Opinion ID: 1761976
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The 1965 Houston Ordinances

Text: Houston also says it was entitled to a summary judgment because it enacted a number of annexation ordinances during 1965 which were prior in time to those enacted by Pasadena. Those ordinances, Houston argues, rendered the later Pasadena ordinances invalid since the Pasadena ordinances described lands which were not adjacent to Pasadena. The lands which Houston's 1965 ordinances purported to annex are indicated on the map by the shaded area. Pasadena, on the other hand, says that it is entitled to a summary judgment because Houston's 1965 ordinances are also void for non-compliance with the notice requirements of the Article 970a Municipal Annexation Act. Neither Houston nor Pasadena proved a right to a summary judgment. On August 18, 1965, Houston, having doubts about the constitutionality of the Municipal Annexation Act, commenced annexation proceedings in two separate ways. It proceeded under the provisions of its charter and Article 1175 and independently of the Municipal Annexation Act, and accordingly passed Ordinances 65-1555A and 65-1555AR on first reading on August 17, 1965. It then passed Ordinance 65-1555AR on final reading on November 16, 1965. On August 18, 1965, Houston also passed its Ordinance 65-1561 by which it undertook to comply with the Municipal Annexation Act. On September 21, 1965, Houston passed Ordinance 65-1555BR on first reading and finally passed it on November 16, 1965. After the 1962 agreed judgment, the 58th Legislature enacted the Municipal Annexation Act. The Act was a comprehensive statute which was designed to regulate all phases of municipal annexation and to avoid such conflicts between cities over unannexed territory as is evidenced by the history of the conflicts between Houston and Pasadena. It imposed new limitations upon annexations and established extraterritorial jurisdiction over unincorporated areas which cities could assert. It prescribed methods for resolving any overlap of extraterritorial jurisdiction between cities. It authorized an apportionment of such overlapping territory between cities by a consideration of a number of factors. Houston says that the 1960 Ordinance 60-989 and the 1962 agreed judgment preserved its exclusive annexation jurisdiction to the territory embraced in its 1965 ordinances. By the time Houston passed its 1965 annexation ordinances, Ordinance 60-989 had lost all of its force. Section 7, subd. D of the Municipal Annexation Act said: D. All annexation proceedings by cities which are pending on or instituted after March 15, 1963, shall be subject to the limitations as to size and extent of area imposed by this Act and shall be brought to completion within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this Act or be null and void. Provided, however, any period of time during which a city is enjoined or restrained from completing such annexation proceedings by a court of competent jurisdiction shall not be computed in such ninety (90) day limitation period. Ordinance 60-989, though pending since June of 1960 was not brought to completion by the statutory deadline which was November 20, 1963. In fact, Houston passed the ordinance on third reading on December 16, 1964; on fourth reading on August 18, 1965, and on fifth reading on July 20, 1966. It has never passed final reading. On November 20, 1963 Ordinance 60-989 had not been brought to completion and was thereafter void. Red Bird Village v. State ex rel. City of Duncanville, 385 S.W.2d 548 (Tex.Civ.App.1964, writ ref.). Houston was not entitled to a summary judgment ousting Pasadena from the territory embraced by the 1965 Houston ordinances, since the basis of the summary judgment was that Houston was not required to comply with the Municipal Annexation Act. In our opinion, Houston was required to comply with that Act. Pasadena also urged a motion for summary judgment that Houston's 1965 ordinances were void. In our original opinion, we held that Pasadena was entitled to a summary judgment. The basis of our former conclusion was that Pasadena proved the Houston ordinances were void by reason of non-compliance with the notice requirements stated in Section 6 of the Municipal Annexation Act. We are now convinced that Pasadena's motion for summary judgment did not assert nor put in issue the invalidity of the 1965 Houston ordinances by reason of non-compliance with the notice requirements. Pasadena's motion stated specific grounds as a basis for its right to a summary judgment. It alleged: Pasadena enacted certain annexation ordinances during 1965 which predated Houston's 1965 ordinances; the Pasadena 1965 ordinances embraced lands which were within the exclusive annexation jurisdiction of Pasadena; Houston Ordinance 62-1766 (the strip ordinance) was void because the territory was not adjacent to Houston; Houston Ordinance 60-989 became void by reason of its lack of final passage within the time required by the Municipal Annexation Act; and the 1962 agreed judgment was ineffective to preserve Ordinance 60-989 beyond the date fixed by the Municipal Annexation Act. After asserting these specific grounds which did not mention non-compliance with the notice requirement of the Municipal Annexation Act, Pasadena then generally alleged: The aforesaid Ordinances of the City of Houston, and the judgment are therefore wholly void and inoperative upon the face of the pleadings, the stipulations, the affidavits and the exhibits on file in this cause and Respondent, City of Pasadena, is accordingly entitled to judgment as a matter of law. We held in In re Estate of Price v. State National Bank of El Paso, 375 S.W.2d 900 (Tex.Sup.1964) that one who moved for a summary judgment and specified the grounds for the judgment should not be granted a judgment upon any other grounds. We reversed a summary judgment which was granted upon unspecified grounds, saying that the one contesting the motion should not be deprived of a trial of an issue which the motion did not indicate was one of the grounds at issue if said ground could have been controverted. In our opinion Pasadena's motion for summary judgment did not inform Houston that its attack upon the 1965 Houston ordinances was grounded upon the lack of statutory notice, a ground which could have been controverted. Pasadena was not entitled to a summary judgment based on that issue.