Garrett v. City of Topeka

916 P.2d 21, 259 Kan. 896, 1996 Kan. LEXIS 73
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedApril 26, 1996
DocketNo. 73,571
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 916 P.2d 21 (Garrett v. City of Topeka) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garrett v. City of Topeka, 916 P.2d 21, 259 Kan. 896, 1996 Kan. LEXIS 73 (kan 1996).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Lockett, J.:

Landowner initiated an inverse condemnation action, claiming that a city resolution placed limits on the right of commercial access from her property to the street and constituted a taking of the property. The trial court found that a taking of private property had occurred and awarded judgment to landowner. The City of Topeka (City) appeals. Jurisdiction is pursuant to K.S.A. 20-3018(c) (transfer from Court of Appeals on this court’s own motion).

The facts are uncontroverted. In 1988 plaintiff Lena Garrett and her husband, now deceased, owned a tract of land located between 1-470 and Wanamaker Road in Topeka. The south edge of the property abutted SW 21st Street. Garrett had a single family residence located on the southern part of the tract, with direct residential access to SW 21st Street.

The City adopted Resolution No. 5587 on Januaiy 26, 1988. Resolution No. 5587 affects property in the area known as the Wanamaker Corridor, the area bounded by SW 17th Street on the north, Wanamaker Road on the west, SW 21st Street on the south, and 1-470 on the east. Garrett’s property was within the Wanamaker Corridor and was affected by Resolution No. 5587. Resolution No. 5587 stated that it was enacted to safeguard public health, safety, and welfare in anticipation of commercial development and to place reasonable controls on traffic flow on the major arterial streets as well as the internal streets within the Wanamaker Corridor. The resolution provided that permanent access to commercial properties and public intersections must be a minimum of [899]*899420 feet apart. There would be five permanent access points to the interior traffic circulation for the corridor; the two permanent access points nearest the plaintiff’s property were to be north from SW 21st Street, each of which would be a specified distance from Wanamaker Road. Resolution No. 5587 also provided:

“Temporary access to Wanamaker Road and 21st Street may be granted with the following conditions:
a. All temporary access points must comply with existing access standards ....
b. Applicant/owner signs written agreement to participate in costs of internal access road.
c. Owner agrees to abandon temporary access at the time the internal access road is available for permanent access to the site.”

Each site plan included provisions for continuous internal commercial traffic circulation throughout the Wanamaker Corridor, and one north/south public street would be dedicated and constructed between SW 21st Street and SW 17th Street. The internal traffic circulation plan is known as the “ring road.” Although Garrett’s property was zoned as residential when Resolution No. 5587 was enacted, the parties agree that the highest and best use of the property was and is for commercial use.

On September 13, 1988, the Topeka City Council adopted and approved Resolution No. 5696 to begin implementing the proposed interior traffic circulation provisions of Resolution No. 5587 by constructing SW Ashworth Place, SW 19th Street Terrace, and SW 20th Park as public streets. The cost would be paid 100% by owners of property within the proposed improvement district, including Garrett’s property.

On January 10, 1989, the City adopted a third resolution, No. 5727. The resolution included construction of SW Ashworth Place, extending north from SW 21st Street, and SW 20th Park, an east-west street intersecting SW Ashworth Place. The costs of construction of these roads (except the intersection costs) would be paid 20% by the City and 80% by the improvement district. The costs would be apportioned within the improvement district, with 50% paid by property fronting the improvements and 50% by all lots, tracts, or parcels within the district. Garrett’s property was assessed [900]*900$144,733.51 for street construction and $33,948.93 for sewer construction for the improvement project related to this resolution.

The construction of SW 20th Park pursuant to Resolution No. 5727 cut through Garrett’s tract and created two separate tracts, one of which was bounded on the south by SW 21st Street and on the north by SW 20th Park (south tract) and the other of which was bounded on the south by SW 20th Park (north tract). Garrett’s house was on the south tract. In lieu of formal condemnation for the permanent right of way and a temporary easement of 3,713 square feet during the construction of the roadway, Garrett deeded 8,663 square feet to the City for the construction of SW 20th Park in April 1989. She was paid $61,800 as compensation. SW 20th Park and SW Ashworth Place were constructed. At the time this action was filed, SW Ashworth Place extended from SW 21st Street to beyond SW 20th Park, and SW 20th Park intersected SW Ash-worth Place and extended to the west a short distance and to the east to just beyond Garrett’s eastern property boundary. The streets dead-ended at those points. The only access road to Garrett’s property, SW 20th Park, ended “in a com field” east of her property at the time the action was commenced. (See map on page 901.)

[901]*901[[Image here]]

[902]*902On September 30, 1992, Garrett made written demand on the City to repeal Resolution No. 5587 and grant permanent commercial access to SW 21st Street or complete the ring, road project as originally proposed. On January 15, 1993, after the City failed to respond to her demand, Garrett initiated an inverse condemnation action, claiming that by the City’s restriction of the permanent commercial access and direct access rights to SW 21st Street and by failing to complete the ring road project, a taking of her property had occurred.

Garrett moved for partial summary judgment. She acknowledged that Resolution No. 5587 .advances a legitimate gove mmental interest and, under Kansas law, rights of access are subject to reasonable regulation under the government’s police power: She argued, however, that the resolution had denied her all or substantially all economically viable use of her land. She contended that by failing to complete the ring road, which was designed to offset the access restrictions of Resolution No. 5587, the City’s exercise of its police power by the resolution unreasonably restricted commercial access to her property and constituted a taking.

The City filed a cross-motion for summary judgment. Though acknowledging that the ring road had not been completed, the City pointed out that Garrett’s right of residential access had not been restricted because Resolution No. 5587 restricts only permanent commercial access. The City contended that Resolution No. 5587 was not a taking of property but a valid exercise of police power; further, because reasonable alternate access was provided to the property, no compensable taking had occurred. The City stressed that the portion of the ring road which abutted Garrett’s property was complete and asserted that completion of other segments of the ring road was discretionary and not required by Resolution No. 5727. It stated that the fact the ring road had not been completed did not mean the concept had been abandoned. The City admitted that although the value of Garrett’s property as commercial property had decreased because of the resolution, it still had economic value.

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Bluebook (online)
916 P.2d 21, 259 Kan. 896, 1996 Kan. LEXIS 73, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garrett-v-city-of-topeka-kan-1996.