304 Mass. 507 | Mass. | 1939
The bill of complaint alleges that the plaintiffs Stockus own a parcel of land with a dwelling thereon in that portion of Boston known as South Boston, and that the plaintiff -Tautvaisa is the owner of a similar parcel in the same locality; that the defendants, comprising the Boston Housing Authority (established by § 26L of the housing authority law, §§ 26I-26II, inserted in G. L. [Ter.
Since the argument of this case, it has been decided that the housing authority law has two principal purposes — (1) the elimination of substandard areas or the abolition of slums,' and (2) the furnishing of low-rent housing to families of low income; that the expenditure of public funds in a reasonable manner to rid a community of slums could not be said not to be for a public purpose; that the clearance of slums' could be found to promote the public safety, health and welfare; that the construction and maintenance of low-rent housing for families of low income would avert hardship to those whose homes have been razed and would prevent overcrowding into other slums; that construction of new low-rent dwellings is not to be undertaken on a larger scale than the number of existing tenements eliminated by the clearance of substandard areas; and that the furnishing of new low-rent housing facilities was the means adopted to accomplish the abolition of slums. The housing authority law was therefore held to be a valid enactment. Allydonn Realty Corp. v. Holyoke Housing Authority, ante, 288.
The present bill cannot be sustained on the ground that the law is unconstitutional, and we must consider whether the bill sets forth a case where the defendants have exceeded their authority in attempting to take the premises of the plaintiffs, as it is the only remaining ground upon which the bill purports to be based.
The allegations concerning the characteristics of the area as enumerated in the bill seek to avoid the classification of the locus as a substandard area by negativing verbatim the various elements included in § 26J in defining a substandard area. While it is true that the specific characteristics enumerated in the bill, some being alleged to be absent and others to be present in the area in question, are in the main physical objects whose presence or absence is a matter of fact, yet it is equally true that the extent that these various elements enter into and form the predominating and distinctive traits of a neighborhood is frequently and largely a matter of opinion and whether such characteristics or some of them, considered all together or in any combination, present a housing situation that in its final analysis may reasonably and fairly be said to be injurious to the public safety, health or morals, is to a great degree a matter of practical judgment, common sense and sound discretion. There are, undoubtedly, instances where men of training and experience in special subjects related to construction, sanitation, fire prevention, zoning, public health, social service and other subjects might honestly differ in determining whether a certain district was a slum area. If the ques
The allegation that the dwellings in this area are in good repair and condition is not an allegation that the defendants may not reasonably adjudge otherwise. The overcrowding of tenements in a congested area well might be a matter upon which opinions may vary within wide limits. The averment that the buildings are of good arrangement and design for buildings of their class is not the equivalent of an averment of freedom from faulty arrangement or design for dwellings in general and without reference to any classification. That the buildings have “reasonable provision for ventilation, light and sanitation facilities” as alleged, does not show that there is no “lack of ventilation, light or sanitation facilities.” Alleging that there is a reasonable provision for such facilities falls short of alleging that the dwellings in the area are in fact equipped with such facilities or that there' is such ventilation, light and sanitation as is consistent with the preservation of safety, health or morals. The fact that the dwellings of the plaintiffs have such facilities is immaterial, for the test is the area as a unit and not two dwellings located in the area. Moreover, what the plaintiffs may consider a reasonable provision is no more than a mere opinion on the debatable question as to the extent that the buildings have ventilation, light and sanitation facilities. The allegation that the buildings comply with various statutes and regulations is not admitted by a demurrer. Pennie v. Reis, 132 U. S.
The allegations that the defendants had no authority to make the taking of the properties of the plaintiffs and that such taking is illegal and void are mere conclusions of law which cannot be considered as admitted by the demurrer. Morin v. Ellis, 285 Mass. 370. Atlantic Pharmacol Co. v. Commissioner of Corporations & Taxation, 294 Mass. 485. Pacific States Box & Basket Co. v. White, 296 U. S. 176. Isbrandtsen-Moller Co. Inc. v. United States, 300 U. S. 139.
The various allegations, in substance and effect, that there was no necessity for the taking, that there was no public exigency requiring the taking, that there was no shortage of adequate and available housing facilities, and that there was no exigency justifying the action of the defendants, are all matters of a legislative nature and are not open to judicial inquiry or review. Talbot v. Hudson, 16 Gray, 417. Boston v. Talbot, 206 Mass. 82. Broderick v. Department of Mental Diseases, 263 Mass. 124.
The good faith of the defendants is not challenged and there is nothing in the bill that alleges arbitrary or capricious action. Every presumption must be indulged in as to the integrity and impartiality of their conduct. Nevins v. City Council of Springfield, 227 Mass. 538. MacDonald v. Street Commissioners of Boston, 268 Mass. 288. Larkin v. County Commissioners of Middlesex, 274 Mass. 437.
The defendants were acting in their official capacity in determining that the said district was a substandard area as defined by § 26J. In deciding the question they were dealing with a subject matter not shown by the bill to have been beyond their authority, and as it is not alleged that their conduct was arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable, or that they were acting in bad faith, the decree sustaining the demurrer was correct and must be affirmed. Filoon v. City Council of Brockton, 252 Mass. 218. Burke v. Metropolitan District Commission, 262 Mass. 70. Archambault v. Mayor of Lowell, 278 Mass. 327. Slocum v. Medford, 302 Mass. 251. Hegeman Farms Corp. v. Baldwin, 293 U. S. 163. Pacific States Box & Basket Co. v. White, 296 U. S. 176.
The decree sustaining the demurrer can be supported on another ground. The defendants were authorized by § 26R (b) to determine what areas were substandard, to provide low-rent housing projects for families of low income, and to acquire by purchase or by eminent domain any property found by them to be necessary or reasonably required to carry out the purpose of the housing authority law. The order taking the properties of the plaintiffs, as disclosed by the bill, states that the property was taken for the purpose of clearing an area deemed to be a substandard area, and also for the purpose of providing thereon low-rent housing projects for families of low income. The power of the defendants to take land by eminent domain for the purpose of erecting dwellings thereon was not limited to
Decree sustaining demurrer affirmed.