Belmont Land Ass'n v. Mayor of Garfield
Belmont Land Ass'n v. Mayor of Garfield
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The prosecutor holds a rule to show cause why a writ of certiorari should not be allowed to review two ordinances adopted by the respondent and all proceedings thereunder, including the report of the assessment against the prosecutor for benefits, and the order of the respondent confirming the same, relating to the improvement of Dewey2 street, in the borough of Garfield, between Palisade avenue and Chestnut street. The improvements were made under separate ordinances, one providing for the grading of the
This testimony shows that the requisite number of resident freeholders did not sign the petition for the improvement, the statute providing that such an ordinance shall be preceded l)3 an application in writing for the improvement, signed by at least ten freeholders of the borough residing therein: that no such notice as the law requires relating to thy sidewalk ordinance was given the landowner, nor was he afforded an opportunity to do the work if he desired; that the advertisement for bidders for the contract was not published in Bergen county, where the improvement was to be made, hut in newspapers in Passaic county; that the minutes of the council do not show that the ordinances were adopted by a majority vote', and that the defendant had no actual notice of the proceedings until after .the work was finished. Whether under these circumstances the statutory limitations upon the power of this court to exercise the right to issue its prerogative writ is reasonable, it is not necessary to determine, for this matter can be disposed of on other grounds, in the consideration of which we assume that the ordinances are noil-assailable, leaving that question open to the prosecutor on final hearing.
As to the sidewalk assessment we think the writ should go because for want of proper nbtice to the prosecutor, no assessment can lawfully be laid against it in the present proceedings. Section 50 of the Borough act (Comp. Stat., p. 258) provides that any ordinance providing for the construe
We are also of opinion that prosecutor is entitled to a writ to review the assessment for grading. The grading required a cut in front of prosecutor’s property which placed the level of its property at one point seven feet above the street, and the testimony tends to show that this was a damage, jet the commissioners, apparently, did not take into account the question of damages. In addition to this, the testimony shows that there is some ground for prosecutor’s complaint that it
Wo think the applicant for this writ has presented a sufficiently debatable question to justify the allowance of the writ, and in view of the want of a required petition before the ordinance was adopted, which seems to he necessary to give the-common council jurisdiction to pass the ordinances, we think the writs should extend to a review of the legality of the ordinances.
This is a proceeding to take prosecutor’s property, for money is property, against its consent, by means of a void ordinance adopted without observing one of the conditions of the delegated power, and the legislature never intended to put such ultra vires action beyond the power of this court to review, simply because a contract has been awarded based upon it, and if it did, then a constitutional question is presented of sufficient importance to warrant solemn argument.
The ordinance must be one which the council had the power to adopt if the bar of the statute is to operate, and where the council fails to pursue the provisions of the legislative delegation of power and acts without jurisdiction, it is beyond the power of the lawmaker to arrest the power of review by certiorari. Traphagen v. West Hoboken, 39 N. J. L. 232.
The only other point raised by the defendant is, that under the statute no certiorari shall be allowed to review an assessment for a street improvement after thirty days shall have elapsed from the date of the confirmation. The prosecutor had no notice of the improvement until after it was completed, and its first notice was information of a meeting of the commissioners of assessment whose report was confirmed November 14th, 1916, and on December 12th, 1916, within
The'prosecutor will be allowed writs of certiorari to review both ordinances, and all proceedings thereunder, including the assessments, based thereon.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- BELMONT LAND ASSOCIATION OF THE BOROUGH OF GARFIELD, PROSECUTOR v. THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF GARFIELD
- Status
- Published