Ritenour v. Township of Dearborn

40 N.W.2d 137, 326 Mich. 242, 1949 Mich. LEXIS 289
Michigan Supreme Court·Decided December 7, 1949·No. Docket No. 39, Calendar No. 44,464·Published·Cited by 24 cases

Opinion

Boyles, J.

Plaintiffs filed a bill of complaint in the circuit court for the county of Wayne in chancery seeking to enjoin the defendant township from enforcing a certain zoning ordinance of Dearborn township in said county, as applied to certain lots owned by them in said township, and to have the ordinance declared invalid in its entirety because-of a claimed noncompliance in its adoption with the-requirements of PA 1943, No 184, § 10 (CL 1948, § 125.280 [Stat Ann 1949 Rev § 5.2963(10)]). Plaintiffs claim the right to use their property for business purposes. The defendant township claims that the use is restricted to one-family residence purposes only. The trial court held that the ordinance had been legally adopted, but that it was unreasonable and confiscatory as applied to the lots owned by the plaintiffs and on that ground granted the relief prayed for. The township appeals from that [245] part of the decree which holds the ordinance unreasonable, and plaintiffs cross-appeal from that part of the decree which holds that the ordinance was legally adopted.

On this appeal the first question essential to decision is whether the ordinance is void in its entirety by reason of failure to comply with statutory requirements, in its adoption in 1945. PA 1943, No 184, § 10,* supra, requires that the township zoning board shall submit a proposed zoning ordinance to the county zoning commission for approval, if one has been appointed by the board of supervisors; and if none has been so appointed, then to a co-ordinating zoning committee of the county appointed by said board to co-ordinate proposed township zoning ordinances. At the time the ordinance in question was adopted in 1945 no county zoning commission or co-ordinating committee had been appointed and none was appointed until May 4, 1948, more than 3 years after the zoning ordinance in question was adopted, 2 years after the bill of complaint in this case was filed, and shortly before the case was heard. However, shortly after such co-ordinating committee had been appointed in May, 1948, the defendant township submitted to it the ordinance in question,' it was not disapproved, and the approval of the ordinance by the co-ordinating committee must be conclusively presumed.

“The approval of such zoning commission or coordinating zoning committee shall be conclusively presumed unless such commission or committee shall, within 30 days of its receipt, have notified the township .clerk of its disapproval.” PA 1943, No 184, § 10, supra.

The question of the validity of the ordinance, under the above circumstances, was submitted to the [246] circuit judge, who at first held the ordinance invalid. Later, on a showing of newly-discovered evidence, the court properly granted a rehearing and allowed the township to show the facts regarding the dilatory appointment of the co-ordinating committee and its inaction when the ordinance was submitted to it for approval. On that basis, the trial court held that the inability of the township zoning board to submit the ordinance to a nonexistent zoning commission or co-ordinating committee prior to its adoption was not a fatal defect.

It certainly was not the intention of the legislature to prevent any and all township zoning under the township zoning act until such time as the board of supervisors took action and appointed a committee. Otherwise, the board of supervisors merely by such inaction could prevent the adoption of all township zoning ordinances in their respective counties where the act had been adopted. Any and all township zoning ordinances adopted in Wayne county pursuant to said Act No 184, supra, between its effective date in 1943 and the appointment of the coordinating committee in 1948, would be made null and void solely by such inaction. This might, and in all probability would, create very serious situations which might be disastrous both to the public and to private individuals. We are in accord with the conclusion reached by the trial court, that the ordinance is not invalid by reason of the failure to submit it to a nonexistent co-ordinating zoning committee. The defect, in any event, was cured by the subsequent action. A somewhat analogous situation came before the Court in Case v. Liquor Control Commission, 314 Mich 632, where the question was raised whether the liquor control commission was prevented from revoking a license because no complaint had been filed and hearing held thereon by a board of hearing examiners, to be appointed by the [247] governor, during the time (approximately one year) when no such hoard had been appointed. The Court said, p 642:

“We further hold that until the board is appointed, the commission retains its full power to act, and that the revocation was proper. We are not in accord with the claim that the license could not be revoked without a board when there was no such board in existence. The action by the commission is not suspended until after a board is created. * * * Looking at the case realistically, it would mean that during the period of over a year since section 5a, supra * became effective, there could be no license revoked irrespective of the conduct of the licensees. * * * We hold that the action of the commission prior to the appointment of the board is legal and proper.”

The second controlling issue is whether the ordinance is unreasonable as applied to plaintiffs’ property, under the circumstances of this case. Plaintiffs are the owners of lots 121, 123, 124, 125 and 126 of Belmont Park subdivision No 1, in Dearborn township, Wayne county. These lots front on Ford Road, between McMillan and DaCosta avenues. Each of said lots has a frontage of 20 feet on Ford Road and a depth of 100 feet, with the exception of lot 121, a corner lot, which has a frontage of 32.5 feet on Ford Road and a depth of 100.8 feet on the Da-Costa avenue side. Between said lots 121 and 123 on Ford Road is lot 122 with a 20-foot frontage, which plaintiffs do not own. Thus plaintiffs’ lots 123, 124, 125 and 126 have a continuous frontage of 80 feet on Ford Road, and lot 121 has a separate frontage of 32.5 feet. All of said lots are vacant. These lots were originally platted in 1924 as business lots and were then restricted “for business pur[248] poses” only. Those restrictions expired in January, 1945, according to a limitation expressed in the deeds. Immediately adjacent to these "lots 'at the rear is a 20-foot alley separating, them from residential property. The lots here in question were purchased by plaintiffs in 1942 for business, purposes, at a time when they were thus restricted by covenant to use for business purposes only. Also, at the time plaintiffs purchased these lots in 1942 they were zoned for business use only, in accordance with a zoning ordinance of the township adopted in 1940.

In 1945, the township adopted the zoning ordinance now in question, repealing the 1940 ordinance. It places the lots here in question in a zone designated as R-l-A, and restricts the use of lots in said zone to one-family dwellings with definite restrictions as to the erection and use of any residential buildings thereon. Among such restrictions are the following:

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Ritenour v. Township of Dearborn, 40 N.W.2d 137, 326 Mich. 242, 1949 Mich. LEXIS 289 (Mich. 1949).

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