Opinion ID: 1828308
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: ¶ 2. In the 1990s, Horn Lake, which lies to the west of I-55, and Southaven, which lies to the east of I-55, both experienced massive growth due to their proximity to the Memphis, Tennessee, metropolitan area. Horn Lake and Southaven each annexed large tracts of land to accommodate the residential and commercial growth. During this growth period, Southaven acquired, inter alia, some land which lay west of I-55, but east of United States Highway 51. [1] ¶ 3. In 1997, Southaven filed proceedings to annex certain land west of Highway 51. After five days of trial in early 1998, Southaven and Horn Lake entered into an agreement whereby Southaven agreed not to annex the land west of Highway 51 and would not object to any future annexation filed by the City of Horn Lake to annex any lands ... West of the West right of way of Interstate 55. Southaven also stipulated that the aforesaid tracts lie in the path of growth of the City of Horn Lake and should be considered as a part of Horn Lake's annexation reserve area. ¶ 4. After the agreement was made, Horn Lake annexed land lying to the south and west of Horn Lake, but did not seek annexation of the PAA in question. ¶ 5. Southaven filed annexation proceedings in 2001 to acquire the 310.24 acres which are the subject of this appeal. The 310.24 acres lies to the south and west of Southaven and are bisected by Highway 51. A little over half of the entire tract already lay within Southaven's city limits. The PAA is owned in its entirety by the College Road Land Company and is described as completely unimproved land consisting of uninhabited pasture land with scattered trees and rolling hills. The owners requested Southaven to annex the property, because they wanted to develop the property as a single unit under the regulations of a single jurisdiction. ¶ 6. Horn Lake filed a motion to dismiss based on Southaven's stipulation that land west of the I-55 west right-of-way was in Horn Lake's path of growth, and its agreement that it would not object to Horn Lake's future annexation of land lying west of Highway 51. Southaven responded, stating that it was not bound by the 1998 agreement because it had been entered into by a previous administration which ended its term of office on June 30, 2001. Horn Lake countered that the previous administration was comprised of exactly the same people as the current administration, and that equity demanded that Southaven abide by the 1998 agreement. ¶ 7. In denying Horn Lake's motion to dismiss, the chancellor noted he could not find, and Horn Lake had not cited, any authority which states that if the same city administration is reelected for a successive term, the principle that one city administration cannot bind a succeeding administration does not apply. The chancellor went on to find that Southaven's annexation of the PAA was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances and in the best interest of the owners. From these orders, Horn Lake appeals.