Miller v. City of Arcadia

STURTEVANT, J.

The plaintiff commenced an action against the defendant municipal corporation, the members of the city council and the chief of police, to obtain a judgment enjoining the defendants from enforcing against him the provisions of a certain ordinance on the ground as he claimed, that the ordinance was unreasonable and violated provisions of the state Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment of the federal Constitution. The defendants answered and a trial was had before the trial court sitting without a jury. The trial court made copious findings and from the judgment entered thereon the plaintiff has appealed.

Section 1 of the ordinance complained of provides as follows: “That it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to keep more than three dogs, over the age of six months each, in any place in said city of Arcadia, within two hundred and fifty feet of any dwelling house in use or occupied by human beings other than a dwelling house belonging to the owner of such dogs.” Among other things the trial court found that the City of Arcadia is a municipal corporation organized under the general statute as a city of the sixth class; that the property owned by the plaintiff is located in a neighborhood that is sparsely settled; that there are only two houses within 250 feet of plaintiff’s property; that said houses were constructed after plaintiff had constructed and erected his kennels for the purpose of keeping dogs; that the plaintiff keeps and maintains substantial kennels and that they are maintained in a clean and sanitary manner and therein are housed more than three dogs over the age of six months; that the chief of police threatens to and will, unless enjoined, arrest the plaintiff; that in the city of Arcadia there is an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of hogs within 1,000 feet of a dwelling, one prohibiting

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the keeping of bulls except in a substantial inclosure, one prohibiting fowls and rabbits from running on the premises of others, and one prohibiting the beeping of bees, but there are no other ordinances restricting the keeping of animals or fowls excepting Ordinance 214, which is the ordinance under attack; that the inhabitants to a considerable extent keep chickens, dogs, turkeys, rabbits, horses, goats and some other animals; and that a large portion of the territory embraced within the city limits is devoted to agriculture, horticulture and animal husbandry.