Incorporation of Caritas Village v. Fuhrmeister

Citations: 152 So. 3d 1238; 2014 Ala. LEXIS 3; 2014 WL 92630Docket: 1120471

Court: Supreme Court of Alabama; January 9, 2014; Alabama; State Supreme Court

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An appeal was made regarding the Shelby Probate Court's denial of a petition to incorporate Caritas Village, based on Alabama Code § 11-41-1. The core issue is whether the petitioners can count residents who declared Caritas Village as their residence under § 12-13-23 towards the required population of 300 for incorporation. The petitioners counted 51 actual residents and 296 declared residents but the court ruled this insufficient. The probate court identified multiple deficiencies in the original petition: the population was below 300, the residents did not form a contiguous and homogeneous community, the application lacked signatures from 15% of qualified electors, there were insufficient qualified electors on each parcel of land, the application did not include an accurate land plat, lacked specific street addresses for residents, and misidentified the proposed municipality's name. After the petitioners filed a motion to amend, the court granted the motion but denied a hearing since Alabama law does not allow it at this stage. The court concluded that affidavits indicating declared residency do not meet the population requirement needed for incorporation, emphasizing that legal declarations do not equate to actual domicile or community membership.

Petitioners are required to demonstrate a minimum of 300 domiciled individuals within the subject area, which they failed to do, leading the Court to find the application non-compliant with Code 11-41-1 and thus deny it. An appeal was filed on January 17, 2013. The court applies a de novo standard of review regarding the trial court's statutory interpretation when facts are undisputed. Section 12-13-23 defines key terms such as "declaration of residence," "person," "place of residence," and "resident." It allows individuals on military or similar duties to designate a residence in Alabama through a notarized declaration filed with the probate judge, which will be recorded publicly. This declaration does not affect voting eligibility or qualifications for office, as long as the individual meets other legal requirements. Furthermore, previous voting registrations are preserved, and the declaration does not establish permanent residency for educational benefits under the Alabama G.I. and Dependents' Educational Benefit Act.

Changes in venue for pending civil actions or forum shopping are prohibited. Filing a declaration of residence does not confer permanent residency for in-state tuition eligibility at Alabama state-supported institutions unless the individual has filed or was required to file a personal income tax return in Alabama. Petitioners claim that affidavits declaring residency meet the population requirement for incorporation under Section 11-41-1, disputing the probate court's findings on contiguity and homogeneity related to 296 persons declaring residency in Caritas Village.

Statutory interpretation aims to reflect the legislature's intent as conveyed by the statute's language. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, the statute's wording is definitive. Words in statutes are interpreted using their natural and commonly understood meanings, with the absence of definitions leading to the application of generally accepted definitions. Section 11-41-1 outlines that an unincorporated community with a population of 300, whose residences are contiguous and form a homogeneous settlement, may pursue incorporation as a municipal corporation. The petition for incorporation must be submitted to the probate judge with specific documents, including a verified application detailing the proposed municipality's name, a plat of the territory, and proof of residency and electoral qualifications. Each petition must be uniform, with signers providing their address and date of signing, and an affidavit from the circulator confirming the authenticity of signatures. The case of Baker v. Conway highlights that terms like "reside," "resident," and "residence" can have varied meanings depending on context.

Definitions of 'reside,' 'residence,' and 'resident' in legal contexts have been interpreted variably by courts, emphasizing the influence of intent and actual presence. Constructive residence, based on a citizen's intention, may suffice in some cases, while others necessitate actual residence, sometimes requiring a merger of fact and intent. In Carey v. City of Haleyville, the court noted that municipalities operate on the community's consent, highlighting legislative intent for broad authority in community welfare matters, subject to voter approval for bond issuance. Conversely, in City of Dothan v. Dale County Commission, the probate court's ruling against a territory annexation due to irregular shape was overturned, establishing that homogeneity does not necessitate regular boundaries, but rather a similarity of nature among the annexed territories. Similarly, in City of Fultondale v. City of Birmingham, the court invalidated an annexation that included public-road rights-of-way, asserting that a municipality embodies a collective body of inhabitants, not fragmented groups. Fort Morgan Civic Ass'n v. City of Gulf Shores involved a challenge to an annexation based on the ownership of property, with Justice Murdock's concurring opinion providing insights into community residency concepts, despite the case not addressing long-lasso annexations directly.

Alabama law does not mandate that municipal boundaries be regular in shape; however, the concept of a municipality is understood as a unified community of inhabitants. The annexations proposed by Fultondale and Trussville result in separate, scattered populations rather than a cohesive community, which the legislature did not intend. The City of Fultondale decision underscores that annexing disconnected land to connect with another community violates legislative intent regarding annexation. The court emphasized that using a long strip of land to annex a separate population undermines the idea of a shared community interest. The probate court concluded that the proposed incorporation lacked the necessary characteristics of a unified settlement, as none of the 296 declarants reside in the area to be incorporated. This situation is comparable to the Minnesota case of State v. Village of Island Lake, where a sparsely populated area failed to meet the population requirements for incorporation. The court upheld the argument that the incorporation was fraudulent due to insufficient resident population, rejecting the notion that temporary laborers could be counted as part of the resident population.

Statutes for incorporating small villages aim to protect the interests of actual residents with fixed abodes in the territory, excluding temporary inhabitants. In this case, only 52 permanent residents were present, while laborers at lumber camps were deemed transient and ineligible for consideration in determining population requirements. The county commissioners were not made aware of this population shortfall when the incorporation petition was submitted, rendering the incorporation act unauthorized and illegal. The declaration of residency by individuals for Caritas Village does not fulfill statutory requirements, as it does not reflect a stable community with shared public interest necessary for municipal incorporation. Although a declarant is legally recognized as a resident under Alabama law for various purposes, this status does not confer voting rights in the proposed municipality if they were previously registered elsewhere. The statute allows military personnel and missionaries to declare residency while away but fails to establish a permanent community required for incorporation. The petitioners' argument that the legislature intended to include declarants as part of the required population for incorporation does not meet the criteria set forth in Alabama law, as a population of 300 citizens who form a homogeneous community is necessary. The probate court's judgment is affirmed, with only one dissenting opinion noted, and the constitutionality of the relevant statute was not contested in this case.