In re Shilshole Avenue

Citations

• 85 Wash. 522

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Corporations — Public Improvements — Assessments— Findings of Court — Review. The findings of the superior court made upon attaching the assessment roll for a local improvement in eminent domain proceedings by cities, in the absence of exceptions, are conclusive on appeal, in view of Rem. & Bal. Code, § 7795, providing that the hearing shall be conducted as in other cases at law tried by the court, and findings made thereon and judgment entered accordingly.</p> <p>Same — Public Improvements — Assessment or General Taxation. The establishment of a county canal flooding certain city streets and abutting lots, as a general public improvement, does not prevent the assessment of the same property for the purpose of elevating the grade of the streets above the water level, as a local improvement, on the theory that the raising of the grades was necessitated by a general public improvement as distinguished from a local improvement and that its expense was one which should be borne by general taxation.</p> <p>Same — Assessments—Special Benefits. An assessment for a local improvement by elevating the grade of streets, should be set aside as made upon a fundamentally wrong basis, where the lower court found that a potential flooding of the district for a county canal required elevation of the streets but slightly above water level which would be a benefit to the property, but that it would not be a benefit to raise them, as proposed in the present proceedings, to a height of nine feet above the water level; and after awarding damages for such excessive elevation, proceeded to assess the property for the amount of such damages, in addition to an assessment for the slight elevation necessary to make them dry and usable; since there was' no relation between the benefits to the benefited property and the damages to the damaged property, and the thing which conferred the benefit did not inflict the damage; and it is immaterial that both were parts of one improvement.<