French v. Barber Asphalt Paving Co.
Headline: City paving rule upheld: Court affirms that Kansas City may charge adjoining property owners by frontage for street paving, allowing special tax bills to be collected and affecting abutting homeowners’ expenses.
Holding: The Court affirmed Missouri’s ruling, holding that charging abutting property owners for street paving based on frontage did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment and that the special tax bills were valid and collectible.
- Allows cities to charge paving costs to abutting property by frontage.
- Validates special tax bills as collectible when local charter procedures are followed.
Summary
Background
A group of lot owners in Kansas City challenged special tax bills issued to pay for paving Forest Avenue. The city charter allowed the cost to be apportioned to adjoining lots according to their frontage. The work was done with uniform asphalt pavement on similarly improved residential lots. Missouri’s highest court upheld the assessment under state law and rejected a national constitutional claim, and the case reached the United States Supreme Court for review.
Reasoning
The Court reviewed many prior decisions about taxes, local improvements, and the meaning of "due process" in tax cases. It explained that legislatures have wide discretion to decide how to pay for local work and that summary or nonjudicial methods for collecting taxes have long been accepted. The Court read Norwood v. Baker narrowly, saying that Norwood forbid abusive or confiscatory assessments but did not bar ordinary front-foot assessments when the procedure and facts do not show confiscation or abuse. Because the paving, the charter procedure, and the lots here were uniform and no abuse appeared, the Court affirmed the state court and upheld the special tax bills.
Real world impact
Cities that follow similar charter procedures can charge abutting property owners for paving by frontage and collect special tax bills. Property owners still may challenge assessments that are abusive or confiscatory, but this decision accepts routine front-foot assessments when properly authorized.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Harlan (joined by Justices White and McKenna) dissented, arguing the Fourteenth Amendment applies and that assessments that exclude inquiry into special benefits or exceed those benefits may unlawfully take property without compensation.
Opinions in this case:
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