Opinion ID: 1423514
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Responsibility for Cost of Relocating Facilities

Text: The Bridgeton Franchise does not explicitly address the issue of who must pay for the water facilities relocation requested by the city. Accordingly, this question is governed by the common-law rule stated in Union Electric Co. v. Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of St. Louis, 555 S.W.2d 29 (Mo. banc 1977). In that case, the city of St. Louis had vacated the 600 block of Martin Luther King Drive for its use in an urban redevelopment project. 555 S.W.2d at 31. The land clearance for redevelopment authority requested Union Electric Company to move its facilities in that block. Id. Union Electric sought a declaratory judgment that the city was obligated to reimburse it for the costs of relocating its facilities. Id. at 30. The Court stated: The fundamental common-law right applicable to franchises in streets is that the utility company must relocate its facilities in public streets when changes are required by public necessity, or public convenience and security require it, at its own expense. Id. at 32. Union Electric was required to relocate its facilities, at its expense, because the relocation was made necessary by the urban renewal project. Id. at 33. The primary purpose of the project, the redevelopment or renewal of what is implicitly a blighted area of the city, has been declared legislatively to be a public purpose. The vacation of this block of the city thoroughfare and the requirement that Union Electric remove its facilities therefrom to make the thoroughfare available for use as a part of this project were acts of the City and the Authority in the exercise of a governmental rather than a proprietary function. Id. The same situation exists here. The primary purpose of the Taussig Road project was declared legislatively, by a resolution of the mayor and city council of Bridgeton, to be a public purpose. The resolution stated that Bridgeton's actions to improve Taussig Road were public governmental acts in the public interest and safety to serve the traveling public [and] encourage business and industrial activity and growth, and that the improvements were necessary to increase its size, capacity to handle vehicles of all sizes, speed of travel, and the safety of motorists using Taussig Road. Missouri-American argues that the resolution cannot be considered a valid legislative declaration of public purpose under Union Electric because the resolution was passed almost four years after Bridgeton and TRiSTAR executed their agreement concerning the Taussig Road project. However, the timing is irrelevant. The purpose of the Taussig Road project was for the legislative body to determine. The Court respects that authority and normally does not look behind such legislative determinations. See Union Elec., 555 S.W.2d at 32; accord Tierney v. Planned Indus. Expansion Auth. of Kansas City, 742 S.W.2d 146, 150 (Mo. banc 1987) (the legislative body's authority controls unless its decision is shown to be so arbitrary and unreasonable as to amount to an abuse of the legislative process); State ex inf. Danforth ex rel. Farmers' Elec. Coop., Inc. v. State Envtl. Improvement Auth., 518 S.W.2d 68, 74-75 (Mo. banc 1975). There is no evidence in the record that could establish any arbitrary and unreasonable acts on the part of Bridgeton sufficient to constitute abuse of the legislative process. The resolution establishes that the changes requiring relocation of certain Missouri-American facilities in the Taussig Road right-of-way are required by public necessity, or public convenience and security require it. Union Elec., 555 S.W.2d at 32. Missouri-American is responsible for relocating its facilities there at its own expense. It is not entitled to judgment as a matter of law with respect to the facilities located within the Taussig Road right-of-way. [3]