Darling Ingredients Inc., formerly known as Darling International Inc., and Darling National LLC v. City of Bellevue, a Nebraska municipal corporation; Frank R. Krejci, Trustee of the Frank R. Krejci Revocable Trust v. City of Bellevue, a Nebraska municipal corporation

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court reviewed consolidated challenges to the City of Bellevue’s annexation of Area #9. The court held that the district court erred in finding the annexed land rural in character and noncontiguous or nonadjacent under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 16-130. It reversed and remanded for consideration of the landowners’ separate claim that the annexation was motivated by an improper purpose.

Holdings

1. Area #9 was not shown to be agricultural land rural in character within the meaning of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 16-130(2). Agricultural use alone does not establish rural character; the location, surrounding development, present uses, and contemplated future development demonstrated a rational relationship to legitimate annexation purposes.
2. Area #9 satisfied the statutory contiguous-or-adjacent requirement because the Darling property shared a common border with an area already annexed into Bellevue, and the Krejci property was substantially adjacent to the Darling property.
3. The court would not decide the landowners' improper-purpose challenge because the district court had not addressed it, but it remanded for the district court to consider that challenge in the first instance.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Area #9 was agricultural land rural in character and therefore outside Bellevue's statutory annexation authority under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 16-130(2).
2. Whether Area #9 was contiguous or adjacent to Bellevue as required by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 16-130(2).
3. Whether the Nebraska Supreme Court should address the landowners' claim that the annexation was invalid because it was solely motivated by an increase in tax revenue or another improper purpose.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded