Opinion ID: 1772583
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Applicability of Title 24, Chapter 2, to Commercial Property

Text: The trial court ruled that Title 24, Chapter 2, of the Code of Alabama 1975 is applicable only to predominantly residential property and that it does not authorize the city to condemn property used solely for business or commercial purposes. It pointed out that Chapter 2 is entitled Housing and that the emphasis throughout Chapter 2 is on housing authorities, residential construction, and housing projects in general. The trial court concluded that since Block 60 was not a residential area and the proposed development was only marginally related to housing, Chapter 2 was inapplicable. Tutwiler argues that redevelopment projects are intended to stimulate residential construction, to aid the production of better housing and more desirable neighborhoods, and to make possible a more stable and larger volume of residential construction. Section 24-2-1(a)(4), Code of Alabama 1975. Chapter 2 fails to state at any point that it is applicable to commercial areas and does not even mention the words business, commercial, or merchants. Furthermore, in Brammer v. Housing Authority of Birmingham, 239 Ala. 280, 282, 195 So. 256 (1940), this Court stated that Housing Authority statutes were intended to provide a better quality of homes for a class of citizens of moderate means and to eradicate slum districts. Chapters One, Two, and Three of Title 24 were enacted for the purpose of enabling Alabama and its subdivisions to take advantage of federal funds available pursuant to federal housing, redevelopment, and urban renewal acts. The housing authority statutes referred to in Brammer are now codified in Chapter 1 of Title 24. Chapter 1 was enacted to secure federal aid offered pursuant to the United States Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. § 1401, et seq. Chapter 2 of Title 24, entitled Redevelopment Projects, was passed in response to the Housing Act of 1949, 42 U.S.C. § 1441, et seq. Chapter 3 of Title 24 was passed in response to the 1954 amendments to the 1949 act providing for urban renewal projects, 42 U.S.C. § 1450, et seq. Since Resolution 1119-81 proposed clearing Block 60 of its buildings and constructing new ones in their places, Chapter 2, which concerns redevelopment projects, contains the applicable standards. Since the Alabama statutes were enacted to implement federal legislation, we will examine the intent of the Congress in passing the federal acts in an attempt to determine what sort of property can be taken under the Alabama statutes for redevelopment projects. As it was originally enacted in 1949, the federal housing act was applicable only to slum areas which were predominantly residential in character or areas which were to be developed or redeveloped for predominantly residential uses. See Housing Act of 1949, July 15, 1949, ch. 338, Title I, Sec. 110(c). The purpose of the 1949 act was to help remove the impact of slums on human lives rather than to redevelop or rebuild cities. Senate Report No. 84, February 25, 1949, Vol. 2, 1959 U.S. Code Congressional Service 1550, 1563. Although the 1949 act was limited to development of primarily residential areas, the act was subsequently amended to broaden its scope. In 1954 the act was amended to allow slum clearance and urban renewal of areas which were not predominantly residential but which contained a substantial number of slum, blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating dwellings or other living accomodations where the areas were unsuitable for redevelopment for residential uses. Housing Act of 1954, August 2, 1954, ch. 649, Title III, § 311, 68 Stat. 626. The following year the 1949 act was again amended to broaden its scope. The 1955 amendment provided that land which was predominantly nonresidential in character could be developed for predominantly nonresidential purposes if the governing body of the local public agency determines that such redevelopment for predominantly nonresidential purposes is necessary and appropriate to facilitate the proper growth of the community in accordance with sound planning standards and local community objectives and to afford maximum opportunity for the redevelopment of the project area by private enterprise. Housing Amendments of 1955, August 11, 1955, ch. 783, Title I, § 106(c), 69 Stat. 637. In 1959 Congress again amended the 1949 act. The Housing Act of 1959 provided for nonresidential urban renewal and redevelopment if the governing body of the local public agency determines that the redevelopment of such an area for predominantly nonresidential uses is necessary for the proper development of the community. September 23, 1959, Pub.L. 86-372, Title IV, § 413, 73 Stat. 675, 677. In 1961 the act was again amended to allow a larger percentage of federal redevelopment funds to be spent for nonresidential projects. While the primary purpose of the federal statutes is to improve housing conditions, nonresidential property may be acquired for commercial and industrial renewal and redevelopment. Although the 1949 act did not provide for commercial or industrial projects, over the years it became apparent to the Congress that the economic, institutional, and cultural bases of community life are vital to the creation and existence of good homes in sound urban neighborhoods. In recognition of the fact that the construction of good neighborhoods was intimately tied to the economic health of the community, exceptions to the predominantly residential requirement of the 1949 act were added and the percentage of federal funds available for such projects was from time to time increased to reflect the growing attention to the needs for downtown renewal. Senate Report No. 281, Housing Act of 1961, Vol. 2, 1961 U.S. Code Cong. & Admin. News at 1923, 1952-53. While we agree with the trial court that the primary purpose of urban renewal and redevelopment statutes is the elimination of residential slums and the improvement of living conditions, the conclusion that only residential property can be condemned for redevelopment is unwarranted. There is nothing in the statute specifically limiting its application to residential areas. The federal acts on which Alabama's statutes were based clearly provide for the acquisition of commercial property for non-residential development. Non-residential development has previously been allowed under Alabama's renewal and redevelopment statutes. See Blankenship v. City of Decatur, 269 Ala. 670, 115 So.2d 459, 460 (1959). The legislature many years ago determined that the problems of urban residential blight cannot be divorced from the problems of urban deterioration in general. It recognized that sound city planning often requires that rundown business districts be rehabilitated in order for urban residential districts to become attractive places to live. We therefore conclude that Chapter 2 of Title 24 is applicable to commercial and industrial property as well as to residential property.