Incorporation of Oak Grove v. City of Hattiesburg

Citations: 684 So. 2d 1274; 1996 Miss. LEXIS 679Docket: No. 95-CA-00126-SCT

Court: Mississippi Supreme Court; December 11, 1996; Mississippi; State Supreme Court

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The case involves the proposed incorporation of the Oak Grove residential area west of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. On April 28, 1987, Hattiesburg petitioned the Chancery Courts of Lamar and Forrest Counties to annex parts of these counties, including Oak Grove. Residents opposed the annexation, arguing a lack of public convenience and necessity. The chancellor approved Hattiesburg's petition in part, excluding approximately 20 acres in Lamar County, a decision affirmed by the court in the Matter of Enlargement of Corporate Limits of City of Hattiesburg, 588 So.2d 814 (Miss.1991).

On June 12, 1987, while the annexation case was ongoing, supporters of Oak Grove's incorporation filed a petition in the Chancery Court of Lamar County. Special Chancellor Mike Carr denied the incorporation petition, citing improper filing of signatures, legal insufficiency, and failure to meet statutory criteria regarding public necessity and convenience. The petitioners appealed this decision.

The court upheld the chancellor's findings, stating that substantial evidence supported the conclusions regarding public necessity, convenience, and reasonableness of the incorporation. The chancellor's role was to determine if the proposed incorporation satisfied legal requirements under Miss.Code Ann. 21-1-17 (1972), specifically whether it was justified by public convenience and necessity. The court emphasized that it could only overturn the chancellor's decree if it found it manifestly wrong based on law or fact interpretation. Factors relevant to public convenience and necessity were outlined, including the adequacy of existing governmental services, potential services from neighboring entities, and the need for incorporation.

The chancellor's ruling against the incorporation of Oak Grove was upheld, noting that public convenience and necessity did not support the effort, which seemed primarily motivated by a desire to avoid annexation by Hattiesburg rather than a genuine need for new municipal services. Previous case law indicates that incorporation is typically justified when residents lack essential services, a situation not evidenced in Oak Grove, where residents had sufficient public services. The court affirmed that Oak Grove residents had successfully objected to Hattiesburg's annexation based on their satisfaction with existing services, including public safety and infrastructure. Testimonies and affidavits indicated that residents of Lamar County were content with their services, with the exception of a desire for improved fire protection. The chancellor found no evidence of inadequate garbage collection or road maintenance, and the residents expressed a preference for their rural lifestyle over urban incorporation. The ruling emphasized that substantial evidence supported the conclusion that the area had sufficient services and that agricultural land use would likely remain unchanged.

Incorporation of the Lamar County area would significantly harm landowners, particularly farmers, as determined by the chancellor. Residents of Lamar County chose to remain outside the city and reported having adequate services, except for fire protection. The court affirmed Judge Dale's findings that a substantial portion of the proposed incorporation area had sufficient services. Although these findings pertain to only half of the area in question, it would be inconsistent for the court to deem the chancellor's current ruling erroneous, given its alignment with previous findings. Testimony revealed inconsistencies regarding the needs of Oak Grove residents, with the chancellor concluding that the area has adequate services, no pressing needs, and is satisfied with the existing provisions from the Lamar County water and sewage association and voluntary fire departments. 

Regarding police protection, testimony confirmed that the county adequately provides law enforcement in the proposed area. Concerns over traffic control were limited to the vicinity of Oak Grove School, indicating that traffic issues are not widespread. Although petitioners cited inadequate sewage systems, they failed to present a remediation plan, and incorporation could potentially worsen sewage services for some residents. Concerns were raised that incorporation might sever sewage service connections from Hattiesburg, adversely affecting certain properties. Previous court findings indicated that the only significant service gap was in fire protection, yet petitioners lacked a formal plan for municipal fire services.

Joe Shoemaker of the Mississippi State Rating Bureau indicated that while fire ratings in Oak Grove have improved, the Wal-Mart area suffers from inadequate fire services. Wal-Mart and other nearby businesses oppose their inclusion in the proposed incorporation area, preferring to be annexed by Hattiesburg, which they believe can better address their water and fire service needs. This opposition suggests that the proposed incorporation may not meet the fire protection needs of many landowners and could adversely affect the tax base necessary for the municipality's viability. The businesses' resistance raises concerns about the ability of the proposed Oak Grove to provide adequate municipal services due to its size and population density. The petitioners appear to seek incorporation primarily to avoid annexation while maintaining a quasi-rural lifestyle, instead of genuinely improving public services. The court affirmed the chancellor’s determination that incorporation was not necessary for public convenience and necessity, backed by substantial evidence. Additionally, the court found no manifest error in the chancellor's ruling deeming the incorporation unreasonable, citing various factors, particularly the low population density of the proposed area, which would be the lowest for any newly incorporated city in Mississippi.

The chancellor determined that the proposed incorporation of Oak Grove, covering a land mass of 40 square miles, is unreasonable due to its size and low population density. Comparisons with other municipalities in the state highlighted that none approached this size, indicating that Oak Grove resembles rural land rather than a viable village. In prior case law, such as City of Jackson v. Petitioners for Incorporation of City Of Richland, the court acknowledged that larger areas could be reasonable if supported by population density and future development needs. However, the chancellor found that Oak Grove's operational costs would be prohibitive given its dispersed population of around 10,000 across 40 square miles, which poses significant logistical challenges with a limited tax base. 

The chancellor expressed that a smaller incorporation area might be more reasonable but refrained from pursuing this option due to perceived difficulties, including outdated petitions and a lack of proposals from petitioners for smaller areas. Although petitioners argued that the chancellor abused his discretion by not narrowing the area of incorporation, evidence suggested there was no public necessity for incorporation, even if a smaller area could theoretically be viable. The chancellor's findings were supported by substantial evidence, leading to the conclusion that the proposed incorporation should not proceed.

The chancellor's decision not to create a smaller municipality from the proposed Oak Grove was upheld, as the petitioners did not provide a viable proposal for such a municipality. The court found that the chancellor acted within his discretion, affirming that his ruling against the incorporation of Oak Grove was not erroneous. The court deemed it unnecessary to address the sufficiency of the petition given this conclusion. Regarding the Lamar County School District's concerns about potential annexation by Hattiesburg, the court ruled that the trial court did not err in failing to consider the district's impact on the incorporation's reasonableness. The School District's apprehensions about future annexation and its effects on school district boundaries were deemed irrelevant, as the case at hand was not about annexation. Consequently, this point of error was also overruled. The judgment was affirmed with all justices concurring except for Pittman, J., who did not participate.