City of Quincy v. Bull

Citations

• 106 Ill. 337
• 1883 Ill. LEXIS 175

Syllabus

<p>X. Municipal corporation—power to grant leave to lay water pipes under the streets. A city having the exclusive power and control over its streets may allow any use of them consistent with the public objects for which they are held, and uses for the purpose of sewers, gas pipes, water pipes, etc., are among those which may be granted.</p> <p>2. Where a charter in terms gives a city the power to supply, or authorize its inhabitants to be supplied with, water, the city council may use, or as an incidental power may permit a contractor to use, the streets for this purpose. The use of streets for the purpose of laying water pipes being necessary to the construction of water works, the power to contract for their construction includes, as a necessary incident, the power to contract for the use of the streets for that purpose.</p> <p>3. Same—granting right of way over streets for certain purposes—subject to reasonable regulation. Where a city grants a right of way over its streets for a number of years for the purpose of laying water pipes under the ground, neither the grant, nor an injunction to restrain the city from preventing the laying of such pipes, will interfere with the police power of the city over the streets, so as to debar it from making reasonable regulations as to the manner of making use of the right of way granted.</p> <p>4. Same—construction of grant of right to lay water pipes under streets—whether limited to such streets as may be indicated from, time to time by the city council. An ordinance of a city granted to a contractor the exclusive right to construct, maintain and operate water works in the city for thirty years, and the exclusive right to sell water in the city for municipal arid private use, and also granted to him the right of way in all the streets and alleys of the city for the purpose of laying mains and services, etc., his compensation for the outlay to depend upon the sale of water for municipal and private use. To guard against an i