Bradley v. Payson City Corp., 20010233.
| Decision Date | 02 May 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 20010233.,20010233. |
| Citation | 70 P.3d 47,2003 UT 16,2001 UT App 9 |
| Parties | Robert BRADLEY, Joyce Bradley, R. Dale Whitelock, Karma Whitelock, Louis Peterson, and Barbara Peterson, Plaintiffs and Petitioners, v. PAYSON CITY CORPORATION, Defendant and Respondent. |
| Court | Utah Supreme Court |
Scott L. Wiggins, Mark E. Arnold, Salt Lake City, for petitioners.
Jody K. Burnett, Salt Lake City, David C. Tuckett, Payson, for respondent.
INTRODUCTION
¶ 1 This case arises from the decision of the Payson City Council (Payson City or City Council) to deny Plaintiffs' two applications to rezone property within Payson City (the property) from R-1-A low density residential/agricultural use to R-2-75 high density residential use. The trial court determined that Payson City's decision was arbitrary and capricious because it was not supported by "substantial evidence." The court of appeals reversed the decision of the trial court, holding that application of the "substantial evidence" standard was erroneous because Payson City's zoning decision was a legislative decision. Bradley v. Payson City, 2001 UT App 9, ¶ 28, 17 P.3d 1160. Under the court of appeals' view of the arbitrary and capricious standard, only quasi-judicial or administrative decisions are subject to the "substantial evidence" standard while legislative decisions are subject to the more deferential "reasonably debatable" standard.
¶ 2 The Plaintiffs below are owners of property in Payson City zoned as R-1-A, which is a low-density residential zone. The property is located west of Interstate 15 (I-15) and is surrounded by property that is also zoned R-1-A. Some two and one-half blocks east of the property is a large area of land that is zoned R-2-75, which is the same zoning designation the Plaintiffs seek. The 1995 Payson City General Plan (General Plan), which was in effect at the time the Plaintiffs sought rezoning, forecasts primarily residential land use east of I-15 and industrial and agricultural uses for property west of I-15. While the intent of the General Plan seems to be to utilize I-15 as a natural buffer between residential and industrial uses, the Payson Planning Zone Map (Payson Zone Map), also adopted in 1995, does provide for some areas of residential use west of I-15.
¶ 3 In January 1996, the Plaintiffs applied to rezone their property from R-1-A to R-2-75, which is a residential zoning designation that permits multiple family dwellings. During a meeting before the Payson City Planning Commission (Planning Commission) on the issue of the rezone application, the Chairperson acknowledged that because "there are already other residential developments in the surrounding area where this rezone would take place, there may not be a problem in rezoning this to R-2-75." After considering the Plaintiffs' R-2-75 rezone application, the Planning Commission Staff Report recommended that the Planning Commission recommend approval of the rezone to the Payson City Council.
¶ 4 At the public hearing before the Planning Commission on Plaintiffs' rezone application, a petition signed by thirty-eight people was submitted by a neighborhood group that opposed the zoning change. In addition, thirteen individuals at the hearing expressed their opposition to the R-2-75 rezone. The public opposition voiced concerns over the adequacy of the area's infrastructure as well as concerns about maintaining the agricultural nature of the area, which includes using the land for raising horses. Several public comments also supported the rezone. After public comment, the Planning Commission recommended that the Payson City Council deny the R-2-75 rezone.
¶ 5 The City Council then held a public hearing on the R-2-75 rezone application. The same thirty-eight signature petition was submitted to the City Council, and, subject to one or two exceptions, the same individuals appeared before the City Council as before the Planning Commission. In addition to voicing concerns about raising animals and preserving the nature of the neighborhood, other comments raised concerns about traffic levels in the area. Advocates of the application, including planning expert Jim Wilbert, expressed the area's need for low income housing. Ultimately, the City Council voted to deny the rezoning based upon the General Plan, traffic concerns, and the Planning Commission's recommendation. ¶ 6 The Plaintiffs later submitted a second Zoning Change Application, requesting that their property be rezoned from R-1-A to R-1-9. An R-1-9 zoning is a medium-density residential zoning. Both the Planning Commission staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval of the R-1-9 rezone. The R-1-9 rezoning came before the City Council for public hearing on May 22, 1996. Public input included comments by representatives of businesses in the abutting industrial area. Associated Foods raised concerns that truck noise would cause residents to seek action against it. Representatives of a fruit-processing plant questioned whether residents would tolerate the noise and smell of its packing facilities. After the hearing was closed, the City Council voted to deny the R-1-9 rezoning request.
¶ 7 The Plaintiffs commenced this action by verified complaint on April 1, 1997. They alleged that the Payson City Council's denials of their rezone requests were arbitrary and capricious and that the denials constituted a taking without just compensation. Payson City filed a motion for summary judgment, requesting that the district court dismiss the complaint because the Payson City Council had acted within its legislative prerogative. The Plaintiffs responded by filing a cross-motion for summary judgment. The trial court entered a Memorandum Decision on January 22, 1999, reversing the City Council's denial of the Plaintiffs' R-2-75 rezone application, finding that the denial had no evidentiary support and was therefore arbitrary and capricious. Consequently, the district court did not address the denial of Plaintiffs' second rezone application.
¶ 8 Payson City appealed the trial court's decision directly to this court, after which this court transferred the appeal to the court of appeals pursuant to Utah Rule of Appellate Procedure 44. On January 11, 2001, the court of appeals issued an opinion reversing the district court's decision, concluding that the trial court had applied the incorrect standard of review to Payson City's legislative land use decisions and that under the "reasonably debatable" standard, Payson City's denial of the rezoning requests was not arbitrary, capricious, or illegal. Bradley, 2001 UT App 9 at ¶ 28, 17 P.3d 1160. The Plaintiffs then filed a petition for writ of certiorari to review the substance of the court of appeals' decision. Payson City filed a cross-petition for a writ of certiorari challenging the court of appeals' conclusion that it had original appellate jurisdiction to decide the appeal.
¶ 9 When reviewing a city council's decision not to change the zoning classification of property, we presume that the decision is valid and "determine only whether or not the decision is arbitrary, capricious, or illegal." Utah Code Ann. § 10-9-1001(3) (1999). The principal issue in this case is the meaning of "arbitrary and capricious" in the context of Payson City's decision not to change the zoning classification of the Plaintiffs' property. This is a legal issue which we review for correctness. Springville Citizens for a Better Cmty. v. City of Springville, 1999 UT 25, ¶ 22, 979 P.2d 332.
¶ 10 This court has long recognized that municipal land use decisions should be upheld unless those decisions are arbitrary and capricious or otherwise illegal. Gayland v. Salt Lake County, 11 Utah 2d 307, 358 P.2d 633, 636 (1961); Marshall v. Salt Lake City, 105 Utah 111, 141 P.2d 704, 709 (1943). Indeed, municipal land use decisions as a whole are generally entitled to a "great deal of deference." Springville Citizens for a Better Cmty. v. City of Springville, 1999 UT 25, ¶ 23, 979 P.2d 332. However, in specific cases the determination of whether a particular land use decision is arbitrary and capricious has traditionally depended on whether the decision involves the exercise of legislative, administrative, or quasi-judicial powers. When a municipality makes a land use decision as a function of its legislative powers, we have held that such a decision is not arbitrary and capricious so long as the grounds for the decision are "reasonably debatable." Marshall, 141 P.2d at 709 (); Smith Inv. Co. v. Sandy City, 958 P.2d 245, 252 (Utah Ct.App.1998) (same). When a land use decision is made as an exercise of administrative or quasi-judicial powers, however, we have held that such decisions are not arbitrary and capricious if they are supported by "substantial evidence." Xanthos v. Bd. of Adjustment of Salt Lake City, 685 P.2d 1032, 1034-35 (Utah 1984) ().
¶ 11 There is no dispute in this case that the enactment and amendment of zoning ordinances is fundamentally a legislative act. Sandy City v. Salt Lake County, 827 P.2d 212, 221 (Utah 1992) () (quoting Scherbel v. Salt Lake City Corp., 758 P.2d 897, 899 (Utah 1988)). The political nature of the decision making process underlying municipal zoning demands that the power to make such decisions be vested in persons who are publicly accountable for their choices. See Marshall, 141 P.2d at 709 (...
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