Aspen Trails Ranch LLC v. Simmons

• Decision Date: 14 April 2010
• Docket Number: No. DA 09-0358.,DA 09-0358.
• Parties: ASPEN TRAILS RANCH, LLC, Appellant,v.Barry J. SIMMONS and Pete Elliot, and Helena City Commission, Appellees.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

356 Mont. 41

230 P.3d 808

2010 MT 79

ASPEN TRAILS RANCH, LLC, Appellant,v.Barry J. SIMMONS and Pete Elliot, and Helena City Commission, Appellees.

No. DA 09-0358.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Submitted on Briefs Feb. 10, 2010.

Decided April 14, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

For Appellant: Colleen M. Dowdall, Jane E. Cowley, Worden Thane P.C., Missoula, Montana.

For Appellees: Jack R. Tuholske, Tuholske Law Office, P.C., Missoula, Montana.

Justice PATRICIA O. COTTER delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶ 1 Aspen Trails, LLC (Aspen Trails), appeals from a decision of the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, voiding a preliminary subdivision plat which had been approved by the Helena City Commission (Commission). For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the District Court.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

¶ 2 In August 2005, a developer named Richard Bowen (Bowen) filed an application for the Aspen Trails subdivision before the Commission. The proposed subdivision was to be located north of the city limits of Helena, Montana, and would contain approximately 325 residential lots over 260 acres. The proposed subdivision was to be adjacent to the Prickly Pear Creek, which flows through the Helena Valley into Lake Helena and then on to the Missouri River. Aspen Trails proposed that the subdivision be annexed to the city of Helena and be connected to Helena's water and sewer systems.

¶ 3 In conjunction with the application, Aspen Trails submitted an environmental assessment (EA) of the proposed subdivision prepared by Morrison-Maierle, Inc. The main body of the EA is 53 pages in length and contains several appendices. The EA includes legal and environmental descriptions of the proposed development, a community impact assessment (covering issues such as water supply, sewage disposal, roads, drainage, and land use), a summary of probable impacts and proposed mitigation measures, and other issues concerning the proposed development.

¶ 4 Additionally, a report (Staff Report) on the proposed subdivision was prepared by the City of Helena Planning Division. The Staff Report made findings of fact regarding the subdivision's impact on areas such as agriculture, local services, the natural environment, wildlife and wildlife habitat, and public health and safety. The Staff Report proposed 27 conditions in order to mitigate the potential for adverse impacts identified in its findings and recommended the approval of the preliminary plat subject to these conditions.

¶ 5 On October 18, 2005, The Helena/Lewis and Clark County Consolidated Planning Board (Planning Board) took public comment on the proposed development. The Planning Board reviewed the EA and the Staff Report. On October 25, 2005, the Planning Board voted to deny the application. The Planning Board determined that some of the impacts from the development, such as those on agriculture, local services, and public health and safety, could be mitigated. However, the Planning Board further concluded that the development's impacts on the natural environment, wildlife, and wildlife habitat could not be mitigated and denied the application on this basis.

¶ 6 On November 21, 2005, the Commission held a public meeting to discuss the proposed development and application of the preliminary plat. At that meeting proponents and opponents gave public testimony. Appellee Pete Elliot (Elliot) spoke in opposition to approval of the preliminary plat. Elliot is a resident of the Helena Valley whose property is contiguous to the proposed subdivision. Some members of the Commission expressed concern about the proposed subdivision with respect to flooding and high groundwater in the area, but nonetheless voted to approve the preliminary plat. The Commission issued findings of fact and attached 27 conditions to the approval of the subdivision preliminary plat. The Commission determined that any detrimental impacts resulting from the subdivision could be mitigated with appropriate measures.

¶ 7 On December 16, 2005, Elliot, and two additional plaintiffs named Donald Zelenka and Barry J. Simmons ¹ (collectively Landowners) filed suit against the Commission in District Court, challenging its decision to approve the preliminary plat. A first amended complaint was filed on February 24, 2006. On April 17, 2006, the Commission moved to dismiss the complaint for the Landowners' lack of standing and failure to state a claim for which relief could be granted.

¶ 8 On October 3, 2006, the District Court denied the motion to dismiss and held that the Landowners did have standing to sue the Commission. The District Court noted that Elliot was a contiguous landowner with respect to the proposed subdivision and was permitted to appeal the decision of the Commission pursuant to § 76-3-625(3), MCA, of the Montana Subdivision and Platting Act (MSPA). Additionally, the first amended complaint alleged that the proposed subdivision would add significantly to traffic and congestion on existing roads and that the installation of pipelines and lift stations may have a significant adverse impact on existing neighborhoods. Furthermore, the complaint alleged that the proposed subdivision would have substantial and significant impacts to ground and surface water, as well as wildlife habitat. The amended complaint further alleged that the proposed subdivision would irrevocably change the rural character of the area. The District Court also took note of the fact that the first amended complaint alleged specific violations of the MSPA, the Helena Growth Policy, and Article IX, Section 1 and Article II, Section 3 of the Montana Constitution.

¶ 9 At the conclusion of its order, the District Court observed that the first amended complaint had seemingly failed to tie the injury complained of to any specific action taken by the Commission. In this connection, Elliot had filed a supplemental affidavit before the court, in which he specifically alleged that the proposed subdivision would, among other things, adversely affect the enjoyment of his property, change the stream channel of Prickly Pear Creek, potentially disturb the natural recharge of the aquifer, adversely impact the quality of his water supply, and also have a long-term negative effect on the value of this property. The District Court determined that the first amended complaint, when coupled with the averments in the supplemental affidavit, sufficiently tied together the action of the Commission with a complaint of harm. Thus, the District Court authorized the plaintiffs to file a second amended complaint incorporating the specific allegations of harm as set forth in the supplemental affidavit.

¶ 10 Simmons and Elliot filed a second amended complaint on October 20, 2006. Ronald Zelenka was dropped from the suit. In this complaint, Landowners alleged that neither the EA nor the Staff Report adequately addressed resulting impacts from the proposed subdivision. Landowners claimed that the EA did not address resulting impacts to water quality of the Prickly Pear Creek and Lake Helena watershed from the proposed subdivision. The Landowners also claimed that the Staff Report did not adequately address the environmental and community impacts arising from the subdivision on water quality issues vis-à-vis the installation of collection systems and a proposed lift station. The Landowners argued that the Commission's findings of fact for conditional approval did not adequately describe the potential negative impacts from the development, and that the attached conditions did not adequately mitigate the resulting negative environmental impacts, especially with regard to impacts on wildlife water quality, and flooding.

¶ 11 The District Court held a one-day evidentiary hearing in this matter on December 22, 2008. The Landowners and the Commission presented testimony and evidence. The Landowners claimed the preliminary plat should be voided based on the inadequacy of the EA. Landowners argued that under the MSPA, the EA provided the only mechanism for the public and the governing body to properly review the effects of a subdivision before a preliminary plat is issued. Landowners contended the EA was inadequate in several key respects. First, they observed that the subdivision was to be located in an area of very shallow groundwater, adjacent to Prickly Pear Creek. The EA itself stated that the project area has a high groundwater table, only 2 to 10 feet below the surface. Landowners contended that the EA did not provide further information on groundwater levels beyond this statement and did not provide adequate baseline information taken from monitoring wells throughout the proposed subdivision in order to quantify the actual groundwater depths, rates, directions of flow, and seasonal fluctuations in the water table. Landowners' expert, Chris Cerquone (Cerquone), testified that without this type of baseline information the impacts to the groundwater could not be adequately evaluated given the high water table and the size of the proposed development. Accordingly, Landowners claimed the EA did not provide “available groundwater information” as required under § 76-3-603(1)(a), MCA, and thus did not comply with the MSPA.

¶ 12 Additionally, Landowners asserted that the EA did not address impacts of surface pollutants on the groundwater or Prickly Pear Creek itself. Landowners argued that the EA did not account for impacts due to “nonpoint” sources of pollution, such as fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other household materials which would affect the groundwater with the addition of the subdivision. Although the connection of the subdivision to city of Helena sewer systems arguably had a lesser impact than the use of septic systems, Landowners contended that the placement of sewer lines in either water or soil would affect their leakage potential and should have been evaluated. Landowners argued the EA failed to address these impacts, as required...