Union Trust Co. v. Williamson County Board of Zoning Appeals

500 S.W.2d 608, 1973 Tenn. LEXIS 449
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 1, 1973
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 500 S.W.2d 608 (Union Trust Co. v. Williamson County Board of Zoning Appeals) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Union Trust Co. v. Williamson County Board of Zoning Appeals, 500 S.W.2d 608, 1973 Tenn. LEXIS 449 (Tenn. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

FONES, Justice.

For convenience, the parties will be referred to as in the trial court; that is, the appellant, as complainant, and the appellee, as defendant.

This cause was heard in the Williamson County Chancery Court upon complainant’s petition for certiorari, wherein complainant sought reversal of a decision of the defendant Williamson County Board of Zoning Appeals, and issuance of a permit to build a residence upon certain land owned by complainant. The Chancellor dismissed the petition and complainant appealed to this Court, contending, inter alia, that the trial court in the present litigation should be bound through the principle of stare decisis to follow the decision in a prior case heard in the same court, involving the same piece of land.

The location of the land in question, known as Lot 37A of Grassland Estates subdivision in the Seventh Civil District of Williamson County, Tennessee, is illustrated in a copy of the subdivision plat, agreed to by the parties as accurate, which we attach as Appendix “A” to this opinion.

The parties further agree that the following allegations in defendant’s answer of November 1, 1971, setting out the basic history of the Grassland subdivision and the zoning applicable thereto, may be taken as true:

“In 1956, E. C. Vinson, as owner, obtained approval of a subdivision known as Grasslands Subdivision and had the plat recorded in Plat Book 2, page 15 ROWC. On this plat lot No. 37, situated at the corner of Manley Road and Manley Court, is shown as a lot containing approximately one and one-half acres. At the time of the recording of the E. C. Vinson plat the subdivision was in an Agricultural zoning classification which provided for minimum lot size of one-half acre and a minimum setback of 40 feet. Subsequently, in March 1961, Union Trust Company purchased from E. C. Vinson the lots in Grasslands Subdivision which Mr. Vinson still owned, including lot 37. On June 28, 1961, a plat designated as Revised Subdivision of Grasslands Estates was recorded in Plat Book 2, page 59. On this revised plat lot 37 has been divided into three lots, one of which is lot 37A fronting on both Manley Road (called Harpeth Drive on Revised Plat) and on Manley [610]*610Court. Lot 37 A contains an area substantially less than one-half acre. Thereafter, on April 13, 1964, the zoning classification applicable to Grasslands Subdivision was changed to Agricultural-B by an amendment to the zoning law adopted by the Williamson County Quarterly Court in Minute Book 6, page 477, pertaining to the Seventh Civil District. The Agricultural-B zoning classification provides for minimum area of 40,000 square feet with a minimum setback of 100 feet and minimum width at the building line of 150 feet.”

On December 17, 1964, a lawsuit bearing Rule No. 11602 was filed in the Williamson County Chancery Court, against Union Trust Company and Connell E. Horn, et ux., by James G. Petway, et ux. and H. D. Mclnturff, et ux. In the instant case the parties stipulate that the record in Petway, et al. v. Union Trust Company, et al., was proffered to the trial court. A copy of the record is authenticated and attached as an exhibit to the Narrative Bill of Exceptions.

For this Court to reach a proper determination in the matter before us, it is necessary to examine in some detail the contents of said record, which we now do.

In their bill for injunction, filed December 17, 1964, the Petways and Mclnturffs • averred that prior to 1960 they acquired by deed from E. C. Vinson, Lot 47 and Lot 22, respectively, in an area known as Grasslands subdivision. The bill then made reference to the subsequent acquisition of lots in the subdivision by Union Trust Gompanyand the-recording of a plat designated “Revised Plan of a Portion of Grassland Estates.”

The bill further alleges:

“V.
There is and has been, at all times herein mentioned, in full force and effect in Williamson County a zoning ordinance duly enacted by resolution of the county court of said county pursuant to the provisions of T.C.A. 13 — 401 et. seq. a true copy of said zoning ordinance, including all amendments pertinent to the facts of this case, is attached hereto and identified as Exhibit #1 to this bill but need not be copied. All of the land herein mentioned is situated east of the new Hillsboro Road and lies in an ‘agricultural’ zone as shown on the zone map on the last page of the Exhibit #1.
VI.
Said Zoning law provides that residential lots in Agricultural Zones shall have a minimum width of 125 feet at the building line. Other minimum requirements of residential lots in Agricultural Zones are as follows:
Front yard - 40 feet
Side yard - 25 feet
Rear yard - 40 feet
Area - One-half acre”

The foregoing allegations of the bill were admitted as true by the answer filed December 30, 1964, on behalf of Union Trust Company, et al.

The language of the bill continues, as follows:

“VII.
Defendant Union Trust Company is the present owner of record of the following unimproved lots as shown on said ‘Revised Plan of a Portion of Grassland Estates’, all of which are less than 125 feet in width at any point:
Lot No. 17B
Lot No. 25C
Lot No. 55A
Lot No. 55B
Lot No. 36B
Lot No. 38B
Lot No. 45A
Defendant Union Trust Company is also the owner of record of Lot No. 37A on said plan. Said Lot No. 37A has an area of less than one-half acre, and its dimensions are such that a residence could not be constructed thereon which would comply with the aforesaid mini[611]*611mum requirements as to front, side and rear yards and width at building line.
Complainants therefore allege that none of the aforesaid lots meet the applicable minimum requirements of the Zoning law of Williamson County.
XII.
. that the defendant Union Trust Company has heretofore knowingly and willfully violated said Zoning Law and will, unless restrained by injunction of this court, continue to construct dwelling houses on said lots and to sell, transfer and convey the above mentioned lots as residential construction sites in violation of said Zoning law to the injury of the purchasers thereof and to the injury of complainants as neighboring property owners.

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500 S.W.2d 608, 1973 Tenn. LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/union-trust-co-v-williamson-county-board-of-zoning-appeals-tenn-1973.