Blackstone Park Imp. Ass'n v. State Bd. of Standards and Appeals

• Decision Date: 05 August 1982
• Docket Number: No. 82-139-A,82-139-A
• Citation: 448 A.2d 1233
• Parties: BLACKSTONE PARK IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION et al. v. STATE of Rhode Island BOARD OF STANDARDS AND APPEALS et al.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 1233

448 A.2d 1233

BLACKSTONE PARK IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION et al. v. STATE of Rhode Island BOARD OF STANDARDS AND APPEALS et al.

No. 82-139-A.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Aug. 5, 1982.

Edwards & Angell, Deming E. Sherman, Providence, for Blackstone Park Imp. Ass'n.

Henry J. Almagno, Cranston, for City of Providence.

Adler, Pollock & Sheehan, Inc., Peter Lawson Kennedy, Providence, for State of R. I., Bd. of Standards.

OPINION

KELLEHER, Justice.

This appeal from a decision of the Rhode Island Building Code Board of Standards and Appeals (the Board), before us upon certification by the Superior Court pursuant to G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 9-24-25, raises a question of first impression in this jurisdiction: whether the State of Rhode Island is subject to the zoning ordinances of a local municipality. The controversy in the instant case has been sparked by the state's proposal to build an addition to the Dr. John E. Donley Rehabilitation Center (the Donley Center or the Center) on its current premises at 249 Blackstone Boulevard in Providence. The Donley Center, first established in 1943 and referred to as the "curative centre," P.L.1943, ch. 1362, §§ 1 and 20, is a state-owned and operated treatment facility within the purview of the Department of Labor, Division of Workers' Compensation. It provides rehabilitative services to injured workers throughout the state pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act. General Laws 1956 (1979 Reenactment) §§ 28-38-4 and 28-38-19. The plaintiffs in this action consist of the Blackstone Park Improvement Association (the association), a nonbusiness corporation composed of residents living in the neighborhood surrounding the Donley Center, several individual property owners residing within 200 feet of the Donely Center facility, and the city of Providence.

On February 10, 1982, the State Building Commissioner, acting under the authority of the State Building Code, as codified in title 23, chapter 27.3 of the General Laws (the building code), issued a building permit to the state for the construction of a 7,650-square-foot addition to the existing Donley Center facility at a projected cost of $1.135 million. The architectural plans for this expansion contemplate the erection of a two-story brick building that will be slightly larger than the existing structure. The plaintiffs appealed the issuance of the permit to the Board of Standards and Appeals on the ground that it was improperly granted because the proposed addition fails to conform to Providence's zoning regulations. ¹ On March 8, 1982, the Board denied plaintiffs' appeals, concluding that it was without jurisdiction to consider the applicability of local municipal zoning requirements to state construction projects.

The Donley Center is presently situated in a residential neighborhood of predominantly single-family homes which has been designated as an R-1 (one-family) zone under the city's comprehensive zoning plan. The parties have stipulated that the Center's current operation on the premises constitutes a nonconforming use in that it is not one of the permissible uses for this zoning category enumerated by section 41 of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Providence, ch. 544 (1979). The parties further agree that if the municipal zoning regulations are applicable to state agencies, the Donley Center would be required to obtain the approval of the Providence Zoning Board of Review before it could proceed with construction of the proposed addition. ²

The state takes the position that as the sovereign it is absolutely immune from the zoning requirements of municipalities within its borders. The plaintiffs counter this assertion by reference to the State Building Code, which they argue expressly subjects state buildings, including the Donley Center construction project, to the requirements of municipal zoning regulations governing the location, use, type, and height of buildings or structures.

The General Assembly first promulgated a statewide building code to control the construction, alteration, and rehabilitation of buildings and structures in 1973. Public Laws 1973, ch. 138. The current version of the building code to which plaintiffs refer us is the result of recent legislation that formally adopted, with some modifications, the provisions of the 1978 BOCA Basic Building Code, drafted by the Building Officials & Code Administrators International, Inc. See P.L.1981, chs. 232 and 236. As with the model code, Rhode Island's code sets forth uniform, minimal safety standards with regard to the structural aspects of construction and alteration of buildings and structures within this jurisdiction. In its purpose clause the General Assembly has expressed the conviction that the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Rhode Island will be furthered by the enactment of a "modern uniform building code which takes into account current scientific and engineering knowledge and allows for utilization of modern materials and methods of construction." Section 23-27.3-100.1.2, as amended by P.L.1981, ch. 236, § 2. To this end § 23-27.3-101 specifies that the provisions of the code apply to "all buildings and structures and their appurtenant constructions," and, moreover, that it

"shall apply with equal force to municipal and state authorities established by the legislature and private buildings and structures; except where such buildings and structures are otherwise specifically provided for by statute."

In particular, plaintiffs rely on § 23-27.3-101.3, as amended by P.L.1976, ch. 256, § 1, to support their contention that the state must comply with Providence's land-use ordinance or obtain the approval of the city Zoning Board of Review. Addressing the issue of zoning restrictions, this provision states:

"When the provisions herein specified for structural strength, adequate egress facilities, sanitary conditions, equipment, light and ventilation, and fire safety conflict with the local zoning ordinances, this Code shall control the erection or alteration of buildings. In respect to location, use and type, permissible area and height, the local zoning ordinance shall control."

The Board rejected plaintiffs' interpretation of this section, determining that the building code addresses the interplay between its provisions and municipal zoning regulations only insofar as the structural facet of construction or alteration of buildings and structures is concerned. Accordingly, it was of the opinion that the reference in the last sentence of this section to the word "use," when construed within the overall framework of the code, "deals with structural aspects of buildings and not with land use." We agree.

The BOCA counterpart to § 23-27.3-101.3 differs from the Rhode Island version in that it gives priority to code provisions governing location, use, permissible area, and height when they are more restrictive than local zoning law and relate to the structural, fire, and sanitary safety aspects of buildings or structures. ³

Unfortunately, the BOCA provisions are not accompanied by official commentary, and we have been unable to find cases or other secondary sources that discuss the application of the 1978 zoning-restrictions proviso. ⁴ However, after reviewing the various articles and individual sections of our own State Building Code in conjunction with their BOCA complements, we are convinced that plaintiffs have misconceived the import of § 23-27.3-101.3. As is true of the BOCA code, Rhode Island's code establishes nine use groups for buildings and structures predicated upon the purpose for which a particular building or structure is used. Sections 23-27.3-201.3 and 202.1. For each such "use group" there are detailed specifications concerning the height, permissible area, fire-protection requirements, and structural integrity of buildings and structures within the group. E.g., §§ 23-27.3-203.1 to 211.2. Given this statutory scheme, we believe the Board is correct in its finding that the term "use" as defined in the building code only "addresses itself to the hazards created by certain occupancies of structures and the corresponding structural safeguards which should be undertaken to protect the public's health, safety and welfare." The citation to municipal zoning ordinances controlling the "location, use and type, permissible area and height" of buildings and structures must be interpreted in conjunction with the opening sentence of the conflicts proviso as well as with the overriding purposes of the building code.

Furthermore, it must be borne in mind that in contrast to the focus of zoning laws, building codes generally are designed to promote the public welfare by focusing upon the safety and structure of buildings; they regulate the technical, engineering and scientific details of construction. Zoning regulations, on the other hand, regulate the use of buildings, structures, and lands according to various purposes and therefore tend to deal with building construction from the standpoint of location, height, number of stories, lot sizes, and open-space requirements. Taschner v. City Council of Laguna Beach, 31 Cal.App.3d 48, 60, 107 Cal.Rptr. 214, 224-25 (1973).

In short, when § 23-27.3-101.3 is construed within its proper framework, it is apparent that the language here in question merely specifies the line of demarcation between building-code specifications and zoning requirements. It does not, as plaintiffs assert, expressly subordinate state buildings and building-construction projects to municipal land-use zoning regulations. Indeed, we conclude that the State Building Code is silent with respect to the intergovernmental-conflicts issue this court must today resolve because of the addition's nonconforming-use status and plaintiffs' allegations that the state, like anyone else seeking to extend a nonconforming use, must comply with local land-use regulations or obtain a variance thereto...