1955

Weber City Sanitation Commission v. Craft

Supreme Court of Virginia

196 Va. 1140, 87 S.E.2d 153

Commission sought an injunction requiring Craft to connect with the Commission’s water system and pay service rates. Craft asserted the statute under which the Commission was formed and operated was in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and § 11 of the Constitution of Virginia. Craft had a private well and to deny him its use was taking property without due process. The trial court found the statute unconstitutional and dismissed the proceeding. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded. A citizen holds property subject to the proper exercise of police power by the legislature or the municipalities to which it has been delegated. Proper exercise of the power does not appropriate private property for public use, but regulates its use and enjoyment by the owners. If citizens were not required to connect to the water system, its effectiveness would be nullified.

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