Case Name: CITY OF HANNIBAL, a municipal corporation, Appellant, v. Ben N. WINCHESTER and Ruth Winchester, his wife, et al., Respondents
Court: Supreme Court of Missouri
Jurisdiction: Missouri
Decision Date: 1965-06-14
Citations: 391 S.W.2d 279
Docket Number: No. 50068
Parties: CITY OF HANNIBAL, a municipal corporation, Appellant, v. Ben N. WINCHESTER and Ruth Winchester, his wife, et al., Respondents.
Judges: HOLMAN, HENLEY and FINCH, JJ., and STONE, Special Judge, concur.
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 391
Pages: 279–301

Head Matter:
CITY OF HANNIBAL, a municipal corporation, Appellant, v. Ben N. WINCHESTER and Ruth Winchester, his wife, et al., Respondents.
No. 50068.
Supreme Court of Missouri, In Banc.
June 14, 1965.
Dennis R. Davidson, City Counselor, Ely & Hibbard, Ben Ely, Hannibal, for appellant.
William B. Spaun, Hannibal, for respondents.

Opinion:
EAGER, Judge.
This case involves the validity of proceedings by the City of Hannibal, a charter city, to annex territory. A petition for declaratory judgment under the Sawyers Act, Section 71.015, RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S., was filed as a class suit against the interested owners in the adjacent territory. No objection is made here to the use of a class action. The petition contains the allegations appropriate to a Sawyers Act case, namely, that the proposed annexation was reasonable and necessary to the proper development of the city, that the city had the ability to furnish normal municipal services to the area within a reasonable time, and other factual statements deemed pertinent. The City Council had adopted appropriate resolutions concerning the annexation, including one eliminating from the suit a part of the area originally proposed for annexation, because of an agreement with certain property owners resulting in a partial annexation. Defendants filed their motion to dismiss the second amended petition on the following grounds, among others: that the said petition stated no cause of action; that the court did not have jurisdiction of the subject matter or the parties; that § 71.015 does not apply to constitutional charter cities and that the statute is unconstitutional as so applied, because it is in conflict with Art. 6, § 19 and 20 of the Missouri Constitution, V.A.M.S.; that plaintiff must proceed under Section 82.090, RSMo 1959, V.A.M.S., because its corporate limits were defined and set out in its charter, and that the present proceedings are repugnant to that statute; that the boundaries of plaintiff can only be extended by charter amendment, and that the present proceedings would deprive defendants of their property without due process. The Honorable James D. Clemens was assigned to hear the case, in lieu of the regular judge. The Court sustained the motion and dismissed the petition with prejudice for lack of jurisdiction of the subject matter; it relied upon the cases of McConnell v. City of Kansas City, Mo., 282 S.W.2d 518, and State ex inf. Taylor ex rel. Kansas City v. North Kansas City, 360 Mo. 374, 228 S.W.2d 762. This .appeal followed immediately.
In effect, the trial court held that a constitutional charter city may only annex territory or alter its corporate limits by a charter amendment as provided in § 20 of Art. 6 of our Constitution which it regarded as a self-enforcing provision, and that the Sawyers Act was inapplicable and, indeed, invalid as to constitutional charter cities. Section 19 of Art. 6 permits any city of more than 10,000 inhabitants to frame and adopt a charter for its government "consistent with and subject to the constitution and laws of the state "; it provides very specifically the method for •doing so, requiring a vote of the electors. Section 20 of Art. 6 provides the method for the amendment of any such city charter ; the. basic requirement of that section is the vote of a majority of the electors which shall follow the adoption of an ordinance proposing the amendment, the submission of the proposal by a commission, or the presentation of a petition of at least 10% of the qualified electors.
The points upon which appellant city relies here are substantially these: that the charter of the City of Hannibal expressly provides that, it may extend its corporate limits by ordinance "pursuant to the applicable laws," and that it was within the powers of the Charter Commission and the voters, under the Constitution and legislative acts, to insert that provision in the charter; that this is a matter germane to the government of the city; that on such matters affecting the "form of organization" of a city, the Constitution has granted to the Charter Commission and the electors full legislative power coordinate with that of the legislature; that the provision of a "workable method" for annexation is vital, not only to cities but also to the interest of the inhabitants of the territory to be annexed and to the state; and, finally, that under the charter provisions of plaintiff the Sawyers Act is applicable and a declaratory judgment suit proper.
Our Court has held rather recently on tw.o different occasions that the exclusive method by which Kansas City may annex territory is by a charter amendment. State ex inf. Taylor ex rel. Kansas City v. North Kansas City, Banc, 360 Mo. 374, 228 S.W.2d 762; McConnell v. City of Kansas City, Mo., 282 S.W.2d 518. In Taylor, the primary question was which of two municipalities had first instituted valid annexation proceedings. It was held that the enactment of an ordinance by Kansas City providing for the annexation by means of a charter amendment under § 20, Art. 6, gave that municipality priority, and that its proceedings by that method were not only proper but exclusive; also that the provisions of § 20 are broad enough to include annexation proceedings even though they are not expressly mentioned as such. After discussing prior cases, the Court said: "Sec. 20 of Article VI of the 1945 Constitution is likewise self-enforcing. That section supplies a rule for the enjoyment of the right granted; it descends to details and provides that amendments to city charters may be proposed by the city legislative body by ordinance and submitted to the city's electors at a certain election; that if approved by a majority voting thereon the amendment shall become a part of the charter at the time and under the conditions therein fixed. State ex rel. Randolph County v. Walden, 357 Mo. 167, 206 S.W.2d 979. As above ruled, relator has authority to amend its charter. An extension of relator's corporate limits must be by and is an amendment of its charter. Whatever may be the rule in any other jurisdiction, or however any court in some other jurisdiction may have construed some other constitution, we hold that under the Constitution of Missouri relator has a constitutional grant of power and authority to extend its city limits by amendment of its charter in compliance with Sec. 20 of Article VI of the Missouri Constitution of 1945. Specific legislative authority to extend relator's limits is unnecessary. It was legally sufficient for adoption that a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon approved relator's proposal to amend its charter to extend its boundaries. The approval by a majority met constitutional requirements." The Charter of Kansas City expressly provided that annexation should be accomplished by charter amendment. That is urged here as a vital distinction.
In McConnell v. City of Kansas City, Mo., 282 S.W.2d 518, a taxpayer sought to enjoin the submission of an annexation ordinance to the voters as a charter amendment, on the ground that the city must proceed by declaratory judgment under the Sawyers Act. The Court held that the statute was inapplicable because it was in conflict with the provisions of § 20 of Art. 6 regulating the time of the submission of an annexation proposal to the voters as a charter amendment. The Court said there in part, loc. cit. 520, 521, 522: "Art. VI, § 20, of the Constitution (all references to the constitution are to Mo.Const.1945, V.A. M.S., unless otherwise indicated), applicable to Kansas City, is a self-enforcing provision conferring the power, and providing the procedure for, constitutional charter cities to amend their charters; and an extension of a city's corporate limits is a charter amendment within the purview of Art. VI, § 20. State ex Inf. Taylor ex rel. Kansas City v. North Kansas City, 360 Mo. 374, 228 S.W.2d 762, 769-771. It seems clear that the people of the state have 'authorized' constitutional charter cities, through their electors, to annex territory by a direct constitutional grant of power to do so. ⅜ It must be apparent, then, that the Sawyer [s] Act, which postpones the submission to the electors of an annexation proposal until a declaratory judgment action shall have been filed (and, incidentally, the time for filing such action is not specified) and finally determined, conflicts with the procedure provided by Art. VI, § 20, of the Constitution and, therefore, that the Act is invalid as to charter cities to which Section 20 is applicable. This, because the time necessarily consumed in obtaining a final declaratory judgment would, at least in many instances, make it impossible for the charter city to submit annexation proposals to its electors within the time limits prescribed by the procedure set forth in the constitution."
In McConnell, the Court apparently assumed that the word "resolution," as used in the Sawyers Act, was the equivalent of an annexation "ordinance." We make no such assumption. Rather, it appears to us that the resolution might well be a ministerial direction to the city's legal officers to institute and prosecute a declaratory judgment suit. 5 McQuillin, Municipal Corporations, 3rd Ed., § 15.02. Considered in that light, an ordinance of annexation under § 20, and the vote thereon, might be deferred until after the declaratory judgment had been obtained, thus conforming the timing of those two procedures. However, as pointed out in McConnell, there are two other methods provided in § 20 for instituting charter amendments (and annexations, as we hold) ; one, the submission by a charter commission, and the other, by a petition of not less than ten per cent of the registered electors. In either of such instances, the legislative body shall at once provide by ordinance that such amendment be submitted to a vote of the electors "at the next election held in the city not less than sixty days after its passage, or at a special election held as provided for a charter." As pointed out in McConnell, such an election cannot be deferred beyond the periods specified in § 20, and the application of the Sawyers Act would interfere with the constitutional procedure. For these reasons we hold the Sawyers Act inapplicable, and in so far as it purports to apply to a constitutional charter city as a mandatory procedure, it is also unconstitutional. We adhere to the result and, generally, to the reasoning of the McConnell case. If a charter city should elect to use the Sawyers Act procedure in advance where it intended to annex by ordinance under § 20, Art. 6, we would see no objection. It might thereby foreclose a'subsequent test of the rea sonableness and necessity of the annexation.
At this point we deem it appropriate to review briefly three of the earlier cases on the subject; these were decided, of course, under the 1875 Constitution. In City of Westport v. Kansas City, 103 Mo. 141, 15 S.W. 68, the validity of the annexation of the City of Westport by Kansas City was in question. Kansas City was then under a constitutional charter, adopted under § 16 of Art. 9 of the 1875 Constitution ; a legislative act provided that a charter city might extend its limits by ordinance and permitted the annexation of another city if four-sevenths of the voters of that city approved, without making any reference to the necessity of a vote in the annexing city. The voters of Westport had approved; no vote had been taken in Kansas City. The constitutional provision for the amendment of a charter required a three-fifths majority of the voters of the charter city. The opinion does not specifically discuss the charter provisions dealing with annexation, but it is inferred that they were in conformity with the statute and permitted annexation by ordinance except as to incorporated cities and towns. The charter did define the territorial boundaries. In holding the legislation void as in conflict with the constitutional requirements for an amendment of the charter, the Court said, in part 15 S.W. loc. cit. 69, 70: "This section, defining the limits of Kansas City, is made a part of the charter, and the question whether it might or might not have been omitted is foreign to the present inquiry. * ⅜ * It is too plain to admit of any doubt that any act on the part of Kansas City which contracts or expands its territorial jurisdiction is an amendment of its charter. When the constitution says these cities shall have the power to amend their own charters in one way only, the legislature cannot give to them the power to amend their charters in a different way. The prohibition is binding upon the legislature as well as upon the cities themselves. ⅜ This case has received that attention which its importance demands, and our conclusions are that the constitution denies to the city of Kansas the right to extend its corporate limits, except by first submitting the proposition to and procuring the consent of three-fifths of the voters of that city voting on the proposition; that section 41 of the act of the legislature of March 10, 1887, is void, in so far as it attempts to give cities adopting charters for their own government the power to extend their corporate limits without submitting the proposition to the voters of such cities; and that the ordinance in question, based upon the authority of that section of the act of 1887, is also void. It follows that the territory which the ordinance seeks to add to Kansas City is not within the limits of that city."
In City of Kansas City v. Stegmiller, 151 Mo. 189, 52 S.W. 723, the validity of the Westport annexation was again involved. The statute involved in Westport v. Kansas City had then been amended to comply with the constitutional requirement of a vote in the annexing city. The Court construed the Westport opinion as directly invalidating a provision of the Kansas City Charter which (it says) provided for annexation by ordinance; but it upheld the annexation as consummated subsequently under the constitutional provision for an amendment of the charter. There the Court said, in part, 52 S.W. loc. cit. 725: "When confronted with this provision of our organic law as authority for the extension assailed in this case, learned counsel say they do not deny that Kansas City may amend its charter for some purposes, nor that an extension of corporate limits is an amendment, but they deny that this kind of amendment, to wit, an extension, is authorized by the constitution. But this attempted restriction is not to be found in the constitution itself. The only limitation of the power of amendment is that it must be adopted by three-fifths of the qualified voters at a general or special election, after the due publication of the proposal, and that the charter as amended shall always be in harmony with and subject to the laws of the state. In City of Westport v. Kansas City, 103 Mo. 147, 15 S.W. 68, it was unanimously ruled by this court in division No. 1 that 'it was too plain to admit of doubt that any act on the part of Kansas City which contracts or expands its territorial jurisdiction is an amendment of its charter/ and 'an amendment, too, within the purview of section 16 of article 9 of the constitution/ The amendment in that case was attempted by ordinance without the vote and assent of the voters of the city, and for that reason alone was held ineffective. Both upon the authority of that case and the obvious reading of the constitution, we hold that, in so far as the action of Kansas City alone is concerned, there is a plain constitutional grant of the power to extend its limits, and a definite mode pointed out." The Court further held that it was within the power of the legislature to provide for the absorbing of other cities or towns in an annexation.
In State ex inf. Major, Atty. Gen. v. Kansas City, 233 Mo. 162, 134 S.W. 1007, the precise question involved (aside from reasonableness) was the extent or majority of the vote required in an election approving an annexation. But speaking by way of construction of the constitutional provision, the Court said in part, 134 S.W. loc. cit. 1011: "By expressly providing for the manner of amending the charter, the acceptance of the same by the requisite number of qualified voters, and by the addition of the words 'and not otherwise/ this constitutional provision is made self-enforcing, prohibitive, and not subject to change or modification, either by charter, enactment of the city or by act of the General Assembly. Under the decisions of this court, the power of the respondent to amend its charter and the vote necessary therefor, like the power to adopt the charter in the first instance and the vote required for that purpose, is derived directly from the Constitution, and no charter or legislative provision was necessary in either case." In view of our comparatively recent holdings we do not consider that the omission of the words "and not otherwise" from § 20 of Art. 6 of our 1945 Constitution is determinative.
In the case of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation v. City of Berkeley, Mo., 367 S.W.2d 498, the Court said, loc. cit. 500: "It is well settled that the method by which a charter city may annex territory is by charter amendment. City of Westport v. Kansas City, 103 Mo. 141, 15 S.W. 68; Kansas City v. Stegmiller, 151 Mo. 189, 52 S.W. 723; State ex inf. Major v. Kansas City, 233 Mo. 162, 134 S.W. 1007; State ex inf. Taylor ex rel. Kansas City v. North Kansas City, 360 Mo. 374, 228 S.W.2d 762." The Court there also held, however, that the bringing of additional territory into cities without the consent of the inhabitants of the area was a governmental function in which the whole state had an interest; and further, that § 19 and 20 of Art. 6 do not give full and unrestricted legislative power to constitutional cities. We interpret this to mean that the legislature may step in where problems of state policy and interest are concerned; that it may express a state policy concerning territory to be annexed, as it has in § 71.015 by requiring that the action be "reasonable and necessary to the proper development" of the annexing city, thus expressly giving to the courts the power to inquire into that question. But the Berkeley case reaffirms the principle that the legislature may not prescribe a procedure for annexation which is in conflict with constitutional provisions; and it does not hold that express legislative authority or power is necessary before a constitutional charter city may make an annexation by charter amendment under § 20 of Art. 6.
We have independently examined such authorities as could be found from other states, but they are of little help; most of the constitutional and statutory provisions vary widely from ours; moreover, the few cases which we find seem to be in considerable conflict. At least one holds that legislation is necessary for annexation even though there are constitutional provisions for charter amendments (State ex rel. Snell v. Warner, 1892, 4 Wash. 773, 31 P. 25, 17 L.R.A. 263), whereas we have held specifically that § 20 of Art. 6 is self-enforcing and effective to permit annexation without legislation. McConnell, Taylor, supra. In Oregon it is said, Cooke v. City of Portland, 69 Or. 572 139 P. 1095, loc. cit. 1096, that " an enlargement of the territory of a city is in its true nature an amendment of its charter."
From a consideration of our Constitution, statutes and adjudicated Missouri cases, we have come to certain definite conclusions. Section 20 of Art. 6 of the Constitution gives to charter cities a power of annexation by charter amendment which is equivalent to a statutory authorization, McDonnell Aircraft Corp. v. City of Berkeley, supra, 367 S.W.2d loc. cit. 502; by virtue of the very constitutional power to adopt a charter, such a city acquires legislative authority to be exercised where not inconsistent with the constitution or general law. General Installation Co. v. University City, Mo., 379 S.W.2d 601. Section 20 also fixes, irrevocably, the mode by which charter cities may annex territory, and the legislature has no authority to eliminate the constitutional requirement or to fix any method inconsistent with it. A charter city may not ignore the mode of annexation so fixed, and it may, by virtue of § 20 alone, annex unincorporated territory, subject to a test in the courts of the reasonableness and necessity of its action. On matters of state policy or interest, including regulations and limitations concerning territory outside the city, the legislature may act, so long as it does not interfere with the con-, stitutional method of annexation or enact laws inconsistent with it. The statutes recently enacted applicable to first class charter counties (St. Louis County, at present) come within that classification. Sections 71.860-71.920, Laws 1963. Thus, although the legislature may not change the method by which such cities may annex, it may provide the scope of any such annexation and add requirements therefor as, for instance, in the annexation of other cities, towns or villages. See Section 82.-090. We adhere to the previously stated proposition that every annexation by a charter city is a charter amendment.
We are told that Hannibal was first incorporated under a special legislative charter in 1845, and that it adopted a new charter in 1873. It appears also that it has from time to time made annexations of territory under its charter provisions and legislative authority, presumably by ordinance. Counsel refer in this regard to § 81.200, applicable to special charter cities of 20,000 or more, which was preceded by similar statutes. It would not seem, however, that Hannibal could have consummated any annexations thereunder before 1930, since its population did not exceed 20,000 until that time, according to the official census. In 1957 the city adopted its present Home Rule Charter under § 19 of Art. 6 of our Constitution, and it is said that several annexations have been made since that time by proceedings under the Sawyers Act, § 71.015, and by ordinances as provided in the charter. Under § 19, Art. 6, we take judicial notice of the provisions of the charter. Section 1.01 of Art. 1 thereof is as follows: "Section 1.01. Incorporation: Seal. The inhabitants of the City of Hannibal, Missouri, within the corporate limits as now established or as hereafter established in the manner provided by law, shall continue to be a municipal body politic and corporate in perpetuity, under the name of the 'City of Hannibal', and by that name shall have a common seal which they may change and alter at pleasure." A portion of § 1.06 is as follows: "Section 1.06. Alteration of Boundaries and Additions to the City: How Made. The boundaries of the City of Hannibal as established at the time of the adoption of this charter may be altered, changed, enlarged or diminished from time to time as tracts or parcels of land are duly added to or removed from the limits and boundaries of the city or by lawful action of the city.
"Any tract of land adjoining the City of Hannibal may be annexed to the city upon passage of an ordinance by the City Council to that effect and duly enacted pursuant to the applicable laws of the State of Missouri in force at the time of such annexation. " Section 1.07 is as follows: "Section 1.07. Boundaries: Description. In each printed edition of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Hannibal hereafter published, the then existing boundaries of the City of Hannibal shall be set out by map or otherwise adequately described." Generally, the charter sought to provide that the City should have all the powers which it was "possible for a city to have under the Constitution and laws of Missouri
Counsel urge the supposed importance of the fact that the charter did not describe the then existing city limits by metes and bounds. It further appears that such method was purposely avoided. This argument is based upon the provisions of § 82.090, RSMo 1959 (Amended Laws 1959) which provides, first, that any constitutional charter city may extend its limits by ordinance, specifying the new lines, and that certain specified requirements shall be followed where an annexation includes an incorporated city, town or village. The concluding portion of the section is as follows: "In all cases where the corporate limits are defined in the charter of the city, the ordinance extending the limits shall be in the form of a proposed amendment to the charter of the city, and before the amendment shall be of any force or effect, it shall be submitted to and accepted by a majority of the qualified voters of the city voting at a general or special election, in all respects and in compliance with all the requirements provided for amendments to the charter of the city." That statute has, in substantially similar form, been in effect for many years and the concluding portion was presumably enacted to comply with the requirements of the opinion in City of Westport v. City of Kansas City, 103 Mo. 141, 151, 15 S.W. 68, 70. The form of the statute has changed from time to time. Counsel for the City thus say that this statute by its very terms recognizes that in certain cases annexations need not be made by charter amendment, and that the provisions of the charter may control. The difficulty with that argument is that we must first consider and construe the Constitution, not the statutes. The statute purports to provide that where the "corporate limits are defined in the charter," a charter amendment is necessary for an annexation. The City insists that its limits are not so defined, — therefore, no amendment is necessary.
To our minds this is a wholly unsubstantial distinction. In the Hannibal Charter, and in any other charter, the city limits as then existing are recognized and adopted, at least by reference. No valid city government could be created or valid charter adopted if the City's territorial limits existing at the time were not specifically defined and delineated somewhere; this may be done by means of a map, or by a prior act or acts of incorporation as amended by subsequent changes on file. The provisions of the present charter include the following: "the corporate limits as now established"; a requirement that all printed editions of the "Revised Ordinances" shall set out the then existing boundaries "by map or otherwise"; that "[T]he boundaries as established at the time of the adoption of this charter maybe altered, changed from time to time ." We hold that the City has defined its corporate limits in its charter, and that in fact no city can legally adopt a valid charter without "defining" in some manner its existing corporate limits. "A municipal corporation, must have both territory and inhabitants; the corporation consists of both territory and inhabitants; both are indispensable tO' its existence." 37 Am.Jur. 619, Municipal Corporations, Sec. 3; see also 62 C.J.S. Municipal Corporations § 38, p. 118. In. Cooke v. City of Portland, 69 Or. 572, 139 P. 1095, 1096, it is well said: "It is manifest that a description of the boundaries of a city is an essential element of its fundamental law. It is impossible to conceive of a city charter which would not contain provisions of that kind limiting its territorial jurisdiction." Any other holding would permit a city by its own devious omission to escape the constitutional requirement of a vote of the people. An annexation under the Hannibal charter is a charter amendment equally with an annexation under a charter setting out the city limits by metes and bounds. While it is not material to our decision, we note that by necessary inference the legislature in the last sentence of § 82.090 recognized that some annexations by charter cities constitute charter amendments, regardless of the methods of annexation provided in the charters themselves. Moreover, since we hold that the corporate limits of Hannibal are defined in its charter, that last sentence of § 82.090 would be applicable; this expressly requires that all annexations shall be made by charter amendment, and thus conforms to the constitutional requirements.
Section 20 of Art. 6 of the Constitution sets out the exclusive mode of annexation for constitutional charter cities. Our cases have so stated for many years. Counsel for the city seek here to distinguish the Taylor and McConnell cases on the ground that the Court was not there discussing the constitutionality of a mode of annexation by ordinance alone, but only the method of amendment specifically provided in the Kansas City Charter. That is true, but this Court, both in those cases and in the prior and subsequent cases already discussed, has clearly indicated the view that any annexation by a constitutional charter city is a charter amendment and» that the method provided therefor shall be followed. We adhere to those views and we feel, moreover, that this holding results in a desirable uniformity in the method to be used by charter cities. It follows that in so far as § 82.090 purports to permit a charter city to annex territory by ordinance alone it is unconstitutional, and we so hold.
It is unnecessary to discuss the one or two remaining points of appellant's brief, particularly the desirability of a declaratory judgment suit for a determination of the reasonableness of an annexation and to balance the interests of the opposing parties, and the point that annexation is really a matter germane to and in the sphere of local government.
There is nothing directly before us dealing with the status of the property and persons affected by Hannibal's prior annexations. That question will be considered when the proper occasion arises.
The only consideration which prevents us from affirming the present judgment is the possibility that the city may elect to avail itself of the Sawyers Act procedure, to be followed (if successful) by the annexation procedure of ordinance and election under § 20 of Art. 6 of the Constitution. With that in mind, we reverse the judgment and remand the cause, in order that the Court may afford the city an opportunity to so elect; if it declines, the original judgment should be re-entered, and we so direct.
HOLMAN, HENLEY and FINCH, JJ., and STONE, Special Judge, concur.
HYDE, J., concurs in separate concurring opinion filed.
STORCKMAN, C. J., dissents in separate dissenting opinion filed.
. All statutory references will be to that revision unless stated otherwise.