Grand Haven Township v. City of Grand Haven

190 N.W.2d 714, 33 Mich. App. 634, 1971 Mich. App. LEXIS 1815
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 20, 1971
DocketDocket No. 10053
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 190 N.W.2d 714 (Grand Haven Township v. City of Grand Haven) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Grand Haven Township v. City of Grand Haven, 190 N.W.2d 714, 33 Mich. App. 634, 1971 Mich. App. LEXIS 1815 (Mich. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

Holbrook, P. J.

The City of Grand Haven, Michigan, by resolution, annexed two parcels of land located in Grand Haven Township. The city owns both parcel “A” and parcel “B” which are allegedly contiguous to the city. Parcel “B” is occupied by the city as the Grand Haven Memorial Airpark.

[636]*636The city annexed the land under authority of MOLA § 117.9 (Stat Ann 1971 Cum Supp § 5.2088). The applicable portion of the statute reads as follows :

“Where the territory proposed to be annexed to any city is adjacent to said city and consists of a park or vacant property located in a township and owned by the city annexing the same, and there is no one residing thereon, such territory may be annexed to said city solely by resolution of the city council of said city * # * (Emphasis supplied.)

Grand Haven Township objected to the annexation and instituted this action to avoid the land being transferred to the City of Grand Haven.

The defendant, City of Grand Haven, filed a motion for summary judgment. Affidavits were filed and testimony taken at the hearing on the motion. The parties submitted briefs and presented oral argument. The circuit court held:

“The land in question has the usual appurtenances necessary for the operation of a municipal airport. It is open to the public for recreational use pertaining to the use of private planes. It is not operated for profit. * * *
“No one resides on this city-owned property lying adjacent to the city and since it is not vacant property in any usual sense of the meaning of the word vacant it would appear that the real issue for the court’s determination is whether this property is a park within the usual meaning of that word.
“There are ball parks, amusement parks, botanical parks, air parks, boat parks, camping parks and others too numerous to mention. It is the opinion of the court that the language of the above statute states^ that vacant land may be annexed but if the land is used as a park it may be annexed even [637]*637though not vacant. This municipal, recreational facility fits the definition of a park within the language of Clark v. City of Grand Rapids [1952], 334 Mich 646. We do not have to depart from the ordinary meaning of the word to apply it to this situation.
“The court finds the annexation to be legal.”

Plaintiff filed a motion for new trial and the trial court in denying plaintiff’s motion again found that the property was not vacant, but that the property was a park and subject to annexation under the statute.

In appealing the court’s summary judgment for defendant, three questions are presented:

(1) May a city purchase a narrow parcel of property (parcel “A”) as a corridor to annex a larger parcel owned by the city and used as a municipal airport?

(2) Does the law permit annexation to a city of a parcel (parcel “B”) in an adjoining municipality without regard to its shape or voting consequences ?

(3) Is the Grand Haven Memorial Airpark a park within the provisions of the statute, MCLA § 117.9 (Stat Ann 1971 Cum Supp § 5.2088) ?

I

Grand Haven purchased parcel “A”, a narrow 1/2-mile connecting corridor 330 feet wide for 1/4-mile and 660 feet for the balance of the corridor to the city-owned airport in Grand Haven Township. The thrust of plaintiff’s entire case concerns the city’s annexation of parcel “B”, the airport. The trial court was not specifically requested to rule on the legality of the parcel “A” annexation.

As an issue, the annexation of parcel “A” is contested for the first time on appeal. “We are not [638]*638obliged to consider questions neither raised nor passed upon by the trial court.” Lieberman v. Solomon (1970), 24 Mich App 495, 500; see Haggerty v. MacGregor (1968), 9 Mich App 671; Huhn v. Davis (1969), 18 Mich App 440, 449.

II

In Township of Owosso v. City of Owosso (1970), 25 Mich App 460, a narrow strip of land was purchased for the purpose of connecting with a 240-acre irregular parcel of land owned by the city. The Court held at pp 467, 468:

“We consider that included in the requirement of contiguity are the elements of reasonable compactness and regularity of boundary so as to insure that the annexed and annexing territories become an unbroken mass which can function effectively as a single unit rather than as an armed monster with only minimally-connected appendages.
“We hold that the parcel as outlined in the petition for annexation here lacks the contiguity and compactness necessary to the efficient and effective operation of municipal services as a result of the gerrymandering which also denied some 160 qualified voters an effective voice in the annexation proposal.”

Plaintiff contends parcel “A” contains no services and, as in Owosso, is merely a corridor to parcel “B”. Plaintiff further asserts that parcel “B” has some 30 sides and the map itself suggests that the only purpose was to gerrymander; therefore, annexation is illegal under the Owosso decision. One of plaintiff’s objections to the annexation of parcel “B” to the City of Grand Haven is based upon the fear of the township that this property which is claimed to be a park will be eventually used as a [639]*639sewage disposal site. The cities of Grand Haven and Spring Lake have combined in the establishment of a building authority for the purpose of constructing and maintaining a sewage disposal plant. The zoning laws of the township now forbid the use of parcel “B” for sewage disposal.

Defendant contends that the Owosso case concerns itself with the intentional manipulation of boundaries for the express purpose of excluding voters. Parcel “A” is adjacent to its boundaries, is unimproved and contains no electors, and it was necessary to purchase this land to service utilities. Parcel “B” was purchased as the lots and acreage became available. Defendant maintains that giving meaningful effect to MCLA § 117.9 (Stat Ann 1971 Cum Supp § 5.2088) allows a municipality to annex lands owned by itself and upon which no electors reside, regardless of the fact that it is not rectangular, so long as the land is adjacent and either constitutes “vacant lands” or a “park”.

The gerrymandering issue so disturbing to the Owosso Court is absent in the instant case. There is nothing in the pleadings or in the record that indicates qualified voters were affected by the annexation of either parcel, nor was there an allegation in the pleadings or showing that there was a scheme or plan to exclude voter’s rights. Additionally, parcel “A”, besides being a land connection to parcel “B”, was allegedly needed to service air park utilities on the north end of the property.

We decline to rule on this issue for the reason that it was not properly submitted to or passed upon by the trial court.

HI

Plaintiff questions whether the airport is a park within the usual meaning of the word. 31 Words [640]*640and Phrases, pp 137-147, uses and approves the definition used in Clark v. City of Grand Rapids (1952), 334 Mich 646, 658:

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

Related

Adams Outdoor Advertising, Inc v. Canton Charter Township
711 N.W.2d 391 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 2006)
Grand Haven Township v. City of Grand Haven
207 N.W.2d 325 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1973)
Grand Haven Township v. Grand Haven
196 N.W.2d 3 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1972)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
190 N.W.2d 714, 33 Mich. App. 634, 1971 Mich. App. LEXIS 1815, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grand-haven-township-v-city-of-grand-haven-michctapp-1971.