Residential & Agric. Advisory Comm., LLC v. Dyersville City Council

• Decision Date: 09 December 2016
• Docket Number: No. 15-1413,15-1413
• Parties: RESIDENTIAL AND AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, LLC, an Iowa Limited Liability Company; Matt Mescher; Allan R. Demmer; Catherine Demmer; Wayne Ameskamp; Sharon Ameskamp; Vernon Boge; Donald Boge; Mary Ann Rubly; John R. Rubly; Dolores Thier; Larry Thier; Gary Burkle; Cindy Burkle; Wayne Vorwald ; Linda Vorwald; Jeff Pape ; Gerald Wolf; and Joanne Wolf, Appellants, v. DYERSVILLE CITY COUNCIL, Mayor James A. Heavens, Mike English, Mark Breitbach, Robert Platz, Molly Evers, and Dan Willenborg, Appellees.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

888 N.W.2d 24

RESIDENTIAL AND AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE, LLC, an Iowa Limited Liability Company; Matt Mescher; Allan R. Demmer; Catherine Demmer; Wayne Ameskamp; Sharon Ameskamp; Vernon Boge; Donald Boge; Mary Ann Rubly; John R. Rubly; Dolores Thier; Larry Thier; Gary Burkle; Cindy Burkle; Wayne Vorwald ; Linda Vorwald; Jeff Pape ; Gerald Wolf; and Joanne Wolf, Appellants,

v.DYERSVILLE CITY COUNCIL, Mayor James A. Heavens, Mike English, Mark Breitbach, Robert Platz, Molly Evers, and Dan Willenborg, Appellees.

No. 15-1413

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Filed December 9, 2016

Rehearing Denied Jan. 17, 2017

Susan M. Hess, and Philip F. Jensen (until withdrawal) of Hammer, Simon & Jensen, P.C., East Dubuque, Illinois, for appellants.

Jenny L. Weiss and Douglas M. Henry of Fuerste, Carew & Sudmeier, P.C., Dubuque, and Nicholas C. Thompson of Cottingham

& Butler, Inc., Dubuque, for appellees.

ZAGER, Justice.

The Dyersville City Council voted to rezone the area containing the Field of Dreams movie site from A-1 Agricultural to C-2 Commercial in order to facilitate the development of a baseball and softball complex. Community members filed two writs of certiorari, now combined, challenging the rezoning. The district court annulled both writs. The community members appealed the decision of the district court arguing that, since the city council acted in a quasi-judicial function, the actions of the city council in passing each of the ordinances was invalid for a number of reasons. They also argued there was sufficient opposition to the rezoning to trigger a unanimous vote of the city council contained in the Dyersville city code. For the following reasons, we affirm the decision of the district court and annul the writs.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

The 1989 Field of Dreams movie was filmed primarily at the Lansing farm now located in Dyersville, in rural Dubuque County.¹ Due to the popularity of the film, Donald and Rebecca Lansing kept the baseball field and their white farmhouse intact for visitors and tourists. The house and baseball diamond were a popular destination, and thousands of tourists visited the Lansing property each year. In recent years, however, tourist numbers have been declining.

The City of Dyersville has a comprehensive plan for the city that has been in place for many years. In the early 1960s, the city enacted a plan that included Dyersville City Zoning Ordinance No. 285, which states purposes for rezoning, one of which includes:

WHEREAS, the City Council of City of Dyersville, Iowa deems it necessary in order to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to promote health and the general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements; to conserve the value of buildings and property; and to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the City with reasonable consideration, and in accordance with a comprehensive plan.

Dyersville, Iowa, Zoning Ordinance No. 285 (1962).

The comprehensive plan also states that any zoning regulations enacted by the council "shall be made with reasonable consideration" as to concerns such as the character of the area, the suitability of the area for certain uses, the conservation of buildings and values, and the encouragement of the most appropriate use of the land throughout the city. Dyersville, Iowa Planning & Zoning Comm'n, Comprehensive Plan for Dyersville, Iowa 91 (1962) [hereinafter Comprehensive Plan] (quoting Iowa Code § 414.3 (1962)).

In 1974, Dyersville enacted a comprehensive development plan that included goals for future land use. The development plan included key policy goals and recommendations specific to commercial and business development. One of the goals was to "discourage proliferation of scattered commercial development throughout the residential community." Dubuque Cty. Metro. Area Planning Comm'n, Dyersville Area Comprehensive Development Plan 51 (1974). Another recommendation was to encourage the expansion of the already-existing central business district through a coordinated design scheme. Id. at 52. The plan also noted that the city should encourage businesses to be located only in those areas that were easily accessible for water and sewage services. In 1975, the city supplemented the plan with a requirement for a detailed evaluation of water, sewage, and waste systems. See Dyersville, Iowa, Planning & Zoning Comm'n, Dyersville Area Comprehensive Development Plan Supplemental Section, Intro (1975).

In 1991, the city drafted a community builder plan. This plan expressly addressed the impact of the Field of Dreams movie on the city's tourism and concluded that the main concern was that "Dyersville must become much more aggressive in guiding and encouraging its own growth." Dyersville, Iowa, Community Builder Plan: A Five Year Strategic Plan, Intro 2 (1991) [hereinafter Community Builder Plan]. The 1991 plan listed twelve opportunities for growth in the city, one of which was "continued (national/international) attention for Field of Dreams and other tourist attractions." Id. at 5. It also identified eleven threats to the city's growth, one of which was "loss of Field of Dreams or other major tourist attraction." Id. The plan concluded that, without any changes, Dyersville's three main tourist attractions would continue to attract a consistent number of tourists. Id. at 6. In 1997, the city supplemented the community builder plan to evaluate which goals had been met and how to pursue the remaining goals. Dyersville, Iowa, Community Builder Plan (1997).

In 2003, the City of Dyersville drafted a future annexation plan that identified areas of nearby land that were likely to be annexed into the city in the future. The annexation plan grouped areas of land into those likely to be annexed within five years, five to ten years, or ten to twenty years. At that time, the Field of Dreams property was not included in any of these annexation estimates.

In 2010, the Lansings listed their property for sale. Their property included the baseball diamond and white farmhouse, and an additional 193 acres that are used as farmland. Ultimately, the Lansings signed a purchase agreement with Mike and Denise Stillman. The sale was contingent upon the property being rezoned for commercial use, among other things. The Stillmans intended to create All-Star Ballpark Heaven on the land, a baseball and softball complex with up to twenty-four fields to be used for youth baseball and softball. They intended to continue to maintain the farmhouse and original baseball diamond as a tourist attraction.

The Dyersville City Council met on November 21, 2011. One of the action items on the agenda was "Authorize City Administrator to Sign IIW Proposal for Professional Services for Field of Dreams Utilities Extension Feasibility Study 2011." The proposal provided that the City of Dyersville would pay IIW Engineering approximately $9625 to prepare a utilities extension feasibility study. This study would determine the cost and logistics of providing water and sewer services to the Field of Dreams site. The feasibility study was discussed for approximately nineteen minutes, with the mayor,² the city administrator,³ and various city council members weighing in. Jacque Rahe, the director of the Dyersville Economic Development Corporation (DEDC) also discussed how to secure funding for the project so the city could avoid any taxpayer burden. She discussed talking to state officials to secure funding and a future meeting with the Governor. The motion to approve the study was passed unanimously by the city council. On December 5, the city council held a special meeting immediately following the regular city council meeting. The sole agenda item for the special meeting was a presentation by the Stillmans, entitled "Future Development of Field of Dreams."

In December, the Stillmans organized a bus trip to Des Moines for the purpose of meeting with legislators and other state officials to discuss financing the All-Star Ballpark Heaven project. The mayor and two city council members joined the Stillmans on the bus trip to Des Moines, and they also attended a group dinner. A member of the planning and zoning commission also participated in the bus trip to Des Moines. The Stillmans presumably funded both the bus trip and the dinner. The purpose of the trip and the dinner was to begin lobbying state officials for financial assistance in developing the project.

In early 2012, the Strategic Economics Group from Des Moines completed an economic and fiscal impact study report regarding the proposed project. The report analyzed the proposed project, the general Dubuque County area, and the potential economic impact of the project. The report predicted the project would result in the creation of 1400 new jobs by its eighth year of operation. The report also estimated $34.1 million in additional payroll and $102 million in additional goods and services for the State of Iowa, in addition to increases in local tax revenue.

The city council met again on February 20, 2012, and one of the agenda items was the "Field of Dreams Extension." A number of the petitioners and other community members attended the meeting and were able to speak about the proposed All-Star Ballpark Heaven complex. Petitioner Wayne Vorwald expressed concerns about having open-range cattle in the area if the project were completed because of the juxtaposition of urban and farming areas. Petitioners Jeff Pape and Wayne Ameskamp mentioned concerns with runoff into the nearby creek and flooding. Ron Oberbroeckling was worried about the project interfering with deer hunting in the area. A number of community members talked about growing up on family farms and wanting to maintain those farms and values for...