Western Maryland Tidewater Railroad v. Mayor of Baltimore

Citations

• 106 Md. 561

Syllabus

<p>Statutory Boundary of Baltimore City on Patapsco River is Extended' by Construction of Piers into the River— Taxation of Piers.</p> <p>When the boundary of a municipality is described as binding on a stream) of water, the rights of the municipality are to be determined by the same rules of construction as apply to the grant of land to an individual binding' on water. And when an individual has a right to extend his land by filling in and making improvements into the water and does so, the boundary of the municipality is extended in the same way.</p> <p>The southern boundary of Baltimore City remains as fixed by the Act ot 1816, ch. 209, by which it was described as running with and bounding on the main branch of the Patapsco River, which is a navigable stream. Under the Acts of 1862, ch. 129 and other statutes, the owners of land binding on the water in said city have the exclusive right to make improvements into the water in front of their land, by the construction ot wharves, piers or by filling out from the shore, and such improvements belong to the owners of the land as incident to their estates. A rail - road company, which owned lots in said city bounding on said main branch, constructed two piers extending out into the water from the bulkhead line for a considerable distance. The piers rest on piles and the river flows under them. The shore line of the river as it existed in j8i6, is a considerable distanc landwards from the present bulkhead line. Held, that the boundary of the city is not limited to the shore line or to the bulkhead line but is co-incident with the improvements and wharves extended into the water by individual owners, and that those portions of the piers which extend beyond the bulkhead line are subject to taxation by the city, and are not within the jurisdiction of Baltimore County, which adjoins the city on the south.</p>