Cheatham v. City of Hartselle

• Decision Date: 03 March 2015
• Docket Number: CASE NO. CV-14-J-397-NE
• Parties: GARLIN CHEATHAM, JR., et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF HARTSELLE, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

GARLIN CHEATHAM, JR., et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF HARTSELLE, et al., Defendants.

CASE NO. CV-14-J-397-NE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHEASTERN DIVISION

March 3, 2015

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This case comes before the court on the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment, supporting briefs, evidence and responses to the cross-motions (docs. 24-28 and 34), and a hearing on February 27, 2015, at which all parties were present by and through their respective counsel of record. Plaintiff Garlin Cheatham was also present in person. The court has considered the motions, evidence and arguments of the parties in support of their respective positions.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are not in dispute. The plaintiffs, Garlin and Sally Cheatham, purchased a piece of property in 2012.¹ G. Cheatham depo. at 52. The property is located outside of the city limits of defendant City of Hartselle, Alabama("Hartselle"), but within the planning jurisdiction of the Hartselle City Planning Commission.² G. Cheatham depo. at 50; Griffith³ depo. at 10, 31. No zoning law applies to the plaintiffs' parcel of land.

The property is located at the corner of Kyle Road and Walls Lane. G. Cheatham depo. at 87. See also doc. 26, Exhibits E and F. The opposite side of Kyle Road from the plaintiffs' property is within Hartselle's city limits. Griffith depo. at 33. The corner of the property bounded by those two roads contains a house, which the plaintiffs rented to tenants. S. Cheatham depo. at 20.

On the rest of the property, the plaintiffs began development of an RV park, which is accessed from Walls Lane. G. Cheatham depo. at 53-54, 64; S. Cheatham depo. at 29-30. From May to August 2013, Mr. Cheatham created roads within the property, put in sewer and water lines, ran electricity and put in parking places for the RVs. G. Cheatham depo. at 54-55. The parties do not dispute that neither the Cityof Hartselle nor Morgan County have authority to regulate the development of the RV Park.

The plaintiffs submitted a request to subdivide the property to the Hartselle Planning Commission in July 2013. G. Cheatham depo. 57-58; see also doc. 27-1, Exhibit A. They wanted to separate the rental house from the rest of the property, in order to sell the house to their then tenant. G. Cheatham depo. at 47, Griffith depo. at 16, 27. Although that sale is no longer viable, plaintiffs represented in open court during the hearing that they still seek to subdivide the property to sell the parcel containing the house.

The Hartselle Planning Commission considers all subdivision applications within Hartselle's planning jurisdiction. Griffith affidavit, ¶ 2. That jurisdiction includes everything within Hartselle's city limits, plus an additional 1.5 mile radius surrounding the city within Morgan County.⁴ Id. A subdivision request for landwithin the planning jurisdiction, but not the city limits, requires approval of the Planning Commission and the Morgan County Engineer.⁵ Id., ¶¶ 2, 4.

Morgan County, Alabama, also has subdivision regulations, which require a proposed subdivision to provide a 60 foot right-of-way for minor roads, which equals a distance of 30 feet from the center line of the road to the property in question.⁶ Griffith affidavit, ¶ 5. The Planning Commission will not approve a subdivision request until the application includes the required right-of-way dedication. Id., ¶ 6.

The plaintiffs' request was denied August 6, 2013 because the right-of-way dedication on Walls Lane was only 30 feet, although the county required 60 feet. G. Cheatham depo. at 67-68. Thus, from the center line of Walls Lane, plaintiffs were required to dedicate an additional 15 foot right-of-way, without receiving any compensation therefor, under the Morgan County requirements, to facilitate future widening of the road. Griffith affidavit, ¶¶ 9-10. According to Jeremy Griffith, the technical review committee of the Planning Commission was concerned about the width of Walls Lane right-of-way for RV traffic and the increase in traffic an RV park would bring. Griffith depo. at 18, 20; Griffith affidavit, ¶ 10. Also according to Griffith, the County Engineer had received resident complaints with regard to the road width of Walls Lane being inadequate to support an RV park. Griffith depo. at 35-36. However, the court has no evidence of any such complaints before it.

The plaintiffs declined to provide the additional 15 foot right of way along the length of Walls Lane because they believed having to do so would be a "taking" under the Alabama Constitution and they were not offered any payment. G. Cheatham depo. at 75; doc. 27-1 at 7-10. The first RV appeared on the property in November 2013. G. Cheatham depo. at 51, 58.

Based on the above facts, the plaintiffs filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C § 1983, claiming damages against Harselle for violation of their civil rights, andseeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Amended Complaint, ¶ 1. Specifically, plaintiffs assert that the demand for an additional 15 foot right-of-way before the subdivision is approved constitutes inverse condemnation in violation of the 5^thAmendment to the United States Constitution. Amended Complaint, ¶ 10.

II. STANDARD FOR EVALUATING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A moving party is entitled to summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of material fact, leaving final judgment to be decided as a matter of law. See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56; Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56 (1986). An issue is "material" if it is a legal element of the claim under the applicable substantive law which might affect the outcome of the case. It is "genuine" if the record taken as a whole could lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party. Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11^th Cir.1997).

The facts, and any reasonable inferences therefrom, are to be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, with any doubt resolved in the nonmovant's favor. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 158, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1609 (1970). Once met by the moving party, however, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to come forward with evidence to establish each element essential to that party's case sufficient to sustain a jury verdict. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552 (1986); Earley v. Champion Int'l Corp., 907 F.2d 1077, 1080 (11^th Cir.1990).

A party opposing a properly submitted motion for summary judgment may not rest upon mere allegations or denials of his pleadings, but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Eberhardt v. Waters, 901 F.2d 1578, 1580 (11^th Cir.1990). In addition, the non-moving party's evidence on rebuttal must be significantly probative and not based on mere assertion or be merely colorable. See Rule 56(e); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511 (1986). Speculation does not create a genuine issue of fact. Cordoba v. Dillard's, Inc., 419 F.3d 1169, 1181 (11^th Cir.2005).

The court must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and may not make credibility determinations nor weigh the parties' evidence. Frederick v. Sprint/United Management Co. 246 F.3d 1305, 1311 (11^th Cir.2001); Stewart v. Booker T. Washington Insurance., 232 F.3d 844, 848 (11^th Cir.2000).

III. LEGAL ANALYSIS

As stated above, the facts of this case are not in dispute. The parties also agree that this action is governed by Nollan v. California Coast Commission, 483 U.S. 825 (1987); Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512, U.S. 374 (1994), Koontz v. St. Johns River Management District, 568 U.S. — , 133 S.Ct. 2586 (2013), and § 11-52-30, et. seq.,Alabama Code 1975, as amended. The only real dispute, then, is whether the required right-of-way dedication "substantially advance[s] legitimate state interests" and does not "den[y] an owner economically viable use of his land." Nollan, 483 U.S. at 834. See also Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104, 127, 98 S.Ct. 2646, 2660, 57 L.Ed.2d 631 (1978) ("[A] use restriction may constitute a 'taking' if not reasonably necessary to the effectuation of a substantial government purpose"). Unless the demand for the dedication meets the exacting standards set forth in the foregoing cases, the demanded dedication is a taking of private property for public use, requiring just compensation to the property owners.

Not surprisingly, defendant argues that the required right-of-way dedication substantially advances a legitimate state interest, while the plaintiffs argue that it does not. Defendant's memorandum (doc. 25) at 9-10, plaintiffs' memorandum (doc. 27) at 7. The parties agree that had plaintiffs not sought to separate the rental house parcel from the RV park parcel, the defendant would have no basis for demanding the additional 15 foot right-of-way dedication. Plaintiffs' memorandum, at 6-7. However, plaintiffs did seek to do so. Citing Dolan v. City of Tigard, the plaintiffs assert that no "rough proportionality" between the requested subdivision certificate and the reasons for denial of the certificate exist. Plaintiffs' memorandum, at 7.

In Dolan, the Court noted:

Without question, had the city simply required petitioner to dedicate a strip of land along Fanno Creek for public use, rather than conditioning the grant of her permit to redevelop her property on such a dedication, a taking would have occurred. Nollan, supra, 483 U.S., at 831, 107 S.Ct., at 3145. Such public access would deprive petitioner of the right to exclude others, "one of the most essential sticks in the bundle of rights that are commonly characterized as property." Kaiser Aetna v. United States, 444 U.S. 164, 176, 100 S.Ct. 383, 391, 62 L.Ed.2d 332 (1979).

On the other side of the ledger, the authority of state and local governments to engage in land

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