177 Iowa 402 | Iowa | 1916
In Monk v. Incorporated Town of George, 86 Iowa 315, it appeared that the land had not been platted into lots; that only a small portion of the lots in the platted portion of the town were occupied; that portions of the land of the petitioner were low and occupied by sloughs; but that it was within one block of the business portion of the town, and if platted, a portion of it would be in demand for lots. It did not appear that the land was desired by the town merely for revenue purposes, nor that the taxes were more than they would be outside the limits of the town, and we held that the denial of plaintiff’s petition was not an abuse of discretion conferred upon courts and juries in such cases.
Appellee submits:
Christ v. City of Webster City, 105 Iowa 119, which holds that the owners of unplatted and exclusively agricultural land within the limits of a city are not, as a matter of law, entitled to have such land severed from the city on the claim that it is not needed for any possible increase of the city’s population; that they are prejudiced by being taxed on a higher valuation than similar farm lands outside of the city, and do not receive a due proportion of benefit therefrom, and that they are deprived of school advantages which they would enjoy if the land were severed from the city; that such facts do not warrant the setting aside a verdict for the city.
Johnson v. Incorporated Town of Forest City, 129 Iowa 51, is that, in an action to sever outlying territory from fhe boundaries of a municipality, the primary inquiries are, "Will the territory be reasonably required in the future growth of the town, and should it be retained for sanitary and police purposes ? and that these are questions for the court or jury, and, in the absence of an abuse of discretion, the finding will not be disturbed; and the evidence is held to support a finding against severance.
In In re Town of LeRoy, 135 Iowa 562, the territory included in the corporation is about three fourths of a mile in length and less than one-half mile wide. If the prayer of the petition had been granted, the incorporated territory would be reduced to one-half mile in length, by three fourths
“The proceeding is at law, and the central question at issue is one of fact, and if there be any evidence on which the judgment below can be fairly sustained, we are not authorized to interfere with it. No such want of evidence is disclosed in the record. ’ ’
Though we treat this as review de novo, we do not find warrant for setting aside the conclusion of the trial court, and its judgment is therefore — Affirmed.