Beacon Hill Farm Associates II Ltd. Partnership v. Loudoun County Bd. of Sup'rs

• Decision Date: 26 May 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-3894,88-3894
• Citation: 875 F.2d 1081
• Parties: BEACON HILL FARM ASSOCIATES II LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, a Virginia Limited Partnership, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS; County of Loudoun, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 1081

875 F.2d 1081

57 USLW 2695

BEACON HILL FARM ASSOCIATES II LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, a Virginia Limited Partnership, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The LOUDOUN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS; County of Loudoun,

Defendants-Appellees.

No. 88-3894.

United States Court of Appeals,

Fourth Circuit.

Argued Dec. 9, 1988.

Decided May 26, 1989.

John E. Coffey (Michael A. Banzhaf, Richard C. Sullivan, Jr., Hazel, Thomas, Fiske, Beckhorn & Hanes, on brief), for plaintiff-appellant.

Thomas O. Lawson (Laurie E. Forbes, Lawson & Kipp, on brief), Edward J. Finnegan, County Atty., for defendants-appellees.

Before ERVIN, Chief Judge, and WIDENER and SPROUSE, Circuit Judges.

WIDENER, Circuit Judge:

This case comes to us on appeal from the district court's grant of Loudoun County's motion to dismiss because the cause was not ripe for adjudication. We vacate and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

On December 21, 1987, to protect environmentally sensitive land areas, Loudoun County amended its general zoning ordinance to provide for a "Mountainside Development Overlay District." ¹ The stated purpose of this zoning ordinance is:

to regulate land use and development on the mountainsides of the County, in such a manner as to: (1) assure mountainside development will not result in substantial damage to significant natural resource areas, wildlife habitats or native vegetation areas; (2) assure that mountainside development is compatible with the slope of the land; (3) assure proper design is utilized in grading and in the development of structures, roadways and drainage improvements; (4) assure mountainside conditions are properly identified and incorporated into the planning process for subdivision and site development; (5) implement the intent of the Comprehensive Plan; (6) prevent erosion and minimize clearing and grading; and (7) ensure that all development is compatible with the existing topography and soils conditions.

The ordinance restricts land uses in certain areas, including those with elevations in excess of 550 feet in the Catoctin Mountains. It permits land in the district to be used as of right for agriculture, forestry, fisheries and for dwellings on lots of record existing as of the date of the ordinance; all other uses require a special exception from the county board of supervisors, which exceptions however, are not without standards so the special exceptions become the rule. Under the ordinance, drainfields and dwellings cannot be placed on slopes of greater than 25 percent, and roads and drives cannot be placed on slopes of greater than 25 percent unless no other option exists for access to the property. The ordinance also provides that activities such as clearing and grading should be minimized.

The appellant, Beacon Hill Farm Associates, owns approximately 1,000 acres of land in Loudoun County; of which approximately 650 acres lies within the mountainside development overlay district. Prior to December 21, 1987, Beacon Hill's property was zoned merely "A-3", which permitted single-family dwellings to be erected at a density of one dwelling per three acres of land. Under this designation, Beacon Hill's property could have been subdivided into more than 300 lots for single-family dwellings. A-3 zoning alone also had more relaxed requirements for activities such as grading and construction of drainfields, roads and driveways on the property.

Beacon Hill's land was not subdivided prior to passage of the mountainside development overlay district ordinance. The county board of zoning appeals, however, previously had granted to Beacon Hill Special Exception 85-58, which authorized the construction of a golf course with pro shop, a club house with a 300-seat restaurant and 20 guest rooms, and related outbuildings. Since then, Beacon Hill has not submitted any further plans to develop its property to the county board, nor has it applied, pursuant to the ordinance in question, for a special exception from the ordinance. ²

Instead, Beacon Hill sought to challenge the ordinance in court. On April 12, 1988 Beacon Hill filed a complaint in the district court, seeking a declaratory judgment that the ordinance was an unconstitutional violation of the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment and seeking damages in excess of $22,650,000 under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983.

The county moved for dismissal, stating that the claim was not ripe for adjudication "since the Plaintiff has not obtained a final determination regarding how the ... Ordinance will be applied to its property." The district court agreed. Based on its view that recent cases require a final determination regarding the application of a land use ordinance to a plaintiff's property before a constitutional challenge to the ordinance may be heard, the court dismissed the case.

Beacon Hill on appeal claims that its complaint presents a facial attack on the ordinance, and, as such, the district court erred in holding that it was premature. Loudoun County, on the other hand, argues that Beacon Hill's claim is premature regardless of whether the court classifies it as a facial or an as applied attack on the ordinance because of Beacon Hill's failure to apply for a special exception to use its land under the terms of the ordinance.

The federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, and under the case or controversy provision of the Constitution must decide only "concrete legal issues, presented in actual cases" where there has been "actual interference" with someone's rights. United Public Workers v. Mitchell, 330 U.S. 75, 89-90, 67 S.Ct. 556, 564, 91 L.Ed. 754 (1947). This constitutional case or controversy requirement prohibits federal courts from issuing opinions on claims which are brought too late, and are moot, and claims which are brought too early, and are not yet ripe for adjudication.

The Court has held that this concept of ripeness is particularly important in cases challenging land use regulations. It has stated "the constitutionality of statutes ought not be decided except in an actual factual setting that makes such a decision necessary...." Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining and Reclamation Assoc., 452 U.S. 264, 294-95, 101 S.Ct. 2352, 2369-70, 69 L.Ed.2d 1 (1981). This, however, does not mean that every constitutional challenge to a land use or zoning ordinance must await a final determination as to the extent of applicability of the ordinance to a landowner's property.

In Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 47 S.Ct. 114, 71 L.Ed. 303 (1926), the Court recognized that a landowner may attack the facial validity of a land use ordinance. In 1922, the Euclid Village Council adopted the town's first comprehensive zoning plan. At that time, Ambler Realty Company owned a 68-acre unimproved tract in the town, which is a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Ambler claimed its land was in the path of projected industrial expansion from Cleveland and was worth $10,000 per acre if used for industrial purposes. The zoning plan adopted by the Village Council restricted the use of a large section of Ambler's land to residential or public purposes, such as for homes, schools, churches and hospitals. Under this zoning scheme, Ambler claimed its land was worth only $2,500 per acre.

Without seeking a variance or other relief from the effects of the ordinance, Ambler brought suit in federal district court, seeking to enjoin enforcement of the ordinance. Ambler argued that the ordinance, on its face, deprived it of a property interest without due process of law. Despite the town's argument that Ambler's suit was premature, the district court found the zoning ordinance unconstitutional and issued the injunction.

On appeal the Supreme Court decided:

A motion was made in the court below to dismiss the bill on the ground that, because complainant [appellee] had made no effort to obtain a building permit or apply to the zoning board of appeals for relief as it might have done under the terms of the ordinance, the suit was premature. The motion was properly overruled. The effect of the allegations of the bill is that the ordinance of its own force operates greatly to reduce the value of appellee's lands and destroy their marketability for industrial, commercial and residential uses; and the attack is directed, not against any specific provision or provisions, but against the ordinance as an entirety. Assuming the premises, the existence and maintenance of the ordinance, in effect, constitutes a present invasion of appellee's property rights...