Buckeye Community Hope Found. v. City of Cuyahoga Falls, s. 99-4555

• Decision Date: 15 June 2001
• Docket Number: Nos. 99-4555,s. 99-4555
• Citation: 263 F.3d 627
• Parties: (6th Cir. 2001) Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. City of Cuyahoga Falls, et al., Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants. ; 00-3052 Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 627

263 F.3d 627 (6th Cir. 2001)

Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants/Cross-Appellees, v. City of Cuyahoga Falls, et al., Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.

Nos. 99-4555; 00-3052

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Argued: June 15, 2001

Decided and Filed: August 31, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Akron, No. 96-01458, Dan A. Polster, District Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Edward G. Kramer, KRAMER & ASSOCIATES, Cleveland, Ohio, Diane E. Citrino, FAIR HOUSING LAW CLINIC, Cleveland, Ohio, for Plaintiffs-Appellants/Cross-Appellees.

Virgil E. Arrington, LAW DIRECTOR, CITY OF CUYAHOGA FALLS, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for Defendant-Appellees/Cross-Appellants.

Before: JONES, DAUGHTREY, and COLE, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

NATHANIEL R. JONES, Circuit Judge.

This case involves a federal civil rights suit brought by Plaintiffs-Appellants, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, et al., against the Defendants-Appellees, the City of Cuyahoga Falls ("City"), et al., alleging that the City's decision to allow a referendum to stay the effectiveness of Appellants' lawfully approved site plan violated their constitutional and statutory rights. Appellants appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment which dismissed their equal protection, substantive due process, and Fair Housing Act claims. Because there are genuine issues of material fact with regard to all three claims, we REVERSE the lower court's grant of summary judgment.

I. BACKGROUND ¹

Plaintiff, the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation ("Foundation"), is a not-for profit 501(c)(3) corporation. It has as its purpose the development of affordable housing through the use of low-income housing tax credits. For each project, a separate limited partnership is formed as the investment vehicle to sell the tax credits. In this case, the specific limited partnership is plaintiff, Buckeye Three Limited. The limited partnership is the owner of the land, and once it is completed, the development. To protect each development and its investors, the Foundation forms a separate corporation to act as the general partner for the limited partner. In this case, plaintiff Cuyahoga Partners, Inc., a for-profit corporation, was formed to serve as the general partner of Buckeye Three Limited. Steven Boone is the president of Cuyhaoga Partners, Inc.

Mr. Boone contacted the Mayor of the City of Cuyahoga Falls, Don Robart, in the summer of 1995 about the possibility of developing a low-income housing complex in Cuyahoga Falls. According to Mr. Boone, the Mayor expressed no problems about the proposed development at that time.

On June 12, 1995, the Foundation purchased the real property located on Pleasant Meadow Boulevard. On February 21, 1996, the "site plan" for the property was submitted for approval at a meeting of the Planning Commission for Cuyahoga Falls. Members of the public attended this meeting and raised several questions about the project. Some of the citizens expressed concern about the impact that the project would have on their neighborhood. For example, Lee Minier, a lifelong resident of Cuyahoga Falls, expressed concerns about safety and stated "they know what kind of element is going to move in there." Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 154. Another resident stated that "[t]here will be a different class of people living there." Id. In connection with the Planning Commission's meeting, Cuyahoga Planning Director, Louis Sharpe, prepared a Staff Summary of the site plan. This summary recommended approval of the site plan subject to approximately nine conditions agreed to by Mr. Boone. One of the conditions required the developers to erect a fence on one side of the property before the building permit for the apartment complex could issue.

Notwithstanding the aforementioned opposition of various citizens, the site plan, including the conditions, was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission at the February 21, 1996 meeting. The Planning Commission's recommendation then had to be submitted to and approved by the City Council. Mayor Robart did not attend the February21, 1996 Planning Commission meeting.

On March 4, 1996, the Planning Commission's recommendation on the site plan was addressed at a City Council meeting attended by Mayor Robart. At this meeting, members of the public again voiced their concerns about the project. Ann Bridges expressed concern about the extra crime and drugs that come with low-income housing. J.A. at 961. Mayor Roberts voiced his opposition to the project. The Mayor referred to an article entitled "Stuck in the Ghetto" which discussed the various problems associated with Section 8 housing (the project at issue does not involve Section 8 vouchers). J.A. at 966.

Another City Council meeting was held on March 18, 1996. Once again, members of the public expressed their opposition to the project. One resident of Cuyahoga Falls objected to the project on the ground that "[t]here will be ... kids running around in our yards." J.A. at 949. Mayor Robart, in a lengthy statement, once again voiced his opposition. The Mayor stated that the issue was not whether the project was properly zoned, but rather the issue was low-income housing. The Mayor noted that "people who spent a lot of money on their condominiums simply don't want people moving in their neighborhood that are going to be renting for $371." J.A. at 945. Another Council meeting occurred on April 1, 1996, and the site plan was approved by a vote of six to three with two abstentions. The City Council's approval was expressed in the form of Ordinance No. 48-1996.

Parallel to the site approval process, a referendum effort was proceeding. On April 9, 1996, the "Citizens for the Preservation of Voter Rights" convened a meeting to discuss "taking the ISSUE OF A 72 UNIT HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON PLEASANT MEADOW BLVD. to the vote of the people of Cuyahoga Falls in November." The Mayor spoke at the meeting and stated that he supported the referendum effort. Lee Minier testified that no City of Cuyahoga Falls officials were asked to sign the referendum petitions. On or about April 29, 1996, a referendum petition was submitted to the Clerk of City Council, Gregg Wagner. The Board of Elections approved the referendum petition on May 1, 1996.

On May 1, 1996, plaintiffs filed a state action in the commons pleas court of Summit County to enjoin the referendum process under Ohio law. The plaintiffs sought injunctive relief and a declaration that the ordinance could not be challenged by referendum because its passage by City Council was an administrative, rather than a legislative action. Plaintiffs claimed that Article II, Section 1f of the Ohio Constitution did not grant powers of referendum to citizens of municipalities on administrative actions taken by municipal legislative bodies. On May 15, 1996, the state trial court conducted a hearing on plaintiffs' request for preliminary injunction. On May 31, 1996, the court denied the plaintiffs' motion for preliminary or permanent injunction. The court found that the Charter of Cuyahoga Falls permitted the residents of Cuyahoga to exercise powers of referendum on any action by City Council, regardless of whether the action taken was legislative or administrative in nature. Plaintiffs appealed the decision of the trial court to the court of appeals for Summit County. The court of appeals affirmed the judgment of the trial court, holding that Article II, Section 1f of the Ohio Constitution does not limit the referendum powers of charter municipalities such as Cuyahoga Falls. The Ohio Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals.

On June 20, 1996, Gilbertson Barno, the Executive Director of the Foundation, wrote to the City of Cuyahoga Falls seeking the issuance of a building permit. On June 26, 1996, Gerald Dzurilla, the City Engineer for Cuyahoga Falls, sent a letter to Barno indicating that he could not issue the building permit in light of the pending referendum.

Plaintiffs filed the present federal action on July 5, 1996. In contrast to the complaint filed in state court, the complaint filed in federal court was based on federal law. The plaintiffs alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq., 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1982, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment via 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment via 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiffs sought injunctive relief and damages. Defendants brought a motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss all of plaintiffs' claims. On November 19-21, 1996, Judge Sam H. Bell conducted a hearing and heard evidence regarding plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction. Ultimately, the court approved an injunction stipulated to by the parties which enjoined the Summit County Board of Elections from certifying the results of a referendum concerning plaintiffs' ability to build low-income housing on land in Cuyahoga Falls. However, because the lower court found that plaintiffs failed to prove irreparable harm, their request for an injunction ordering the City of Cuyahoga Falls to issue a building permit was denied. In the order denying plaintiffs' preliminary injunction request, Judge Bell deferred consideration of the merits of the underlying causes of action, concluding that such consideration would be more appropriately addressed after evaluation of defendants' motions for summary judgment. Judge Bell then referred those motions to Magistrate Judge James D. Thomas for a report and recommendation. Judge Thomas recommended that defendants' motions for summary judgment be granted.

Judge Bell ultimately disagreed with the magistrate's recommendation. Judge Bell noted that in order to understand plaintiffs' federal claims it is important to understand the procedural context in which the referendum arose:

The Cuyahoga Falls...