City of Waco v. Archenhold Automobile Supply Co.

386 S.W.2d 174, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2858
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 31, 1964
Docket4246
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 386 S.W.2d 174 (City of Waco v. Archenhold Automobile Supply Co.) 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 Waco v. Archenhold Automobile Supply Co., 386 S.W.2d 174, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2858 (Tex. Ct. App. 1964).

Opinion

*176 TIREY, Justice.

In January 1962, the City of Waco, a home rule city, began the construction of a one-way viaduct beginning at the south side of Franklin Avenue and running to Webster Street. Appellee’s property is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of South 17th Street and Franklin Avenue, such property fronting sixty feet on Franklin Avenue and extending back to the alley 165 feet. The viaduct was built wholly upon the right-of-way of the City of Waco separating the grade of South 17th Street from several railroad tracks and local industrial traffic. Prior to the construction of the viaduct appellee had full access to Franklin Avenue, and that access has not been interfered with. Prior to the construction of the viaduct appellee had access to the whole of South 17th Street and part of 17th Street remains open at ground level under the viaduct. Appellee purchased the property in 1952 and did so for the purpose of constructing thereon an automobile supply house and it is appellee’s contention that it was important to its business that it have a corner location to place its building on. The building as constructed contained approximately 7000 square feet and fronted on Franklin Avenue with a side entrance, and a loading entrance on South 17th Street. The building was set back from the property line on South 17th Street 14.5 feet; this allowed off-street parking adjacent to South 17th Street on appellee’s property, and allowed off-street loading and unloading facilities from South 17th Street at ground level. The building was set back from the property line of Franklin Avenue so as to allow head-in parking, but the exact distance it was set back is not shown. The viaduct had its place of beginning on what may be termed the south line of Franklin Avenue and the intersection of South 17th Street, and the viaduct elevated South 17th Street from ground level at Franklin Avenue to ground level at Webster Street some three blocks south of Franklin Avenue. The elevation of South 17th Street abutting appellee’s property was raised gradually from ground level before the construction of the viaduct to a height varying from approximately two feet to thirty-two feet above ground level.

Pertinent to this discussion plaintiff alleged that the City constructed the viaduct for public use and as a result plaintiff’s property has been greatly damaged because of the fact that it completely blocked its access to its property on South 17th Street side, making it necessary to reconstruct its loading dock at an expense of $5,000.00, and that it does not provide a suitable means for the loading and unloading of the merchandise that it engages in selling, and that the deprivation of their access to South 17th Street for loading and unloading purposes has depreciated the reasonable market value of their property to at least the sum of $40,000.00.

The jury found that the market value of the property was reduced by reason of the construction of the viaduct and that its reasonable cash market value immediately before the construction was $61,475.00, and further found the reasonable cash market value immediately after the construction to be $46,475.00, and the court overruled the City’s motion for judgment non obstante veredicto and granted plaintiff’s motion for judgment for the sum of $15,000.00, and interest in the sum of $962.00 from November 1, 1962 to date, and 6% per annum from date of the judgment, which was entered on December 2, 1962. The City duly perfected its appeal.

Appellant’s Point 1 is:

“The trial court erred in holding that the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages from the City of Waco for the limitation of access to South 17th Street when such limitation was due to a reasonable exercise of the City’s police power and when plaintiff’s property retained full access to Franklin *177 Avenue as well as the retention of access to a portion of South 17th Street.”

We sustain this point and it will require that this cause be reversed and rendered.

Our view of this cause is that the controlling facts are without dispute and these facts are that the appellee had full access to its frontage on Franklin Avenue, and that that has not been interfered with. At the same time, the plaintiff’s access to South 17th Street has been cut off from the intersection of such street with Franklin Avenue, but plaintiff still has access to its property by way of South 16th Street, and by the use of Mary Street, and by virtue of the circuitous alley south of and abutting the rear of appellee’s property, which alley extends to the east side of the 18th street overpass, and such alley has an outlet onto Franklin Street at 18th. There is a partial access to plaintiff’s property from the alley under the viaduct to the east side of its building up to a distance of about 80 feet from the intersection of South 17th with Franklin Avenue, but the exact distance is not shown, nor does it show the exact height of the overpass, but the elevation is graduated from ground level. The access to the appellee’s property at ground level at the loading zone is adequate, and as we understand the record the only complaint is the circuitous route involved in getting to and from the loading zone. It is also without dispute that it was necessary to the plaintiff’s business to change its loading dock from South 17th Street to the south side of the building, and there is no doubt that this is more inconvenient to the plaintiff’s customers, because in approaching appellee’s place of business from Franklin Avenue, which is a one-way street east beginning at the intersection of North 18th Street and Franklin Avenue, they would have to go to South 16th Street and intersect the alley between Mary Street and Franklin Avenue or go to Mary Street in order to get to plaintiff’s loading and unloading dock. It is also true that their customers could enter a twenty foot alley from Franklin Street just east of the 18th Street overpass, and this circuitous route would take them into the alley just to the rear of appellee’s building. To that extent it is an inconvenience and a limitation on the customer’s access to the loading dock. There is ample evidence to sustain the jury’s verdict that the reasonable market value of appellee’s property had been damaged, but the City’s answer to this contention is that the City of Waco, under the undisputed facts, had exercised its police power in a reasonable manner to construct the viaduct in order to provide for free and safe flow of traffic along South 17th Street in the City of Waco, and that the construction of the viaduct had not cut off all reasonable access to appellee’s property. We are in accord with this view and think it is supported by the constitution and laws of the State of Texas, and our Supreme Court has so interpreted similar factual situations. In Spann v. City of Dallas, et al., 111 Tex. 350, 235 S.W. 513, our Supreme Court made the following statement:

“The police power is founded in public necessity, and only public necessity can justify its exercise. The result of its operation is naturally, in most instances, the abridgment of private rights. Private rights are never to be sacrificed to a greater extent than necessary. Therefore, the return for their sacrifice through the exercise of the police power should be the attainment of some public object of sufficient necessity and importance to justly warrant the exertion of the power.

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Bluebook (online)
386 S.W.2d 174, 1964 Tex. App. LEXIS 2858, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-waco-v-archenhold-automobile-supply-co-texapp-1964.