APPENDIX A LEGISLATION AND DECISIONS (continued 2)

6

Acts of Massachusetts, 1912. Chap. 537

AN ACT to provide for reducing the betterments charged for the improvement of Bennington Boulevard in East Boston.

Section 1. The city of Boston is hereby required to reduce the betterments charged for the improvement of Bennington Boulevard in the East Boston district of the said city in such manner and to such extent as shall be agreed upon by the city and the owners of the lands concerned. In case of their failure to agree, the amount of the reduction to be made under the provisions of this act shall be determined by the superior court for the county of Suffolk, if a petition therefor is filed in the office of the clerk of the court by the owners of the land within two years after the passage of this act. The case shall be heard by a single judge, if the parties so agree, or by a jury if either party requests a trial by jury; and the jury shall view the premises if either party so requests.

III. EXCESS CONDEMNATION

1

Acts of Ohio, 1904. Found in the Annotated Statutes C. 2, P. 755

All municipal corporations shall have power to appropriate, enter upon and hold, real estate within their corporate limits for the following purposes: ...

12th: For establishing esplanades, boulevards, parkways, park grounds, and public reservations in, around and leading to public buildings, and for the purpose of reselling such land with reservations in the deeds of such resale as to the future use of said lands so as to protect public buildings and their environs, and to preserve the view, appearance, light, air, and usefulness of public grounds occupied by public buildings and esplanades, and parkways leading thereto.

2

Laws of Maryland, 1908. Chap. 166

Condemnation of Property. Baltimore

To acquire by purchase or condemnation any land or any interest therein which it may require for school-houses, engine-houses, court-houses, markets, streets, bridges and their approaches, the establishment or enlargement of parks, squares, gardens or other public places, the establishment of esplanades, boulevards, parkways, park grounds or public reservations around, adjacent, opposite or in proximity or leading to any public building or buildings, or which it may require for any other public or municipal purpose; and also any and all land and property or interest in land and property adjoining and extending such distance as may be adjudged necessary from any property in use or about to be acquired for such esplanade, boulevard, parkway, park grounds or public reservation, as aforesaid, the use of which said adjacent property it may be deemed necessary or beneficial to subject to lawful restrictions or control, in order to better protect or enhance the usefulness of such public building or buildings or in any manner to promote the interests of the public therein, or to more fully effectuate the purpose of the establishment of such esplanade, boulevard, parkway, park grounds or public reservations, and to sell thereafter such adjacent lands or property subject to such reservations or restrictions as to the subsequent use thereof, as may appear advisable for the protection of such public building or buildings, or for enhancing the usefulness thereof, or in any manner to promote the interests of the public therein, or for better insuring the protection or usefulness of such esplanade, boulevard, parkway, park grounds or public reservations, or in any manner to better accomplish the purposes and serve the public interests for which they shall have been or shall be established. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore may prescribe the procedure for condemnation of any land or property situated wholly within the City of Baltimore, which under the foregoing provisions it is authorized to condemn, but such procedure as the said Mayor and City Council of Baltimore may adopt shall include provision for reasonable notice to the owner or owners, and for appeals to the Baltimore City Court by any person interested, including the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore from the decision of any commissioners or other persons appointed to value such land or property, or interest therein. Nothing herein shall be construed as depriving the city of any power of condemnation for any purpose already vested in it. The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore shall have full power and authority to provide by ordinance for ascertaining whether any and what amount of benefits will accrue to the owner or possessor of any ground or improvements within the City of Baltimore by reason of the establishment or enlargement of any park, squares, gardens, esplanades, boulevards, parkways, park grounds, public reservations or other public places, for which said owner or possessor ought to pay compensation, and to provide by ordinance for assessing or levying the amount of such benefits on the property of persons so benefited; provided, that provision is made therein for reasonable notice to the person or persons against whom such benefits are to be assessed, and provided that provision be made for appeals to the Baltimore City Court by any person or persons interested, including the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, from the decision of any board, commissioners, or other persons appointed or authorized to assess such benefits.

3

Virginia Acts of Assembly, 1906. Chap. 194

Approved March 14, 1906

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That any city or town of this Commonwealth may acquire by purchase, gift or condemnation property adjoining its parks or plats on which its monuments are located, or other property used for public purposes or in the vicinity of such parks, plats or property which is used and maintained in such a manner as to impair the beauty, usefulness or efficiency of such parks, plats or public property, and may likewise acquire property adjacent to any street the topography of which, from its proximity thereof, impairs the convenient use of such street, or renders impracticable, without extraordinary expense, the improvements of the same, and the city or town so acquiring any such property may subsequently dispose of the property so acquired, making limitations as to the use thereof, which will protect the beauty, usefulness, efficiency or convenience of such parks, plats or property.

2. This act shall be in force on and after ninety days from the adjournment of the general assembly of Virginia.

4

Acts of Pennsylvania, 8 June, 1907. No. 315

AN ACT authorizing cities of this Commonwealth to purchase, acquire, take, use, and appropriate private property, for the purposes of making, enlarging, extending, and maintaining public parks, parkways, and playgrounds; authorizing the said cities to purchase, acquire, take, use, and appropriate neighboring private property, within two hundred feet of the boundary lines of such public parks, parkways and playgrounds, in order to protect the same by resale, with restrictions; authorizing the resale of such neighboring property, with such restrictions in the deeds of resale in regard to the use thereof as will protect such public park, parkways, and playgrounds; and providing for the manner of ascertaining, determining, awarding, and paying compensation and damages in all cases where property is taken, used, and appropriated for the said purposes.

Section 1. Be it enacted &c., That it shall be lawful for, and the right is hereby conferred upon, the cities of this Commonwealth to purchase, acquire, enter upon, take, use, and appropriate private property, for the purpose of making, enlarging, extending, and maintaining public parks, parkways, and play grounds within the corporate limits of such cities, whenever the councils thereof shall, by ordinance or joint resolution, determine thereon; That where such private property is outside of the city, it may be annexed thereto by ordinance of said city: And provided, That where any poorhouse properties are taken, and such cities shall have made adequate provisions for thereafter accommodating and supporting the poor of the districts, wards, and townships within such cities, wherein such poorhouses are located, nominal damages only shall be allowed for such taking, and the land shall be held on condition that such city shall continue to make adequate provisions for the poor of such districts, wards or townships.

Section 2. It shall be lawful for, and the right is hereby conferred upon, cities of this Commonwealth to purchase, acquire, enter upon, take, use, and appropriate neighboring private property, within two hundred feet of the boundary lines of such property so taken, used, and appropriated for public parks, parkways, and playgrounds, in order to protect the same by the resale of such neighboring property with restrictions, whenever the councils thereof shall, by ordinance or joint resolution, determine thereon: Provided, That in the said ordinance or joint resolution, the councils thereof shall declare that the control of such neighboring property, within two hundred feet of the boundary lines of such public parks, parkways, or playgrounds, is reasonably necessary, in order to protect such public parks, parkways, or playgrounds, their environs, the preservation of the view, appearance, light, air, health, or usefulness thereof.

Section 3. That it shall be lawful for, and the right is hereby conferred upon, the cities of this Commonwealth to resell such neighboring property, with such restrictions in the deeds of resale in regard to the use thereof as will fully insure the protection of such public parks, parkways, and playgrounds, their environs, the preservation of the view, appearance, light, air, health and usefulness thereof, whenever the councils thereof shall, by ordinance or joint resolution, determine thereon.

Section 4. The taking, using, and appropriating, by the right of eminent domain as herein provided, of private property for the purpose of making, enlarging, extending, and maintaining public parks, parkways, and playgrounds, and of neighboring property, within two hundred feet of the boundary lines of such public parks, parkways, and playgrounds, in order to protect such public parks, parkways, and playgrounds, their environs, the preservation of the view, appearance, light, air, health, and usefulness thereof, by reselling such neighboring property, with such restrictions in the deeds of resale as will protect said property, so taken for the aforesaid purpose, is hereby declared to be taking, using, and appropriating of such private property for public use: Provided, however, That the proceeds arising from the resale of any such property so taken, shall be deposited in the treasury of said cities, and be subject to general appropriation by the councils of said city.

Section 5. In all cases wherein cities of this Commonwealth shall hereafter take, use, and appropriate private property for the aforesaid purposes, by ordinance or joint resolution, if the compensation and damages arising therefrom cannot be agreed upon by the owners thereof and such cities, such compensation and damages shall be considered, ascertained, determined, awarded, and paid in the manner provided in an act entitled “An act providing for the manner of ascertaining, determining, awarding, and paying compensation and damages in all cases where municipalities of this Commonwealth may hereafter be authorized by law to take, use, and appropriate private property for the purpose of making, enlarging, and maintaining public parks, within the corporate limits of such municipality,” approved the eighth day of June, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and ninety-five.

Section 6. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

Approved the eighth day of June, A.D. 1907.

Edwin S. Stuart.

5

Pennsylvania Mutual Life Ins. Co. vs. Philadelphia

Pa. Supreme Court. April 15, 1913.

Bill in equity for an injunction to restrain the city of Philadelphia from appropriating certain land under the provisions of the Act of June 8, 1907 (text is given on page 272), and that the ordinance of Jan. 16, 1913, be declared unconstitutional.

From the record it appeared that by ordinance, councils of Philadelphia undertook to appropriate certain land within 200 feet of a proposed parkway.

By ordinance of Jan. 16, 1913, the mayor was authorized to enter into an agreement on behalf of the city with the Bell Telephone Co., whereby the land so appropriated should be conveyed to the telephone company in fee, subject to certain building restrictions. The purpose of the transaction was admittedly to protect the parkway from the construction of an unsightly building in the vicinity.

The lower court held the act constitutional but awarded the injunction on the ground that the ordinance of Jan. 16, 1913, was defective in that it was not preceded by an ordinance prescribing general restrictions for the protection of the parkway. Plaintiff and defendant appealed.

Opinion:

“The view we take of the case requires us to determine the single question whether the purpose or use for which the city intends to take the plaintiff’s land is a public use within the constitutional provision permitting its appropriation under the power of eminent domain.... Primarily the question is for the legislative department of the government, but ultimately for the courts.... There is no constitutional or statutory definition of the words ‘public use,’ and none of the adjudicated cases has given a definition of the words which can have universal application. It has been held that the words are equivalent to public benefit or advantage, while numerous other cases hold that to constitute a public use the property must be taken into direct control of the public or of public agencies, or the public must have the right to use in some way the property appropriated.

We think this (latter) interpretation of the words ‘public use’ is in accord with their plain and natural signification, and with the weight of the best considered authorities. It furnishes a certain guide to the legislature as well as to the courts in appropriating private property for public use. It enables the state and the owner to determine directly their respective rights in the latter’s property. If, however, public benefit, utility or advantage is to be the test of a public use, then, as suggested by the authorities, the right to condemn the property will not depend on a fixed standard by which the legislative and judicial departments of the government are to be guided, but upon the views of those who at the time are to determine the question. There will be no limit to the power of either the legislature or the courts to appropriate private property to public use except their individual opinions as to what is and what is not for the public advantage and utility. If such considerations are to prevail, the constitutional guarantees as to private property will be of small moment....

We think that the sections of the Act of 1907, authorizing the acquisition of private property outside a public park, parkway and playground, are not a constitutional exercise of legislative authority. It will be observed that these sections confer authority to appropriate and resell with such restrictions as may be prescribed property outside the line of the parkway, and it is justified by declaring that it is done to protect the parkway and for the preservation of the view, appearance, light, air, healthfulness or usefulness thereof. The protection of the highway is the only ‘public use’ to which the land is to be applied. The property is not to be taken and held by the city for any use for which a statute confers on the city the right to appropriate it.... Prior to this legislation, the state had not authorized the taking of private property by the exercise of the power of eminent domain for such purpose. It is a step far in advance of the policy of the state as heretofore declared in her organic law, and is a liberal construction of a power which we have uniformly held must be strictly construed.

Holding as we do that the use to be made of property located outside a public highway is not a public use for which private property may be taken by the city against the consent of the owners, the effect of the act of 1907 is to permit the taking of the property of one citizen without his consent and vesting the title thereto in another.... One may be deprived of his home for the benefit of another. In view of its provisions conferring almost unlimited discretion on cities or their officials in exercising the powers granted, it is idle to say that the statute furnished no opportunity to produce such results or to promote a private purpose....

The court below is directed to enter a decree declaring unconstitutional so much of the Act of June 8, 1907, as authorizes cities to take and appropriate neighboring private property within 200 feet of the boundary line of property appropriated for public parks, parkways and playgrounds, ... and enjoining perpetually the city from appropriating plaintiff’s property outside of and adjacent to the parkway.”

6

Constitution of Massachusetts. Article 10, Part 1

Amended, Nov., 1911

The legislature may by special acts for the purpose of laying out, widening or relocating highways or streets, authorize the taking in fee by the commonwealth, or by a county, city or town, of more land and property than are needed for the actual construction of such highway or street: provided, however, that the land and property authorized to be taken are specified in the act and are no more in extent than would be sufficient for suitable building lots on both sides of such highway or street, and after so much of the land or property has been appropriated for such highway or street as is needed therefor, may authorize the sale of the remainder for value with or without suitable restrictions.

7

Proposed Amendment to Constitution of New York. Article I, Section 6

Defeated, 1911

“When private property shall be taken for public use by a municipal corporation, additional adjoining and neighboring property may be taken under conditions to be prescribed by the legislature by general laws; property thus taken shall be deemed to be taken for public use.”[166]

8

Amendment to Constitution of Wisconsin, Article XI

Adopted Nov. 4, 1912

Section 3a. The state or any of its cities may acquire by gift, purchase or condemnation lands for establishing, laying out, widening, enlarging, extending, and maintaining memorial grounds, streets, squares, parkways, boulevards, parks, playgrounds, sites for public buildings, and reservations in and about and along and leading to any or all of the same; and after the establishment, lay-out, and completion of such improvements, may convey any such real estate thus acquired and not necessary for such improvements, with reservations concerning the future use and occupation of such real estate, so as to protect such public works and improvements, and their environs, and to preserve the view, appearance, light, air, and usefulness of such public works.

9

Amendment To Constitution of Ohio, Article XVIII

Adopted 1912

Section 10. A municipality appropriating or otherwise acquiring property for public use may in furtherance of such public use appropriate or acquire an excess over that actually to be occupied by the improvement, and may sell such excess with such restrictions as shall be appropriate to preserve the improvement made. Bonds may be issued to supply the funds in whole or in part to pay for the excess property so appropriated or otherwise acquired, but said bonds shall be a lien only against the property so acquired for the improvement and excess, and they shall not be a liability of the municipality nor be included in any limitation of the bonded indebtedness of such municipality prescribed by law.

IV. LEGISLATION CREATING PLANNING AGENCIES

A. BOARDS OF SURVEY

Acts of Massachusetts, 1907, Chap. 191

AN ACT to authorize the Establishment of Boards of Survey in Towns.

Section 1. The selectmen of any town which accepts the provisions of this act shall constitute a board of survey for that town.

Section 2. Any person or corporation desiring to lay out, locate or construct any street or way in any town which accepts the provisions of this act, after the date of such acceptance, shall, before the beginning of such construction, submit to said board of survey suitable plans of such street or way, to be prepared in accordance with such rules and regulations as the board may prescribe. Upon the receipt of such plans, with a petition for their approval, the board shall give a public hearing thereon, after giving notice of such hearing by publication once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published in the town, the last publication to be at least two days before the hearing; and after such hearing the board may alter such plans and may determine where such street or way shall be located, and the width and grades thereof, and shall so designate on said plans. The plans shall then be approved and signed by the board and filed in the office of the clerk of the town, who shall attest thereon the date of the filing.

Section 3. The board of survey shall from time to time cause to be made under its direction plans of such territory or sections of land in any town which accepts the provisions of this act, as the board may deem advisable, showing thereon the location of such street or ways, whether already laid out or not, as the board shall be of opinion that the present or future interests of the public require or will require in such territory, showing clearly the direction, width and grades of each street or way; and the board may employ such assistants and incur such expenses in regard to said plans as it may deem necessary, not exceeding the amount of money appropriated by the town for the purpose. Before making any such plan the board shall give a public hearing as to the location, direction, width and grades of streets or ways in the territory to be shown on the plan, after giving notice of such hearing by publication once a week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published in the town, the last publication to be at least two weeks before the hearing, and shall, after making any such plan, give a like notice of hearing, and a hearing thereon, and shall keep the plan open to public inspection for one month after the first publication of notice of such hearing. After such hearing and after the alterations deemed necessary by the board have been made in such plan, the plan shall be marked as made under the provisions of this act, shall be signed by the board, and shall then be filed in the office of the clerk of said town, who shall attest thereon the date of such filing.

Section 5. If any building shall hereafter be placed or erected in any town which accepts the provisions of this act within the boundaries of any street or way shown on any plan filed with the town clerk as herein provided, or on land adjacent to any such street or way the grade of which at the time of placing or erecting such building is other than the grade shown on said plan, or on land adjacent to any street or way the plan and profile of which have not been approved by said board of survey, no damages caused to any building so placed or erected, by the construction of such street or way as shown on said plan, or caused to any building so placed or erected, or to the land upon which such building is placed or erected, by the subsequent change of grade of any street or way the plan of which has not been approved by said board of survey, shall be recovered by or paid to the owner of the whole or any part of the estate of which the land upon which said building so placed or erected formed a part at the date of the first publication of notice of hearing as aforesaid.

B. PLANNING COMMISSIONS

1

Acts of Massachusetts, 1913. Chap. 494

AN ACT to provide for the establishment of local planning boards by cities and towns.

Section 1. Every city of the commonwealth, and every town having a population of more than ten thousand at the last preceding national or state census, is hereby authorized and directed to create a board to be known as the planning board, whose duty it shall be to make careful studies of the resources, possibilities and needs of the city or town, particularly with respect to conditions which may be injurious to the public health or otherwise injurious in and about rented dwellings, and to make plans for the development of the municipality with special reference to the proper housing of its people. In cities, the said board shall be appointed by the mayor, subject to confirmation by the council, and in cities under a commission form of government, so called, the members of the board shall be appointed by the governing body of the city. In towns, the members of the board shall be elected by the voters at the annual town meeting.

Section 2. Every planning board established hereunder shall make a report annually to the city council or governing body in cities and to the annual town meeting in towns, giving information regarding the condition of the city or town and any plans or proposals for the development of the city or town and estimates of the cost thereof; and it shall be the duty of every such local planning board to file a copy of all reports made by it with the homestead commission.

Section 3. The homestead commission, created by chapter six hundred and seven of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and eleven, is hereby directed to call the attention of the mayor and city governments in cities and the selectmen in each town having a population of more than ten thousand at the last preceding national or state census to the provisions of this act in such form as may seem proper; and said commission is furthermore authorized and directed to furnish information and suggestions from time to time to city governments and to the selectmen of towns and to local planning boards, when the same shall have been created, such as may, in its judgment, tend to promote the purposes of this act and of those for which the said commission was established.

Section 4. The city council or other governing body in cities is authorized to make suitable ordinances, and towns are authorized to make suitable by-laws, for carrying out the purposes of this act, and they may appropriate money therefor.

Section 5. This act shall take effect upon its passage. Approved April 16, 1913.

2

Laws of New York, 1913. Chap. 699

AN ACT to amend the general municipal law by adding thereto a provision authorizing cities and incorporated villages to appoint planning commissions, and to appropriate money for the same.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. The general municipal law is hereby amended by adding thereto a new article to be numbered twelve-a, to be entitled city and village planning commissions, and to read as follows:

ARTICLE 12-a

City and Village Planning Commissions

Section 234. Creation, Appointment and Qualifications.

235. Officers, Expenses and Assistance.

236. General Powers.

237. Maps and Recommendations.

238. Private Streets.

239. Rules.

239-a. Construction of Article.

Section 234. Creation, Appointment and Qualifications. Each city and incorporated village is hereby authorized and empowered to create a commission to be known as the city or village planning commission. Such commission shall be so created in incorporated villages by resolution of the trustees, in cities by ordinance of the common council, except that in cities of the first class, having more than a million inhabitants, it shall be by resolution of the board of estimate and apportionment or other similar local authority. In cities of the first class such commission shall consist of not more than eleven, in cities of the second class of not more than nine, in cities of the third class and incorporated villages of not more than seven members. Such ordinance or resolution shall specify the public officer or body of said municipality, that shall appoint such commissioners, and shall provide that the appointment of as nearly as possible one third of them shall be for a term of one year, one third for a term of two years, and one third for a term of three years; and that at the expiration of such terms, the terms of office of their successors shall be three years; so that the term of office of one third of such commissioners, as nearly as possible, shall expire each year. All appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired term. Not more than one third of the members of said commission shall hold any other public office in said city or village.

Section 235. Officers, Expenses and Assistance. The commission shall elect annually a chairman from its own members. It shall have the power and authority to employ experts, clerks, and a secretary, and to pay for their services and such other expenses as may be necessary and proper, not exceeding, in all, the annual appropriation that may be made by said city or village for said commission. The body creating the commission shall by ordinance or resolution provide what compensation if any, each of such commissioners shall receive for his services as such commissioner. Each city and incorporated village is hereby authorized and empowered to make such appropriation as it may see fit for such expenses and compensation, such appropriations to be made by those officers or bodies in such city or village having charge of the appropriation of the public funds.

Section 236. General Powers. The body creating such planning commission may, at any time, by ordinance or resolution, provide that the following matters, or any one or more of them, shall be referred for report thereon, to such commission by the board, commission, commissioner or other public officer or officers of said city or village which is the final authority thereon before final action thereon by such authority: the adoption of any map or plan of said city or incorporated village, or part thereof, including drainage and sewer or water system plans or maps, and plans or maps for any public water front, or marginal street, or public structure upon, in or in connection with such front or street, or for any dredging, filling or fixing of lines with relation to said front; any change of any such maps or plans; the location of any public structure upon, in or in connection with, or fixing lines with relation to said front; the location of any public building, bridge, statue or monument, highway, park, parkway, square, playground or recreation ground, or public open place of said city or village. In default of any such ordinance or resolution all of said matters shall be so referred to said planning commission.

The body creating such planning commission may, at any time, by ordinance or resolution, fix the time within which such planning commission shall report upon any matter or class of matters to be referred to it, with or without the further provision that in default of report within the time so fixed, the planning commission shall forfeit the right further to suspend action, as aforesaid with regard to the particular matter upon which it has so defaulted. In default of any such ordinance or resolution, no such action shall be taken until such report is so received, and no adoption, change, fixing or location as aforesaid by said final authority, prior thereto, shall be valid. No ordinance or resolution shall deprive said planning commission of its right or relieve it of its duty, to report, at such time as it deems proper, upon any matter at any time referred to it.

This section shall not be construed as intended to limit or impair the power of any art commission, park commission or commissioner, now or hereafter existing by virtue of any provision of law, to refuse consent to the acceptance by any municipality of the gift of any work of art to said municipality, without reference of the matter, by reason of its proposed location or otherwise, to said planning commission. Nor shall this section be construed as intended to limit or impair any other power of any such art commission or affect the same, except in so far as it provides for reference or report, or both, on any matter before final action thereon by said art commission.

Section 237. Maps and Recommendations. Such planning commission may cause to be made a map or maps of said city or village or any portion thereof, or of any land outside the limits of said city or village so near or so related thereto that in the opinion of said planning commission it should be so mapped. Such plans may show not only such matters as by law have been or may be referred to the planning commission, but also any and all matters and things with relation to the plan of said city or village which to said planning commission seem necessary and proper, including recommendations and changes suggested by it; and any report at any time made, may include any of the above. Such planning commission may obtain expert assistance in the making of any such maps or reports, or in the investigations necessary and proper with relation thereto.

Section 238. Private Streets. The body creating such planning commission may at any time, by ordinance or resolution, provide that no plan, plot or description, showing the layout of any highway or street upon private property, or of building lots in connection with or in relation to such highway or street shall, within the limits of any municipality having a planning commission, as aforesaid, be received for record in the office of the clerk of the county where such real property is situated, until a copy of said plan, plot or description has been filed with said commission and it has certified, with relation thereto, its approval thereof. Such certificate shall be recorded as a part of the record of said original instrument containing said plan, plot, or description. No such street or highway which has not received the approval of the planning commission shall be accepted by said city or village until the matter has been referred to such commission under the provision of section two hundred and thirty-six of this article. But if any such street is plotted or laid out in accordance with the map of said municipality, adopted according to law, then it shall not be necessary to file such copy, or obtain or record such certificate.

Section 239. Rules. Such commission may make rules not contrary to law, to govern its action in carrying out the provisions of this article.

Section 239-a. Construction of Article. This article shall be construed as the grant of additional power and authority to cities and incorporated villages, and not as intended to limit or impair any existing power or authority of any city or village.

Any city or incorporated village in order to appoint a planning commission under this article shall recite, in the ordinance or resolution so creating the commission, the fact that it is created under this article.

Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

State of New York, } ss: Office of the Secretary of State. }

I have compared the preceding with the original law on file in this office, and do hereby certify that the same is a correct transcript therefrom and of the whole of the said original law.

Mitchell May, Secretary of State.

3

Laws of Pennsylvania, General Assembly. No. 406, of 1913

A SUPPLEMENT to an Act entitled, “An act providing for the incorporation and government of cities of the third class,” approved the twenty-third day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred eighty-nine, creating a City Planning Department, defining its jurisdiction, and extending the same so as to regulate the laying out and recording of plans of lots within the limits of the city, and for three miles beyond the city limits; and to regulate the making and use of certain public improvements until said plans are approved by said department and authorizing the exercise of the powers herein provided by a park or other municipal commission.

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That an additional executive department in the government of cities of the third class is hereby created, to be known as the Department of City Planning, which shall be in charge of a City Planning Commission, consisting of five persons, to be appointed by the mayor and councils. In the first instance, one member of said commission shall be appointed for one year, one member for two years, one member for three years, one member for four years, and one member for five years, and annually thereafter a member of said commission shall be appointed for a term of five years. An appointment to fill a casual vacancy shall be only for the unexpired portion of the term. All members of the said commission shall reside within the zone of jurisdiction of said commission, as hereinafter defined. They may make and alter rules and regulations for their own organization and procedure, consistent with the ordinances of the city and the laws of the Commonwealth. They shall serve without compensation, and make annually to the mayor and councils a report of their transactions. They may employ engineers and other persons, whose salaries and wages, and other necessary expenses of the commission, shall be provided for through proper appropriation by councils.

Section 2. The clerks of council shall, upon introduction, furnish to the City Planning Commission, for its consideration, a copy of all ordinances and bills, and all amendments thereto, relating to the location of any public building of the city; and to the location, extension, widening, narrowing, enlargement, ornamentation, and parking of any street, boulevard, parkway, park, playground, or other public ground; and to the relocation, vacation, curtailment, changes of use, or any other alteration of the city plan, with relation to any of the same; and to the location of any bridge, tunnel, and subway, or any surface, underground, or elevated railway. The said commission shall have the power to disapprove any of the said ordinances, bills, or amendments, which disapproval, however, must be communicated to councils, in writing, within ten days from the introduction of said ordinances; but such disapproval shall not operate as a veto.

Section 3. The City Planning Commission may make or cause to be made, and lay before councils, and at its discretion cause to be published, maps of the city or any portion thereof, including territory extending three miles beyond the city limits, showing the streets, and highways and other natural and artificial features, and also locations proposed by it for any new public buildings, civic centre, street, parkway, park, playground, or any other public ground or public improvement, or any widening, extension, or relocation of the same, or any change in the city plan by it deemed advisable; and it may make recommendations to councils, from time to time, concerning any such matters and things aforesaid, for action by councils thereto; and, in so doing, have regard for the present conditions and future needs and growth of the city, and the distribution and relative location of all the principal and other streets and railways, waterways, and all other means of public travel and business communications, as well as the distribution and relative location of all public buildings, public grounds, and open spaces devoted to public use.

Section 4. The City Planning Commission may make recommendations to any public authorities, or any corporations or individuals in said cities, with reference to the location of any buildings, structures, or works to be erected or constructed by them.

Section 5. All plans, plots, or re-plots of lands laid out in building lots, and the streets, alleys, or other portions of the same intended to be dedicated to public use, or for the use of purchasers or owners of lots fronting thereon or adjacent thereto, and located within the city limits, or for a distance of three miles outside thereof, shall be submitted to the City Planning Commission and approved by it before it shall be recorded. And it shall be unlawful to receive or record such plan in any public office unless the same shall bear thereon, by endorsement or otherwise, the approval of the City Planning Commission. The disapproval of any such plan by the City Planning Commission shall be deemed a refusal of the proposed dedication shown thereon. The approval of the commission shall be deemed an acceptance of the proposed dedication; but shall not impose any duty upon the city concerning the maintenance or improvement of any such dedicated parts, until the proper authorities of the city shall have made actual appropriation of the same by entry, use, or improvement. No sewer, water, or gas-main, or pipes, or other improvement, shall be voted or made within the area under the jurisdiction of said commission, for the use of any such purchasers or owners; nor shall any permit for connection with or other use of any such improvement existing, or for any other reason made, be given to any such purchasers or owners until such plan is so approved. Where the jurisdictional limit of three miles outside of the city limits, as provided in this section, may conflict with the zone of similar character connected with another city of the third class, the jurisdiction of said commission shall extend only to the point equidistant between the city limits and the limits of said municipality.

Section 6. It shall be proper for said cities to provide, by ordinance, for the exercise of all rights and powers herein conferred upon the City Planning Commission, by a park commission, or kindred municipal bureau or commission, authorized under existing laws. And no person holding office under the government of any of said cities, except the mayor, members of councils, or commissioners, shall be ineligible to serve as a member of a City Planning Commission.

Section 7. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are repealed.

Approved—The 16th day of July, A. D. 1913.

John K. Tener.

The foregoing is a true and correct copy of the Act of the General Assembly, No. 406.

Robert McAfee, Secretary of the Commonwealth.

4

Laws of New Jersey, 1913. Chap. 72

AN ACT to enable cities of the first class in this State to provide for a city plan commission and provide funds for the same and defining the duties thereof.

Be it enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. In cities of the first class it shall be lawful for the mayor to appoint a commission to be known as the “City Plan Commission,” to consist of not more than nine citizens of such city, and the terms of office of all of such commissioners shall begin upon the first day of January next succeeding the date of their appointment in such city.

Whenever commissioners shall be appointed under this act, the terms of such commissioners shall be divided into classes of one, two and three years, and the mayor shall designate which of such commissioners shall hold such respective terms under the first appointment, and shall divide the said commissioners, as nearly as may be, into such classes, and said commissioners first appointed as aforesaid shall hold their terms for one, two and three years respectively.

All subsequent appointments shall be for the term of three years, and in case any vacancy arises the appointment to fill the same shall be for the unexpired term.

Any city plan commission now existing in any such city shall be continued, but with the powers and duties herein provided, until the appointment of new commissioners, under the provisions of this act.

2. Such commissions shall serve without pay, and it shall be the duty of such commission to prepare, from time to time, plans for the systematic and further development and betterment of such city. It shall have the power and authority to employ experts, clerks and a secretary, and to pay for their services, and to pay for such other expenses as such commission may lawfully incur under the powers hereby granted, including the necessary disbursements incurred by its members in the performance of their duties as members of said commission; provided, however, that the total amount so expended in any one year shall not exceed the appropriation for such year as hereinafter provided.

The said city plan commission may consider and investigate any subject matter tending to the development and betterment of such city, and make such recommendations as it may deem advisable concerning the adoption thereof to any department of the municipal government, and for any purpose make, or cause to be made, surveys, plans or maps.

3. All questions concerning the location and architectural design of any work of art, statue or other memorial within such city shall be referred to the city plan commission for its consideration and report before final action is taken thereon.

All plats or replats of any lands within the limits of such city shall be submitted to the city plan commission for its recommendation before the same are approved.

4. It shall be lawful for the board or body having charge of the finances of any city of the first class as aforesaid, to appropriate any amount not exceeding twenty-five thousand (25,000) dollars any year that such commission may remain in existence, for the expenses of such city plan commission, and the moneys required for the expenses of said commission shall be raised by annual tax upon real and personal property as other taxes are raised in and for such city; provided, however, that for the fiscal year in which this act becomes effective, such moneys may be raised by said board or body having charge of the finances of such city, by appropriating for that purpose any moneys in the treasury of such city not otherwise appropriated, or by issuing and selling temporary loan bonds or certificates of indebtedness; provided, that such bonds or certificates shall be sold at public or private sale, after due advertisement, at not less than par; which bonds shall bear interest at not more than five per centum per annum, and the payment thereof, with interest, shall be provided for in the next tax levy.

5. All acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

6. This act shall take effect immediately. Approved March 12, 1913.

5

Special Acts of Connecticut, 1907. No. 61

Section 1. That there shall be in the city of Hartford a commission on the city plan, which shall consist of the mayor, who shall be its presiding officer, the president of the board of street commissioners, the president of the board of park commissioners, the city engineer, two citizens, neither of whom shall hold any other office in said city government, one member of the board of aldermen, and one member of the common council board, to be appointed as hereinafter provided.

Section 2. The necessary expenses of said commission shall be paid by the city, but no member thereof shall be paid for his services as such member.

Section 3. Terms of commissioners....

Section 4. All questions concerning the location of any public building, esplanade, boulevard, parkway, street, highway, square, or park shall be referred to said commission by the court of common council for its consideration and report before final action is taken on such location.

Section 5. The court of common council may refer to said commission the construction or carrying out of any public work not expressly within the province of other boards or commissions of said city, and may delegate to said commission all powers which the said council deems necessary to complete such work in all details.

Section 6. Said commission may make or cause to be made a map or maps of said city, or any portion thereof, showing locations proposed by it for any new public building, esplanade, boulevard, parkway, or street, and grades thereof, any street, building, and veranda lines and grades thereon, or for any new square or park, or any changes by it deemed advisable in the present location of any public building, street, grades and lines, square or park, and may employ expert advice in the making of such map or maps.

Section 7. Said City of Hartford, acting through said commission or otherwise, shall have power to appropriate, enter upon, and hold in fee real estate within its corporate limits for establishing esplanades, boulevards, parkways, park grounds, streets, highways, squares, sites for public buildings, and reservations in and about and along and leading to any or all of the same; and, after the establishment, lay-out, and completion of such improvements, may convey any real estate, thus acquired and not necessary for such improvements, with or without reservations, concerning the future use and occupation of such real estate so as to protect such public works and improvements and their environs, and to preserve the view, appearance, light, air, and usefulness of such public works.

6

Acts of Maryland, 1910. Chap. 144

AN ACT to add a new section relating to the creation of a Commission on City Plan to Article 4, entitled “City of Baltimore,” of the Code of Public Local Laws of Maryland, to come in immediately after Section 200, and to be known as Section 200a.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, That a new section be and the same is hereby added to Article 4, entitled “City of Baltimore,” of the Code of Public Local Laws of Maryland, to come in immediately after Section 200 and to be known as Section 200a, and to read as follows:

200a. There shall be a Commission on City Plan, to consist of the Mayor of the City of Baltimore and eight other members who shall be appointed by the Mayor in the manner prescribed in Section twenty-five of this Article, who shall hold their offices as in said section provided, and shall serve without pay; one of the said commissioners shall be president of said commission, and shall be so designated by the Mayor; the said commission may elect a secretary, who shall be paid such salary as may be provided for by ordinance and who shall perform such duties as may be from time to time prescribed by said commission. The said commission shall investigate all plans proposed for the construction or extension of public highways in the City of Baltimore and the establishment of a civic centre or other public improvements in connection therewith, and shall report the results of such investigations from time to time to the Mayor and City Council, and shall perform such other duties and exercise such other powers as may be delegated to it or as may be prescribed by ordinances not inconsistent with this Article.

7

Charter of City of Cleveland

Adopted July 1, 1913

Section 77. City Plan Commission. There shall be a city plan commission to be appointed by the mayor with power to control, in the manner provided by ordinance, the design and location of works of art which are, or may become, the property of the city; the plan, design and location of public buildings, harbors, bridges, viaducts, street fixtures, and other structures and appurtenances; the removal, relocation and alteration of any such works belonging to the city; the location, extension and platting of streets, parks and other public places, and of new areas; and the preparation of plans for the future physical development and improvement of the city.

8

Laws of Pennsylvania. General Assembly. No. 226, of 1913

AN ACT to create Suburban Metropolitan Districts of the areas within twenty-five miles of the limits of cities of the first class; to provide for the creation of a Department of Suburban Metropolitan Planning and the appointment of Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commissions for such districts; to prescribe their powers and duties; and to provide for assessment upon the cities, boroughs and townships within the limits thereof.

Whereas, The establishment of Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commissions having jurisdiction over territory adjacent to cities of the first class is desirable, in order to provide for its proper development by the coöperation of the various local governmental units in matters pertaining to their common welfare; and

Whereas, It is desirable, that there should be co-ordination of effort with Urban Metropolitan Planning Commissions, relating to cities of the first class themselves, wherever the same may exist:—

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That in order to secure coördinated, comprehensive plans of highways and roads, parks and parkways, and all other means of intercommunication, water-supply, sewerage and sewage disposal, collection and disposal of garbage, housing, sanitation and health playgrounds, civic centers, and other public improvements, as hereinafter provided for, the districts surrounding and within twenty-five miles of the limits of cities of the first class, whether in one or more counties, and in order to prevent waste by unnecessary duplication, the areas included within twenty-five miles of the limits of cities of the first class shall be denominated the Suburban Metropolitan Districts of cities of the first class of Pennsylvania. When any city, borough, or township is partly within and partly without the twenty-five mile limit, the whole of such city, borough, or township shall be regarded as within the Suburban Metropolitan District.

Section 2. There shall be an executive department created for every Suburban Metropolitan District, to be known as the Department of Suburban Metropolitan Planning, which shall be in charge of a Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Section 3. The Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commission shall be appointed by the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, and shall consist of fifteen members, who may or may not hold other public office, whether for profit or otherwise, of whom twelve shall be residents of the district involved, and three shall be residents of the said city of the first class, five members to be appointed to serve for one year, five for two years, five for three years; then, thereafter, each appointment to be for three years.

An appointment to fill a casual vacancy shall be for the unexpired portion of the term. Nine shall constitute a quorum.

The Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commission shall make and alter rules and regulations for its own organization and procedure, consistent with the laws of the Commonwealth. From its own members it shall choose a chairman and vice-chairman. Each member shall serve without compensation. On or before January tenth of each and every year, the Commission shall make to the mayor of each city, to councils of each borough, to the commissioners of each first class township, and to the supervisors of each second class township, within the Suburban Metropolitan District, to the mayor of the said city of the first class, and to the Governor of the State of Pennsylvania, a report of its transactions and recommendations. The Commission may employ a secretary, engineers, and other experts and persons, whose salaries and wages, as well as all the other necessary expenses of the Commission and members thereof, shall be provided for as hereinafter set forth.

Section 4. The Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commission shall make, or cause to be made, and laid before the respective governmental authorities of the district, and, in its discretion, caused to be published, a map or maps of the entire district, or any portion or portions thereof, showing any or all systems of transportation, highways and roads, parks, parkways, water-supply, sewerage and sewage disposal, collection and disposal of garbage, housing, sanitation, playgrounds and civic centers, or of other natural physical features of the district; and it shall prepare plans for any new or enlarged facilities for intercommunication, parks, parkways, water-supply systems, sewers, sewage disposal, garbage disposal, land plottings and housing arrangements, playgrounds and civic centers, or any other public improvement that will affect the character of the district as a whole, or more than one political unit within the district, or any widening, extension, or relocation of the same, or any change in the existing township or borough or city plans, by it deemed advisable. And it shall make recommendations to the respective governmental authorities, from time to time, concerning any such matters or things aforesaid, for action by the respective legislative, administrative, or governmental bodies thereon; and in so doing have regard for the present conditions and future needs and growth of the district, and the distribution and relative location of all the principal and other streets, and railways, waterways, and all other means of public travel and business communications, as well as the distribution and relative location of all public buildings, public grounds, and open spaces devoted to public use, and the planning, subdivision and laying out for urban uses of private grounds brought into the market from time to time.

Section 5. Any city, borough, or township, within any Suburban Metropolitan District, may request the Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commission of that district to prepare plans concerning any of the subjects set forth in section four of this act; whereupon it shall be the duty of the Commission to prepare such plans with dispatch.

Section 6. The Suburban Metropolitan Planning Commission may make recommendations to any public authorities, or any corporation or individual in said districts, with reference to the location of any buildings and structures to be constructed by them.

Section 7. The plans so made and laid before the respective governmental authorities by the Suburban Metropolitan District Planning Commission, according to sections four, five and six, shall be considered by such respective authorities, and followed by them in so far as shall be determined by each authority:

Provided however, That the provisions of this act shall not abridge or in any way affect the provisions of an act, entitled “An act creating a Department of Health, and defining its powers and duties,” approved the twenty-seventh day of April, Anno Domini, one thousand nine hundred and five; or the provisions of an act, entitled “An act to preserve the purity of the waters of the State, for the protection of the public health,” approved the twenty-second day of April, one thousand nine hundred and five.

Section 8. On or before January tenth of each and every year, the Commission shall prepare an estimate of its expenses for the ensuing year, setting forth with as much detail as is practicable the items of which such estimate is composed; and shall cause the amount of its expenses so estimated, after deducting the cash on hand and the unpaid assessments, to be assessed against the cities, boroughs, and townships within the district, in proportion to their respective tax duplicates. The itemized estimate of expenses and a statement of the rate of assessment shall be spread upon the minutes of the Commission, which shall be kept open at all times for public inspection. Each and every assessment, when certified by the chairman and secretary of the Commission, shall constitute a charge on the treasury of the respective city, borough, and township, and its immediate payment shall be at once provided for. The Commission shall have power to secure payment of the assessments by suits of mandamus, or otherwise: Provided, That the rate of assessment shall not exceed one-tenth of one mill.

Approved—The 23d day of May, A. D. 1913.

JOHN K. TENER.

The following is a true and correct copy of the Act of the General Assembly No. 226.

Robert McAfee, Secretary of the Commonwealth.

9

Laws of Pennsylvania. General Assembly No. 456, of 1913

AN ACT to amend an act, entitled “An act creating an art jury for cities of the first class, and prescribing its powers and duties,” approved the twenty-fifth day of May, Anno Domini one thousand nine hundred and seven.

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That section three of an act, entitled “An act creating an art jury for cities of the first class, and prescribing its powers and duties,” approved the twenty-fifth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and seven, which reads as follows:—

“Section 3. The members of the jury shall serve without compensation; and from their own number shall elect a president and secretary, to serve for one year, and until their successors are elected. The jury shall have power to adopt its own rules of procedure and to prescribe regulations for the submission to it of all matters within its jurisdiction. Five members shall constitute a quorum. The councils of said city shall, by ordinance, provide for the necessary expenses of the jury, including the salaries of such clerk or clerks as may be required and appointed by the mayor of said cities,” is hereby amended so that it shall read:—

Section 3. The members of the jury shall serve without compensation; and from their own number shall elect a president and vice-president, to serve for one year, and until their successors are elected. The jury shall have power to adopt its own rules of procedure and to prescribe regulations for the submission to it of all matters within its jurisdiction. Five members shall constitute a quorum. The jury shall have power to employ a secretary, and such clerks, stenographers and other assistants as it may require. All employees of the jury shall be exempt from the provisions of the act to regulate and improve the civil service of the cities of the first class, approved March fifth, one thousand nine hundred and six. The councils of said city shall, by ordinance, provide for the necessary expense of the jury, including the salaries of its employees.

Section 2. That said act is hereby further amended by adding the following:—

Section 7. No construction or erection, in a city of the first class, of any building, bridge or its approaches, arch, gate, fence, or other structure or fixture, which is to be paid for, either wholly or in part, by appropriation from the city treasury, or other public funds, or for which the city, or any other public authority, is to furnish a site, shall be begun, unless the design and proposed location thereof shall have been submitted to the jury, at least sixty days before the final approval thereof, by the officer or other person having authority to contract therefor. The approval of the jury shall also be required in respect to all structures or fixtures belonging to any person or corporation, which shall be erected upon, or extend over, any highway, stream, lake, square, park or other public place, within the city, except as provided in section six of this act. In deeds for land, made by any city of the first class, restrictions may be imposed requiring that the design and location of structures to be altered or erected thereon shall be first approved by the art jury of such city. Nothing requiring the approval of the jury shall be erected, or changed in design or location, without its approval. If the jury fails to act upon any matter submitted to it within sixty days after such submission its approval of the matter submitted shall be presumed.

Approved—The 24th day of July, A. D. 1913.

JOHN K. TENER.

The foregoing is a true and correct copy of the Act of the General Assembly, No. 456.

Robert McAfee, Secretary of the Commonwealth.

FOOTNOTES: