211 S.W.2d 970 | Tex. App. | 1948
Appellant brought this suit against appellee, the City of Carrollton, Texas, to enjoin the enforcement of Section 6.05c of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Carrollton, which provides for a minimum floor area of 900 square feet in "B" residence district, claiming that such section of said ordinance was unconstitutional and void. The trial before the court without a jury resulted in a judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals.
The particular portion of the ordinance attacked is Section 6.05c, which restricts the size of dwelling houses in district "B" of said city to be not less than 900 square feet of floor area. Appellant averred in his pleading that said section of the ordinance is unconstitutional and void for the reason that it "in no way promotes or protects public health, safety, morals or welfare and constitutes an unreasonable and unjust limitation to the reasonable and lawful use of plaintiff's property"; and that the said restriction bears no relation to the public health, safety or general welfare of the people in said city. Appellant's contention on this appeal corresponds to his pleading.
In 1946, the City of Carrollton, under authority granted by the Legislature in Vernon's Ann.Civ.St., Articles 1011a, 1011b, and 1011c, passed a Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance dividing the city into three divisions, A, B, and C. The appellant owns a lot in division "B" of said city. He made application to the city for permission to build a house thereon with a floor space of 752 square feet. His permit was denied and this suit for injunction resulted. *971
Section 1 of said ordinance is as follows: "The zoning regulations and districts, as herein established, have been made in accordance with a comprehensive plan for the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals and the general welfare of the community. They have been designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, parks and other public requirements. They have been made with reasonableconsideration, among other things, of the character of the district andits peculiar suitability for the particular uses and with a view ofconserving the value of building and encouraging the most appropriate useof land throughout the community." (Italics ours.)
The concluding words of this section make it very clear that in addition to maintaining the public health and safety it was designed to conserve the value of building and encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the community. We think the section of the ordinance attacked must be held constitutional and valid under the authority of Connor v. City of University Park, Tex. Civ. App.
The presumption obtains in matters of this nature, that the governing body of the city has acted wisely and that it has exercised its judgment and discretion wisely until such presumption is rebutted. In the case of the City of Dallas v. Lively, Tex.Civ.App,,
It was said in the City of University Park v. Hoblitzelle, Tex. Civ. App.
Appellant relies upon the case of Senefsky v. City of Huntington Woods,
Furthermore, the dissenting opinion in the above case makes this significant statement: "It is the purpose of the ordinance to stabilize and conserve property values, and this purpose is within the ambit of the police power. Cady v. City of Detroit,
After a careful study of the record we have concluded that the appellant has failed to discharge the burden resting upon him of showing the unreasonableness of the section of the ordinance attacked. This court cannot substitute its judgment for that of the governing body of the City of Carrollton. We think the ordinance is fully authorized by Vernon's Ann.Civ.St. Articles 1011a, 1011b, and 1011c, and bears a reasonable relation to the power delegated by said articles.
The judgment of the trial court is in all things affirmed.