse of discretion is shown and the ordinance must stand as a valid exercise of the City’s police power.” Hunt v. City of San Antonio, 462 S.W.2d 536, 539 (Tex.1971). It is also established law that the city has the power to amend the basic zoning ordinances, and any such amendato-ry ordinance is likewise presumed valid unless the facts show that the municipality acted in an arbitrary and unreasonable manner, in which event the presumption disappears. City of Pharr v. Tippitt, 616 S.W.2d 173, 176 (Tex.1981). In City of Pharr v. Tippitt, supra, the Supreme Court speaking through Justice Pope made some cogent statements regarding criteria for judicial review of zoning ordinances. The court observed that the comprehensive zoning ordinance originally adopted by the City binds the legislative body of a municipality; and the planned zoning represented by a comprehensive ordinance should not be altered even by the municipality for a special benefit of a landowner when the changes will cause damage to adjoining landowners or when they serve no substantial public purposes. Also Justice Pope declared for the court that the “... nature and degree of an adverse impact on neighboring lands...” is an important consideration. The Supreme Court in City of Pharr v. Tippitt, supra, states that “... an amendatory ordinance must bear a substantial relationship to the public health, safety, morals, or general welfare....” In addition, the Supreme Court stated, speaking through Justice Pope, that “spot zoning” occurs when a small tract is rezoned to permit uses thereon not allowed on similar surrounding lands without proof of changes in conditions. “Spot zoning”, is, as stated by the court, “... piecemeal zoning [which is] the antithesis of planned zoning.” Citing 2 E. Yokley, Zoning Law and Practice, Sections 13-1 through 13-6 (1978).

In applying these criteria to the facts here presented, we have concluded that the rezoning ordinance in question constitutes “spot zoning” and is therefore void. In so deciding we have carefully considered the City’s argument that the rezoning here amounted to merely an extension of an existing business zone. As this court stated in McWhorter v. City of Winnsboro, 525 S.W.2d 701, 703 (Tex.Civ. App.1975, writ ref’d n.r.e.), “each case involving possible spot zoning must be decided by an examination of the facts in the particular case.” (Citations omitted.) In McWhorter the north two-thirds of an entire city block containing approximately eight acres was rezoned for business use. The south one-third of the same was originally zoned by the City as a business zone *236 in the comprehensive ordinance, and although residential properties surrounded the block on the north, east and west sides, this court upheld the ordinance, finding that “spot zoning” was not involved. In coming to that conclusion, this court was then without the benefit of the criteria furnished for judicial review by the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Pharr v. Tippett, supra, and concluded that since the zoning there involved an extension of an existing business zone, it was not “spot zoning.” In support of that conclusion, cases from other jurisdictions were cited. (See authorities cited at 704 of that opinion.) We have concluded that this case is distinguishable on the facts from McWhorter because the area rezoned in McWhorter consisted of 5.29 acres and was not directly adjacent to a residential zone, but was separated by streets on all sides of the block; and that the evidence did not show that the rezoning had an adverse impact on the neighboring residential properties. Here, the evidence shows that the rezoning of the subject property will devalue the residential properties immediately joining the subject property. We view McWhorter as inapposite because of these facts. The Supreme Court in testing the ordinance involved in The City of Pharr v. Tippett, supra, under the criteria above discussed, emphasized that the 10-acre tract rezoned in City of Pharr v. Tippett was located in “... an undeveloped farming area” bounded in part by rural lands and was located in the only area where growth was possible for the city. Significantly, the Supreme Court in that case speaking through Judge Pope stated:

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665 S.W.2d 233, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 5044, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-rusk-v-cox-texapp-1984.