City of Johnston v. Christenson
| Decision Date | 31 March 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-0208.,04-0208. |
| Citation | 718 N.W.2d 290 |
| Parties | CITY OF JOHNSTON, Appellee, v. Andrew CHRISTENSON, Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Frank Murray Smith of Frank Murray Smith Law Offices, Des Moines, for appellant.
J. Russell Hixson of Hixson, Brown & Parrish-Sams, P.C., Clive, for appellee.
This appeal requires us to consider the doctrine of issue preclusion as it applies to a decision of a board of adjustment to grant a variance and special exception from a city zoning ordinance to a landowner for the construction of an accessory building. In doing so, we must clarify the proper allocation of power between a city and its board of adjustment, as well as the proper procedure for a city to challenge a decision by its board of adjustment. The matters at the center of this dispute arose in the course of an action for a declaratory judgment in which the district court declared that the board of adjustment never decided if the proposed use of the structure in dispute was legal under the ordinance when it granted the special exception and variance. This ruling paved the way for the city to assert the use of the structure as grounds to deny approval of the site plan and the issuance of a building permit. We reverse and remand the decision of the district court.
Andrew Christenson owns 9.7 acres of land located along Merle Hay Road in the City of Johnston. It is an island of bygone days, encased within a progressive, vibrant, rapidly sprawling metropolitan suburb. The acreage was once part of a farm in a sea of other farms, and it retains many characteristics of its rural past today. At the time Christenson purchased the land, it included a single-family residential home, a detached garage, and five outbuildings. The residential dwelling was built in 1923. The outbuildings were built in the 1940s and 1950s, and included a small barn, a tack shed, a farrier shed, a grain shed, and an insulated shed. The garage was built in 1960. Much of the land was enclosed by a fence to retain farm animals.
The land is now in a mixed-use center district of the City zoned ROC-2. It is a relatively new zoning classification enacted in 2001 that includes a mixture of residential, office, and commercial uses. The land was zoned for commercial and office use, primarily dedicated to offices, prior to the current mixed-use zoning. It was originally zoned for residential use (R-2) shortly after the City was incorporated in 1969. The zoning was changed to commercial use in 1980. The land and the outbuildings had been used for agricultural purposes prior to the incorporation of the City and the enactment of the various zoning ordinances, and the property continued to be legally used for agricultural purposes as a preexisting nonconforming use since that time. The agricultural uses have primarily included planting crops and keeping horses. The land is currently used to pasture approximately four horses.
In 1998, a vicious, inclement storm hit the City. It severely damaged or destroyed the outbuildings on Christenson's land. The garage was damaged beyond repair. The farrier shed, grain shed, and barn were destroyed, and the cost of repairing the damage to the insulated shed and the tack shed far exceeded the replacement cost of the structures.
The current ROC-2 mixed-use zoning ordinance adopted in 2001 permits accessory structures, subject to certain size, bulk, and other restrictions. Johnston Municipal Code § 17.04.290.1. Under the ordinance, the size of accessory buildings on lots between five and ten acres is limited to 3600 square feet, unless a special exception is permitted by the board of adjustment based upon special findings. Id. The maximum height for accessory structures under the ordinance is fifteen feet. Id. § 17.04.290.1(E). Additionally, the ordinance sets forth the various principal and accessory uses permitted in an ROC-2 district, which do not include agricultural use. See id. § 17.10.182.40.
After the enactment of the ordinance, Christenson began to move forward with a plan to construct a large accessory building to replace the various functions of the damaged and destroyed outbuildings. The plans called for the construction of an 80 X 200-foot building (16,000 square feet) with a height of twenty-four feet. Under the plans, it would be built approximately 120 feet from the existing residence and would be used for storage of feed and supplies, personal property, vehicles, and horses.
Christenson filed an application with the board of adjustment under section 17.04.290.1(C) of the city ordinance for a special exception to exceed the maximum area limitation of 3600 square feet for accessory structures. He also requested a variance from the fifteen-foot height restriction.
A hearing on the application was held on December 20, 2001. The office of the city zoning administrator submitted a written report to the board prior to the hearing to assist the board in making its decision on the application for a variance and special exception. The report identified the essential facts relevant to the special findings required under the ordinance for a special exception.1 A portion of these facts informed the board that the intended use of the structure for horses justified the need for additional space, but the zoning administrator expressed an opinion that the construction of the structure, while technically permissible, could conflict with the purpose of the nonconforming-use ordinance. Following the hearing, the board passed a resolution. The resolution approved the special exception for area and granted a variance for height. The board of adjustment made five written findings contained in five numbered paragraphs of the resolution. It found:
1. The building size was "appropriate for the intended use as storage for equipment and an exercise area for horses."
2. Notice should be recorded to limit the present and future use of the building to permitted uses under the ordinance because the building could be used for nonpermitted uses.
3. The siting of the building was appropriate.
4. Special architectural restrictions were needed so the building would blend into the surrounding area.
5. The variance for height was needed based on hardship of constructing a large building without a corresponding increase in the height of the roof.
The board also included a condition that required Christenson to submit a site plan for approval by the planning and zoning commission and the city council.
Pursuant to the procedure under the ordinance, the city council requested that the board reconsider its resolution, based on an opinion by the city attorney that the intended use of the structure for horses was prohibited under numerous city ordinances as an illegal expansion of a nonconforming use. The opinion letter cited numerous specific ordinances that allegedly would be violated if the structure were used for horses, and it argued the board therefore erred when it granted Christenson's variance and special exception.
The board of adjustment then reconsidered the matter at a hearing on January 31, 2002. Following a discussion between board members and city officials concerning whether the erection of a new structure intended, in part, for a nonconforming use was prohibited under the ordinance, the board confirmed the prior resolution by vote. No written decision was entered.
The City filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the district court to challenge the decision of the board of adjustment. Christenson then submitted a site plan for approval by the planning and zoning commission and the city council. The City refused to take action on the site plan and filed a petition for declaratory judgment in district court asking the court to declare that it was not obligated to approve the site plan because the plan submitted by Christenson revealed that the intended use of the structure violated several ordinances separate from the ordinance covered by the variance and special exception. First, the City claimed the use of the structure for horses was not a permitted use under section 17.10.182.40, which prescribes the permitted uses for accessory buildings. Second, it claimed the use of the structure for horses violated the nonconforming-use-of-land provisions under section 17.04.150 and violated the nonconforming-use-of-structure provisions of section 17.04.160. More specifically, the City claimed the plan violated section 17.04.160(G), which does not permit structures used for a nonconforming use to be rebuilt after damage in excess of fifty percent of the replacement cost. Additionally, under section 17.04.160(F), the destruction of a structure used for a nonconforming use eliminates the nonconforming status. These sections were included in the written opinion by the city attorney submitted to the board of adjustment prior to the second hearing.
The City claimed it was authorized to reject the site plan based on the additional ordinances because the board of adjustment did not address or decide if the project violated the additional ordinances but only granted the special exception and variance from the area and height requirements of section 17.04.290.
The district court stayed the writ of certiorari action and considered the petition for declaratory judgment based on motions for summary judgment filed by the parties. The motion filed by the City asked the district court to declare that the proposal violated other ordinances not used by the board of adjustment to grant the variance and special exception. The district court declared the proposed structure, despite the special exception and variance for size and height granted by the board of adjustment, violated section 17.10.182.40, and 17.04.160, and these ordinances were not considered by the board of adjustment.
Christenson appealed. He did not...
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