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CITY OF BARLING v. FORT CHAFFEE REDEVELOPMENT12/6/2001
ning laws of the State." We agree with FCRA.
FCRA's authority must be considered in light of the federal government's policy behind returning closed military bases to the states in which they are located. See 32 C.F.R. § 175.1 (the purpose of the "Revitalizing Base Closure Communities" program is to "assist the economic recovery of communities impacted by base closures and realignments"). Further, 32 C.F.R. § 175.4 states that it is Department of Defense policy to "help communities impacted by base closures and realignments achieve rapid economic recovery through effective reuse of the assets of closing and realigning bases more quickly, more efficiently, and in ways based on local market conditions and locally developed reuse plans. This will be accomplished by quickly ensuring that communities and the Military Department communicate effectively and work together to accomplish mutual goals of quick property disposal and rapid job generation."
FCRA's proposed plans for the property are designed to promote "rapid job generation," as it has designed industrial areas that take advantage of the land's rail lines, has planned a $4.2 million "nature center" in conjunction with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission that will create numerous jobs, and has described a conference hotel to be built in a light commercial/business park
zone, adjacent to an Olympic-sized swimming pool and other attractive amenities. Barling's zoning, however, encompasses large residential areas, even though much of the land so zoned has suffered "environmental degradation" from lead-based paint, asbestos, PCBs, and other harmful agents that would require massive remediation before the land could ever be offered for residential construction and would significantly depress property values.
Thus, FCRA has taken advantage of the authority granted to it by the Trust Indenture to swiftly move the Fort Chaffee property in the direction of job development and economic growth, in compliance with the Economic Development Conveyance it accepted from the federal government. Because the statutes at issue and the trust documents they reference recognize FCRA as "the entity" charged with managing this land, the trial court did not err in granting summary judgment to the FCRA on the question of that body's authority to control land-use issues on the property.
Barling's second point on appeal is that the trial court erred in finding that the city had ceded legislative authority over the land it annexed to the FCRA. The trial court's order found that Barling's claim to legislative authority over the Fort Chaffee property stemmed from its 1981, 1982, and 1991 annexations of tracts of land of the Fort, which are also contained in the Trust property. The court went on to note that, under § 28-72-202, "once the Trust is accepted by the beneficiaries (e.g. Barling), ` he trustee of the trust thereupon shall be the regularly constituted authority of the beneficiary for the performance of the functions for which the trust shall have been created.'" Thus, the court concluded that by signing the Trust Indenture, Barling ceded its legislative authority over the property encompassed within the FCRA.
Barling challenges this ruling, contending that a city's legislative power cannot be delegated to a committee or an administrative body, Czech v. Baer, 283 Ark. 457, 677 S.W.2d 833 (1984), nor can the city directors delegate or bargain away their legislative authority. Id. The trial court's finding that the City of Barling ceded all legislative authority over the land to the FCRA, the City argues, was not supported by the law or the evidence. Further, the City asserts it was not its intent to create an
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