Citation Numbers: 38 Misc. 2d 384
Judges: Vecchio
Filed Date: 3/12/1963
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 2/5/2022
The County of Onondaga brings this article 78 proceeding to vacate a portion of an order dated September 5, 1962 made by the State Department of Public Works on the ground that it was arbitrary, capricious and illegal.
The respondent makes a motion to dismiss the proceeding on the ground that the petitioner fails to state facts sufficient to entitle it to the relief sought.
The undisputed facts giving rise to this proceeding are as follows: Prior to September 5, 1962 the State Department of Public Works undertook the reconstruction of State Highway 671. In the vicinity of the intersection of said State highway and County Highway 157 (Hayes Road) the grade of the reconstructed State highway was changed and elevated to approximately 14 feet above the old roadway to provide connection to a newly constructed bridge over the Seneca River. Before the grade was changed, certain private property located at the intersection had access to both the State and the county highways. After the change, it was no longer physically possible to travel from this property to the State highway and if Hayes Road had been allowed to remain at its original grade it would have been a dead end at the reconstructed State highway. To correct this condition, the Superintendent of Public Works, in accordance with the provisions of subdivision 25 of section 10 of the Highway Law, relocated and changed the grade of County Highway 157 so as to provide continuity of traffic between the two roads. In order to provide continued access from the private property to a public road, the State appropriated certain property approximately 150 feet from the State highway and constructed thereon an access ramp about 60-feet wide, extending 193 feet from the private property to the county highway (Hayes Road), as shown on a map of the relocation.
Thereafter, on September 5, 1962, respondent issued Official Order 708 directing the county to maintain Hayes Road as relocated, including the 193-foot access ramp, it being determined by the Superintendent of Public Works that the road (including the access ramp) was not a part of the State highway system but was part of the county road system. It is the above order insofar as it directs the county to maintain the 193-foot ramp — which petitioner seeks to have vacated, contending that the access ramp constitutes a driveway for the adjoining property owner and is not and never has been a part of the county highway system but is a piece of private property acquired by the State in order to carry out its relocation of State Highway 671; that subdivision 25 of section 10 of the Highway Law was never intended to eompel a municipality to accept a right of way on private property so as to compel the municipality to maintain it; that petitioner was never asked to join in the action taken by the State nor did it acquiesce in it; that prior to the issuance of the order petitioner refused to accept a deed from the State conveying the property used in creating the access ramp. For these reasons, petitioner claims that it was illegal and improper to include the 193-foot ramp in the order and that this part of the order should be set aside.
Turning first to the claim that the action of respondent was invalid because the county did not consent thereto: Petitioner admits it was advised that it would be necessary to construct an access ramp in relocating Hayes Road but has cited no authority which requires its participation in or consent to action by the Superintendent of Public Works in altering and relocating intersecting highways under subdivision 25 of section 10 of the Highway Law to provide continuity of traffic with a State highway. Nor has it shown itself entitled to join with the Superintendent in determining whether a highway is part of the State highway system. The Legislature has expressly conferred these powers on the Superintendent of Public Works, without any requirement of hearing or notice to the municipality involved. In these circumstances no hearing was necessary. (Matter of Sherman, 76 Misc. 45.)
At the outset it might be well to observe that respondent did not — as petitioner seems to state — attempt to compel the municipality to maintain a right of way on private property. It may well be that, under other provisions of the Highway Law, the access ramp might have been built on the adjoining landowner’s property, at the latter’s request, thereby relieving the State or the county of any responsibility for care or maintenance. (See Highway Law, §§ 54-a, 118, subd. 6.) However, no attempt was made either by the State or by the county (which had been advised of the need for constructing an access ramp from the adjoining property) to proceed under these sections, by which only a private driveway would have been created. Instead, the State actually acquired title to the property necessary for the construction of the ramp which was then built, not on private property, but on State land.
It cannot be denied — as elsewhere asserted by petitioner — that the land on which the ramp in question was created was private property before its acquisition by the State. This fact does not however, in the opinion of this court, preclude a finding that respondent was nevertheless proceeding under subdivision
If Hayes Road had been relocated without an access ramp, the adjacent private property would have been deprived of access to the general highway system. If it had not been relocated, this property would have had continued access to it and it would have remained as a public way providing entrance and exit at one end but it would have terminated in a dead end at the reconstructed, elevated State highway, thereby creating a cul-de-sac. It was solely as a result of the determination to relocate County Highway 157 and continue its junction with State Highway 671 — thereby avoiding a more circuitous or less convenient access to other roads — that the approach ramp in question had to be constructed. In the circumstances here presented, it was sound logic to consider the access ramp as a part of relocated 'County Highway 157.
The numerous authorities cited by petitioner are not applicable to the facts before the court and no authorities have been cited by either side which have decided the precise question posed by this proceeding. Apparently the problem is one of first impression in the courts of this State.
Having concluded that respondent was acting within the power vested in him by subdivision 25 of section 10 of the Highway
Upon argument at the hearing of this proceeding petitioner asserted that, in addition to being illegal and unauthorized, the action of respondent was arbitrary and capricious. In the view which this court has taken, such a question is beyond the scope of this proceeding. If it were appropriate to make a determination as to the reasonableness of respondent’s action however, the court would hold that respondent was not arbitrary or capricious but, for the reasons stated above, was entirely justified in the action taken and the decision made which culminated in Official Order 708.
Since the Superintendent of Public Works had the power and properly determined that the access ramp in question was not part of the State highway system but was part of relocated County Highway 157, the order directing petitioner to maintain it was valid. Accordingly, the application to vacate that portion of the order is denied and the petition is dismissed. In view of this decision, the county may be advised to accept the deed offered by the State of New York.