Opinion ID: 1106817
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: whether area 13 is reasonably within the path of such expansion

Text: At the instance of the City, W. Merle Mann, whose business is that of real estate, realtor, mortgage banker and real estate appraiser and counsellor, with 21 years of experience, made a detailed and comprehensive study to determine the reasonable amount of land to be annexed for the City's land use from 1960 to 1970. It was found that Pearl River constitutes an obstacle to expansion to the east, and any expansion would have to occur in the sections to the south and southwest and to the north and northeast. The considerations which he dealt with were: (a) Potential number of residential lots available in the City; (b) The degree of development in the annexed territory at the time of the survey; and (c) The terrain thereof with a determination as to the wasteland when it is subdivided. He found that at least 7,900 homes had been built in the City and its immediate environs during the past five years. The percentage of houses in the field of their relative value was as follows: Under $10,000, 7%; $10,000 to $13,000, 31%; $13,000 to $15,000, 23%; $15,000 to $20,000, 24%; and  $20,000 and upward, 15%. The reasonable cost of lots for houses in the above-described divisions was, respectively: (1) $800 to $1,200; (2) $1,300 to $1,500; (3) $1,600 to $2,000; (4) $2,100 to $3,000; and (5) $3,000 to $6,000. Only about 1,000 lots were then available within the City limits, and it was anticipated that approximately 16,000 houses will be needed during the next ten years. Consequently approximately 15,000 lots will be needed outside the present limits. His study embraced the whole of the territory sought to be added, namely, Areas 1 to 14, inclusive, and he was of the opinion that about 7,080 of the needed 15,000 lots would be required in the north-northeast area which embraces Areas 10 through 14, inclusive. Of the 752 single family White housing units, which had been built in the five-month period from January to May 1959, 90.9% had been constructed outside the City. As to Area 12, after deductions on account of overflow, and public, semi-public, school and church uses, due to the trends in that area, the lots running 100 x 200 feet, there will be about 1 1/2 lots to the acre, and thus produce 3,333 lots. By actual count, 733 lots therein have been improved, leaving 2,600 available. In Area 13, after deductions for acreage subject to overflow, for commercial purposes and for public and semi-public use, there will be available for residential, development 1,225 acres. Using 2 1/2 lots to the acre will produce 3,062 lots. By actual count, 575 have been improved. Consequently the net maximum increase available is 2,487 lots. The potential of 857 lots in Area 14 was eliminated because that area was excluded by the Chancellor. There was only a small number of available lots in Area 10. The witness was also familiar with land values in Area 13, and he testified that, during the past year, the prices offered and paid showed an increase in value of 20% to 50%. In his opinion, the trends indicated that the land  in the north-northeast area would be put strictly to urban development, that is, residential, industrial and commercial use. Col. Battle M. Barksdale, a witness for the City, testified that, in January 1959, there were 530 single family residences, 15 commercial structures, and 3 churches situated in this area; and that, on April 23, 1959, the number of such residences had increased to 670. A.Y. Harper, a witness for the Objectors, admitted that this area was being built up, and he named several contractors, who were constructing homes there. W.P. Bridges, Sr., an experienced realtor, a witness for the Objectors, admitted that 10 or 12 real estate developers were building houses in Area 13 at the time of the trial. In his direct examination, he was asked as to the value of the land in that area, including the most and least expensive, and he replied around $1,200 an acre. He said that The value varies anywhere from the swampland at three to four hundred dollars an acre up    He said the maximum price was along the new highway, where all of the recent sales have been made at approximately $100.00 a front foot, some a little higher up nearer Northside Drive at around $200.00, 'til you get out beyond Hanging Moss Creek at $100.00 a front foot. That's for about a 500-foot depth. He said that this takes you up to an eight to ten thousand dollar per acre valuation. For residential use, it's selling at from $2,000 to $3,000 an acre when it's susceptible to development. The swampland would sell for $250 to $400, depending on the extent and the frequency with which it is flooded. So it's just difficult to take an average without just sitting down and making a careful analysis. He thought that $1,200 an acre was too high for grazing land, but that the owners would graze cattle on it until there was a demand  all houses could not be built at once.  Jack Patridge, advertising director for Underwood Homes, a witness for the Objectors, while introducing 20-odd photographs, which were calculated to show this area as being wild land, on cross-examination, admitted that in one of these pictures, made on April 13, 1959, in which cattle were shown to be grazing, in fact, on the day when he was testifying, the land was being developed, the fences had been torn down, the streets had been graded, and buildings were being erected on that particular spot. For the appellants, W.P. Bridges, Sr. estimated that only 12 to 13 per cent of Area 13 north of Hanging Moss Creek and east of new U.S. Highway 51 is now developed, meaning that houses are built or the streets, curbs and gutters are completed, and that it will take 10 to 15 years to complete. He was of the opinion that the erection by Pearl River Valley Water Supply District of the proposed dam over Pearl River north of the City and the formation of a reservoir for water supply and other purposes will retard this development because there will be a considerable number of lots for lease around the Reservoir. It will cost the City a tremendous sum of money to provide the municipal services, and will necessitate an increase in millage. He said that it costs developers about 25% more to do their job on the inside than on the outside of the corporate limits and that the cost of a house itself is 5% to 7% more. In previous expansions, he thought that territory was taken into the limits only when it was about 50% developed. Since FHA and Veterans Administration requirements are about as rigid as those of the City, and there are county zoning and planning boards, he thought the danger of faulty and inferior streets and construction was slight. The effect of this evidence was that the area is not developed sufficiently to be taken into the corporate limits. J. Will Young, a long time resident of the City, and a lawyer, who has served on the Planning Board, was also  of the opinion that too much area was being included in the north-northeast area; and that there was too little development between the existing limits on the north and the Colonial Country Club area. He admitted that there had been considerable development in the area, and that a number of developers were operating there. He did say, however, that, in the 1949 expansion, some of the included areas were far less than 50% developed and that, in some instances, there were gaps of a mile or more. The appellants, while conceding the ability of the witness Mann and the comprehensive nature of his study, insist that the City, under that study, will need only about 1,580 houses each year for the next five years, and that, with Areas 13 and 14 excluded, there will still be available, within the other areas, a sufficient number of lots, for the normal growth of the City during the next five years. Consequently they say that it is not reasonable to project the land use need of the City for a ten-year period.