Opinion ID: 1794109
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Kraus v. Department of Commerce

Text: Plaintiffs Kraus, Kurz, Stoye, and Mueller initiated suit in 1989 to vacate portions of Newman Avenue, Walnut Avenue, and Chestnut Avenue in Whittington Park, which was platted and recorded in 1903. The portions of the three avenues that the plaintiffs sought to vacate originate at Higgins Lake and extend west to Burrows Avenue, which runs in a north-northeasterly direction. The three avenues are approximately fifty feet wide, and the portions at issue vary in length from ninety to ninety-five feet. Block 11, with thirty-eight platted lots, is located to the north of Newman Avenue, lot 38 being most adjacent. Block 10, with ten platted lots, separates Newman Avenue from Walnut Avenue to the south. In turn, block 9, also with ten platted lots, separates Walnut Avenue from Chestnut Avenue to the south. Block 8, with ten platted lots, lies adjacent to Chestnut Avenue's south side. During trial, the defendants and plaintiffs stipulated that there was no record proof that Gerrish Township ever formally or informally accepted the three roads. The defendants introduced several documents that they contend manifested acceptance by the Roscommon County Road Commission of the portions of the roads at issue. We consider the proffered documents in chronological order to determine the earliest date of manifest acceptance. The defendants relied on the 1937 McNitt resolution, which we have indicated was insufficient because of its general nature. Next, a copy of the minutes of an April 16, 1940, meeting of the road commission was introduced. It reported a resolution by which the road commission purported to take over a list of described roads as county roads. The list was published in the Roscommon Herald-News. It did not include Walnut or Chestnut Avenues. It did describe Newman Avenue, but only stated that Newman Avenue was 132 feet in length. In the plat, Newman Avenue extended considerably longer. It is unclear whether the defendant proved that the 132 feet corresponded to the portion of Newman Avenue that the plaintiffs sought to vacate. Another document introduced was a copy of the minutes of a February 2, 1948, meeting of the road commission. There, the road commission noted that a financial crisis had developed as a result of the practice of subdivision owners dedicating streets to public use and then selling off lots before the dedicated streets had been constructed. The road commission resolved not to approve subdivision plats in the future before the plat owner had constructed the dedicated streets and necessary drains or had furnished a bond sufficient to pay for the costs of such construction. The next relevant document was a copy of the minutes of a March 16, 1953, meeting of the road commission. [7] The minutes reported that the road commission resolved [t]hat the Roscommon County Board of County Road Commissioners hereby formally acknowledge and confirm and reaffirm, their prior taking over as County Roads, all streets, roads and alleys, whether named or not, and whether called avenues, boulevards, courts, streets or alleys, heretofore required to be taken over as County Roads by the provisions of Act 130 of the Public Acts of 1931 as amended; and further that said Roscommon County Board of County Road Commissioners does hereby take over as County Roads, as required by Act 51 of the Public Acts of Michigan for 1951, section 19, all dedicated streets and alleys in the following subdivisions lying outside the Incorporated Village of Roscommon, in Roscommon County.
Whittington Park.... [Emphasis added.][ [8] ] We find it significant that the 1940 resolution omitted any reference to Walnut and Chestnut Avenues. We further find that the 1953 resolution merely reaffirmed the resolutions of 1937 and 1940. Accordingly, we conclude that the 1953 resolution referred only to those roads that were already public roads. Continuing with the defendants' proofs, there is a copy of the July 2, 1965, minutes of the road commission, which merely noted that encroachments had been observed on Walnut and Chestnut Avenues and that the secretary was to notify the owners by certified mail, asking them to remove the encroachments. No copy of any notice was produced, nor was any evidence produced that the encroachments were removed. We conclude that the road commission manifested acceptance no earlier than 1940 with respect to Newman Avenue. We also find that the defendants have failed to prove any formal or informal acceptance of Walnut or Chestnut Avenues before trial. We find that the eighty-six year interval between the date of the recording of the plat and the date that the plaintiffs initiated suit was beyond a reasonable lapse of time. See Shewchuck, 372 Mich. at 114, 125 N.W.2d 273. With respect to Newman Avenue, we review the plaintiffs' proofs to determine if the offers to dedicate were withdrawn before 1940. With respect to Walnut and Chestnut Avenues, even though unnecessary, we recap the plaintiffs' proofs for informational purposes only. Had we found legal acceptance by the defendants, such evidence may have been relevant. We turn first to Newman Avenue. Plaintiffs Frederick and Barbara Stoye owned lots 33 to 38, block 11, adjacent to the north side of Newman Avenue. Plaintiff Helen Mueller owned lots 1 to 3, block 10, adjacent to the south side of Newman Avenue. Frederick Stoye testified that he had inherited the property from his father, who had owned it since 1930. He testified that at the time of trial a fence extended from lot 38 across the front of Newman Avenue and across Mueller's lot line to the south. The fence was located about eight to ten feet east of Burrows Avenue. He alleged that a fence had been in that location since 1931, with the present wooden fence replacing its predecessor in 1962. We have examined photographs of the fence and find that a person would have to climb over or through the fence in order to reach Newman Avenue. Stoye also testified that the Roscommon County Road Commission had sent a notice to his father in 1965, requesting that he remove the fence. [9] However, the fence was not removed. Stoye also testified that his father had constructed a concrete curb that extended beneath the fence. [10] Mueller testified that she and her husband, since deceased, had purchased their lots in 1934. She and her husband built a stone garden house (which she believed would be about twelve feet by twelve feet) in 1959, that extends partially into Newman Avenue. We conclude that the plaintiffs may have proven that as early as 1931 Newman Avenue was put to a use inconsistent with a dedication to public use. The fence allegedly extended the entire width of the platted street and a few feet from Burrows Avenue. Fencing off access to property would be a use inconsistent with the idea of public ownership. Field, 32 Mich. at 280. However, we must remand for further fact finding. The trial court must determine when in fact the plaintiffs first put Newman Avenue to a use inconsistent with a dedication to public use. If the trial court finds that this was not before 1940, the trial court should further determine whether the defendants did accept this portion of Newman Avenue in 1940. If not, then the trial court may make further determinations consistent with this opinion. Next, we consider Walnut Avenue. Plaintiff Edward Kurz owned lots 7 through 10, block 10, adjacent to and north of Walnut Avenue. The lots had been owned by his family since 1939. Pictures of Walnut Avenue and a situation survey depict a concrete and cobblestone picnic table, bench, and grill area that extends crosswise across the avenue near Higgins Lake and appears to be at least twenty feet in length. Kurz testified that he and his father built the structure in 1942. A stone planter has the date 1925 etched into it. Kurz also personally remembered a wire fence built in the late 1930s or early 1940s extending lengthwise through the center of Walnut Avenue, with a wooden gate for access between neighbors. The fence deteriorated over the years and disappeared by the 1950s or 1960s. Plaintiff Otto Kraus testified that he owned block 10, which is adjacent to both Walnut and Chestnut Avenues, and that he had inherited it from his wife in 1987. The property had been owned by her family since the early 1920s. Kraus became personally familiar with the property in 1936. He confirmed that the grill and picnic area had existed since the early 1940s. As stated above, we find that the defendants have failed to prove timely manifest acceptance of the offer to dedicate Walnut Avenue to public use. Accordingly, we order that Walnut Avenue be vacated in favor of the adjacent plaintiffs. Finally, we consider Chestnut Avenue. Kraus owned the property adjacent to the north of Chestnut Avenue, while his neighbor, Robert Hoffman, owned the property adjacent to the south. Hoffman purchased lots 1 through 5, block 8, in 1988. A situation survey revealed that Hoffman's house encroached into Chestnut Avenue, as did part of a concrete driveway. There was also a split-rail fence that originated at the concrete driveway, extended a few feet to the north and then ran lengthwise through the middle of Chestnut Avenue, ending just short of Higgins Lake. Kraus testified that the Hoffman house had been situated in its current location since 1963. Again, we find that the defendants failed to prove timely manifest acceptance of the offer to dedicate Chestnut Avenue to public use. Accordingly, we conclude that Chestnut Avenue should be vacated in favor of the plaintiffs.