Balser v. Kootenai County Bd. of Com'rs
| Decision Date | 15 January 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 15691,15691 |
| Citation | 714 P.2d 6,110 Idaho 37 |
| Parties | Robert L. BALSER and Virginia Balser, husband and wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. KOOTENAI COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
Glen E. Walker, Kootenai County Pros. Atty., Susan V. Campbell, Chief Civil Deputy Pros. Atty., Coeur d'Alene, for defendant-appellant.
Charles B. Lempesis, Post Falls, for plaintiffs-respondents.
Appellant Kootenai County Board of Commissioners appeals a district court decision reversing the board's denial of a rezone request by respondents Balsers. The Board of County Commissioners raises two issues on appeal: (1) whether the district court erred in holding that the county's comprehensive plan takes precedence over an existing zoning ordinance, thereby requiring immediate amendment of all such ordinances to conform exactly to the comprehensive plan's land use designations; and (2) whether the district court erred in determining that Kootenai County Zoning Ordinance No. 11 predated the county's comprehensive plan and had not undergone the review process as mandated by I.C. § 67-6514.
Respondents Balsers own a piece of property approximately 15 acres in size in Kootenai County. Balsers own and operate a small cedar shake mill on the property. The property is presently zoned agricultural by Kootenai County Zoning Ordinance No. 11 passed in 1973. The Comprehensive Land Use Map of the Kootenai County Comprehensive Plan (adopted on April 6, 1978) designates the area encompassing the Balser property as industrial.
On April 8, 1982, Balsers filed a petition with the Kootenai County Planning & Zoning Commission to change the existing zone classification of their land from agricultural to industrial. Hearings on the petition were held before the Kootenai County Planning & Zoning Commission on May 12, 1982, and the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners, on August 18, 1982. The Board of County Commissioners denied Balsers' application for a zone change on January 3, 1983. The commissioners held that Balsers had failed to meet their burden of proof in establishing "a substantial change in conditions or trend in the area, the availability of services, or the existence of special circumstances which would offset the adverse impacts of the requested spot zoning." The board further held, "that a comprehensive plan designation does not, ipso facto, mandate an immediate zone change, but rather establishes the direction of future zone changes once the requisite conditions ... have been established." 1
Balsers appealed to the district court which in turn reversed the commissioners and ordered the property rezoned as requested.
"It is the conclusion of this Court, that the decision of the Board of County Commissioners of Kootenai County is reversed on the ground that the substantial rights of the Petitioners have been prejudiced and that the decision of the Board of Commissioners is made upon unlawful "The Comprehensive Plan provides that the Petitioners property is zoned "industrial." Said plan takes precedence over the pre-existing conflicting County Ordinance No. 11.
[110 Idaho 39] procedure, and affected by errors of law, in that the Board did not follow the clear terms of its own adopted Comprehensive Plan.
"The action of the Board should have been merely ministerial in recognizing its comprehensive plan and considering Petitioners land zoned "industrial." (Emphasis added.)
In essence, the district court interpreted the "in accordance with" language of I.C. § 67-6511, 2 along with the language of I.C. § 67-6514, 3 as requiring existing zoning ordinances to be amended so as to immediately conform to the comprehensive plan.
On appeal, the Board of County Commissioners contends that the district court erred as a matter of law when it held that the comprehensive plan takes precedence over an existing ordinance. The board argues that the comprehensive plan does not, in and of itself, require immediate conformance of all existing ordinances to the plan's land use designations. The board contends that the district court's holding to the contrary is in conflict with Bone v. City of Lewiston, 107 Idaho 844, 693 P.2d 1046 (1984). We agree.
In reaching its decision the district court was without the benefit of either statutory or judicial interpretation of the "in accordance with" language of I.C. § 67-6511. Subsequent to the district court's decision in this case, Bone v. City of Lewiston, supra, was decided in which we specifically held that I.C. § 67-6511 does not require a zoning ordinance's land use designation to be in strict conformance with the corresponding land use designation of the comprehensive plan. We held that the determination of whether a zoning ordinance is "in accordance with" the comprehensive plan is one of fact. As a question of fact, the determination is for the governing body charged with zoning--in the present case the Board of County Commissioners.
"What a governing body charged to zone 'in accordance with' under § 67-6511 must do is make a factual inquiry into whether the requested zoning ordinance or amendment reflects the goals of, and takes into account those factors in, the comprehensive plan in light of the present factual circumstances surrounding the request." 107 Idaho at 850, 693 P.2d at 1052.
Thus, the trial court erred as a matter of law in holding that the process of conforming zoning ordinances to the comprehensive plan is a purely ministerial duty. In fact, that determination is committed to the sound discretion of the governing body, 4 subject only to judicial review on the record pursuant to the guidelines of I.C. § 67-5215(b)-(g).
Having reviewed the record, we conclude that the decision of the Board of County Commissioners is supported by substantial evidence in the whole record and the board correctly applied the law as subsequently set out in the case of Bone v. City of Lewiston, supra. Accordingly, on the issue of whether the "[comprehensive] plan takes precedence over the pre-existing conflicting County Ordinance No. 11," we
[110 Idaho 40] reverse the decision of the district court and affirm the decision of the Board of County Commissioners.
The Board of County Commissioners also argues that the district court erred in addressing the issue of whether or not Zoning Ordinance No. 11 has undergone the review and/or amendment provided by I.C. § 67-6514. Section 67-6514 provides that zoning ordinances in existence on the effective date of the Local Planning Act of 1975 shall be reviewed by the board of county commissioners to determine their compliance with the Local Planning Act of 1975, and the board "shall make necessary amendments in accordance with this chapter prior to January 1, 1978...." The board contends that the issue of compliance with I.C. § 67-6514 was not raised before the Board of County Commissioners, and thus the issue was not properly before the district court. In its opinion the district court stated, "No evidence was presented of any change or amendment of the zoning ordinance [No. 11] of Kootenai County to bring said ordinance into compliance with the comprehensive plan." The district court held, in essence, that Ordinance No. 11 had not undergone the review process mandated by I.C. § 67-6514, and was therefore invalid.
The district court erred in addressing the issue of compliance with I.C. § 67-6514. It is by now a well established rule in Idaho that review on appeal is limited to those issues raised before the lower tribunal and that an appellate court will not decide issues presented for the first time on appeal. Baldner v. Bennett's, Inc., 103 Idaho 458, 460, 649 P.2d 1214, 1216 (1982); Webster v. Potlatch Forest, 68 Idaho 1, 16, 187 P.2d 527, 536 (1947). See also Masters v. State, 105 Idaho 197, 668 P.2d 73 (1983) (); International Business Machines Corp. v. Lawhorn, 106 Idaho 194, 677 P.2d 507 (Ct.App.1984) (). That this rule is equally applicable to appeals of zoning decisions is made clear by I.C. § 67-6521(d) which states that judicial review of the board's decision is governed by I.C. § 67-5215(b)-(g) which confines the review by the district court to the record. I.C. § 67-5215(f). 5
In the present case, the Balsers did not raise the issue of Zoning Ordinance No. 11's compliance with I.C. § 67-6514 before the board of commissioners. The district court's observation that "no evidence was presented" regarding compliance with I.C. § 67-6514 is understandable considering the fact that the issue was not before the board. It was error for the district court, sitting as an appellate court, to nevertheless address and decide the issue. 6
The judgment of the district court is reversed, and the decision of the Kootenai County Board of Commissioners is affirmed.
Costs to appellant; no attorney fees allowed.
APPENDIX
In the Matter of ROBERT AND VIRGINIA BALSER, Request for Change of Zoning Classification
MEMORANDUM OPINION
The above entitled matter came on regularly for hearing before the Board on the 18th day of August, 1982. Members of the Board present at the Hearing were Commissioner Michael B. McFarland, sitting as Chairman Pro Tem, and Commissioner B. Douglas Frymire; Commission Chairman Glenn R. Jackson was absent.
The Hearing was electronically recorded and a typewritten transcript was prepared.
Testimony and evidence were received from all interested parties at the Hearing. The record was held open until 5:00...
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