In Re City of Jackson

912 So. 2d 961, 2005 WL 2561317
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 13, 2005
Docket2003-AN-00390-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 912 So. 2d 961 (In Re City of Jackson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re City of Jackson, 912 So. 2d 961, 2005 WL 2561317 (Mich. 2005).

Opinion

912 So.2d 961 (2005)

In the Matter of the Enlargement and Extension of the Municipal Boundaries of the CITY OF JACKSON, Mississippi.
City of Jackson, Mississippi and Madison County, Mississippi
v.
City of Ridgeland, Mississippi.

No. 2003-AN-00390-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

October 13, 2005.

*963 Douglas J. Gunn, Jackson, Gregory K. Davis, Patrick M. Rand, Canton, attorneys for appellants.

Jerry L. Mills, Ridgeland, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

SMITH, Chief Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. This is a tale of two cities. On one hand is the City of Ridgeland ("Ridgeland"), with a strong, vibrant history of residential and commercial development. On the other hand is the City of Jackson ("Jackson"), with a recent history of decline and poor past performance.[1] In fact, Jackson is the only municipality in the state to have property (including property at issue here) deannexed by this Court.[2]

¶ 2. The property involved in this case has been the subject of two cases previously decided by this Court. In City of Jackson I, 551 So.2d at 861, Jackson, in 1989, annexed a slightly larger area than that involved in this case. Following this annexation, area residents filed a petition for deannexation from Jackson, which was denied by the trial court. However, in 1997, this Court reversed and rendered the trial court's decision by deannexing approximately 4 square miles of the annexed area from Jackson. City of Jackson II, 698 So.2d at 490.

¶ 3. Subsequent to this Court's ruling, in November of 1997, Jackson filed a new petition in the Chancery Court of Madison County seeking to re-annex the property that it had lost. Shortly thereafter, Ridgeland filed a petition to annex almost the entire acreage that was located in Madison County. Madison County filed a motion to intervene on February 18, 1998. On June 12, 1998, the Chancery Court of Madison County ordered the cases consolidated for trial.

*964 ¶ 4. In its February 22, 2002 opinion, the trial court granted to Jackson only its request to annex the Richmond Grove area[3] and approved Ridgeland's request to annex all of the property contained in its petition. Jackson then filed a motion to reconsider or stay. On September 27, 2002, the trial court granted Jackson's motion for reconsideration determining that the findings of fact and conclusions of law would remain unchanged. However, the court did grant Jackson the annexation of 220 Business Park, which is located in Madison County. Madison County and Ridgeland thereafter filed a motion to reconsider the removal of 220 Business Park from Ridgeland. The Final Order and Opinion in this case, entered January 2, 2003, awarded both 220 Business Park and the Richmond Grove area to Jackson and the remaining property to Ridgeland. This appeal followed with Madison County, on direct appeal, and Ridgeland, on cross-appeal, arguing that the chancellor erred when she awarded the 220 Business Park to Jackson. The City of Jackson also appeals arguing that the entire proposed annexation area ("PAA") should have been granted to Jackson.

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES

I. Whether the Chancellor Erred in Granting the City of Ridgeland the Majority of the Area it Sought to Annex.

II. Whether the Chancellor Erred in Modifying Her Original Opinion to Allow the City of Jackson to Annex 220 Business Park.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 5. "This Court's standard of review for annexation is very limited. The Court can only reverse the chancery court's findings as to the reasonableness of an annexation if the chancellor's decision is manifestly wrong and is not supported by substantial and credible evidence." In re Contraction, Exclusion and Deannexation of City of Grenada, 876 So.2d 995, 999 (Miss.2004). We will also defer to the findings below when there is conflicting, credible evidence. See id. "We only reverse where the Chancery Court has employed erroneous legal standards or where we are left with a firm and definite conviction that a mistake has been made." Id. at 999-1000 (quoting Bassett v. Town of Taylorsville, 542 So.2d 918, 921 (Miss.1989)).

DISCUSSION

I. Whether the Chancellor Erred in Granting the City of Ridgeland the Majority of the Area it Sought to Annex.

¶ 6. This Court has established a list of twelve non-exclusive factors—"indicia of reasonableness"—to guide chancellors in determining the reasonableness of a city's annexation request. In re Extension of Boundaries of City of Hattiesburg, 840 So.2d 69, 81 (Miss.2003). The twelve indicia of reasonableness are:

(1) the municipality's need for expansion;
(2) whether the area sought to be annexed is reasonably within a path of growth of the city;
(3) the potential health hazards from sewage and waste disposal in the annexed areas;
*965 (4) the municipality's financial ability to make the improvements and furnish municipal services promised;
(5) the need for zoning and overall planning in the area;
(6) the need for municipal services in the area sought to be annexed;
(7) whether there are natural barriers between the city and the proposed annexation area;
(8) the past performance and time element involved in the city's provision of services to its present residents;
(9) the impact (economic or otherwise) of the annexation upon those who live in or own property in the area proposed for annexation;
(10) the impact of the annexation upon the voting strength of protected minority groups;
(11) whether the property owners and other inhabitants of the areas sought to be annexed have in the past, and in the foreseeable future unless annexed will, because of their reasonable proximity to the corporate limits of the municipality, enjoy the (economic and social) benefits of proximity to the municipality without paying their fair share of taxes; and
(12) any other factors that may suggest reasonableness, vel non.

Id. at 82-83. "This Court has held that the twelve factors `are only indicia of reasonableness, not separate and distinct tests in and of themselves.'" In re Extension of the Boundaries of The City of Winona, 879 So.2d 966, 972-73 (Miss.2004) (quoting In re Enlargement and Extension of Municipal Boundaries of City of Biloxi, 744 So.2d 270, 276 (Miss.1999)). This Court stated in Hattiesburg that "fairness to all parties has always been the proper focus of our reasonableness inquiry. Thus, we hold that municipalities must demonstrate through plans and otherwise, that residents of annexed areas will receive something of value in return for their tax dollars in order to carry the burden of showing reasonableness." Hattiesburg, 840 So.2d at 82. More importantly, "`[t]he chancellor must consider all [twelve] of these factors and determine whether under the totality of the circumstances the annexation is reasonable.'" Id.

¶ 7. For reasons set forth below, we find that the chancellor's original opinion is correct and that the chancellor's findings in her Order and Supplemental Opinion are manifestly wrong. Therefore, Ridgeland must prevail on the proposed annexation area at issue.

The Twelve Indicia of Reasonableness

1. Need to expand

¶ 8.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
912 So. 2d 961, 2005 WL 2561317, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-city-of-jackson-miss-2005.