Community Treatment Centers v. City of Westland

• Decision Date: 24 June 1997
• Docket Number: No. 97-CV-70439-DT.,97-CV-70439-DT.
• Citation: 970 F.Supp. 1197
• Parties: COMMUNITY TREATMENT CENTERS, INC., a Michigan non-profit corporation, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF WESTLAND, a municipal corporation, and City of Westland City Council, Jointly and Severally, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

970 F.Supp. 1197

COMMUNITY TREATMENT CENTERS, INC., a Michigan non-profit corporation, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF WESTLAND, a municipal corporation, and City of Westland City Council, Jointly and Severally, Defendants.

No. 97-CV-70439-DT.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

June 24, 1997.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Dawn MacAddino, Timothy Stoepke, Detroit, MI, for Plaintiff.

Angelo A. Plakas, Westland, MI, Carol A. Rosati, Farmington Hills, MI, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS

ROSEN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

In the February 19, 1997 First Amended Complaint in this matter, Community Treatment Centers, Inc. ("CTC") and Public Service Credit Union ("PSCU") allege that when Defendants City of Westland (the "City") and the City of Westland City Council (the "City Council") denied CTC's special land-use Application (the "Application") for operating a pre-release center for federal prisoners at 30555 Michigan Avenue, Westland, Michigan (the "Property"), which is currently owned by PSCU, the Michigan and federal constitutions were violated. The Complaint includes the following Counts:

(1) Count I: A Writ of Mandamus seeking, inter alia, an Order compelling Defendants to issue all necessary permits for CTC's intended use of the Property and enjoining Defendants from preventing CTC's intended use of the Property;

(2) Count II: CTC alleges that, in denying the Application, Defendants have engaged in "exclusionary zoning" which violates the Michigan Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution;

(3) Count III: CTC alleges that this "exclusionary zoning" violates M.C.L.A. § 125.581;

(4) Count IV: Defendants' conduct effected a taking in violation of Article X, Section 2 of the Michigan Constitution and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution;

(5) Count V: Defendants' conduct has deprived CTC of substantive due process, pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983;

(6) Count VI: CTC re-alleges its exclusionary zoning claims, but in this Count alleges them pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983;

(7) Count VII: Defendants' conduct has deprived CTC of its right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution;

(8) Count VIII: CTC re-alleges its equal protection claim, but in this Count, alleges it pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983;

(9) Count IX: CTC alleges that it is immune from the local zoning ordinances relevant to its Application because its use of the Property is pursuant to a contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"); and

(10) Count X: The local zoning ordinances at issue here are preempted by federal law regarding the operation and establishment of federal penal institutions and correctional facilities.

In Counts II — X, as it did in Count I, CTC requests that the Court order the City to issue all necessary permits and/or enjoin the City from preventing CTC's intended use of the Property. Moreover, in Counts IV, V, VI, and VIII, CTC seeks damages.

This matter is before the Court on Defendants' April 7, 1997 Motion to Dismiss on jurisdictional and abstention grounds. Additionally, the Court ordered the parties to submit supplemental briefs regarding CTC's standing. Having reviewed the parties' pleadings and conducted a hearing on this matter, the Court is now prepared to rule. This Opinion and Order sets forth that ruling.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Pre-Release Centers for Federal Offenders.

The BOP "contracts with state and local governments and private organizations to provide a variety of services to federal offenders in the community. These services are generally provided through facilities commonly known as Community Corrections Centers." (CTC's Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts IX and X (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X), Ex. A). The objective of a Community Correction Center ("CCC") "is to provide a versatile community-based program for federal offenders. Services ... include programs designed to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding, self-sufficient, contributing members of the community." (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X, Ex. A). The services provided by a CCC include the following:

1. Pre-Release Component: Offenders in this program component are in the center for the purpose of making a transition from the institutional setting to the community, or as a program resource while under supervision. These individuals are the responsibility of the BOP.

2. Community Corrections Component: Offenders in this program component are in the center primarily as a punitive sanction. Conditions are more restrictive than the pre-release component. This component may consist of individuals under the responsibility of the BOP (Direct Court Commitments and Institution Transfers) and the Probation Office (Supervision Cases).

3. Home Confinement Component: Offenders in this program component are ordinarily within thirty to sixty days of release. This is a selective status that is authorized discriminantly according to an offender's needs. This component may consist of individuals under the responsibility of the POP and the Probation Office.

(Id.).

The authority and procedures for establishing CCC's is found at 18 U.S.C.A. § 4082, and the regulations promulgated thereunder at 28 C.F.R. 0.95 et seq. Section 4082 gives the Attorney General the power to designate where federal prisoners shall be committed, including committing them to residential community treatment centers. 18 U.S.C.A. § 4082(b) and (f). In 28 C.F.R. § 0.95, the Attorney General delegates this authority to the BOP.

On February 6, 1995, the BOP issued a Request for Proposal ("RFP") which solicited proposals to provide CCC services in the Detroit metropolitan area for 35 male Federal offenders held under the authority of the statutes of the United States. (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X, Ex. A; CTC's First Amended Complaint ("Complaint"), Ex. 2). During April 1995, Project Rehab, Inc., a non-profit Michigan corporation of which CTC is allegedly a wholly-owned subsidiary, submitted a proposal pursuant to this RFP. (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X, Ex. A.) In April 1996, CTC and/or Project Rehab identified the Property as a location for the CCC services facility (the "Facility") in Metro Detroit. (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X, Ex. B., Humes Affidavit, p. 2). By August 1996, the BOP approved of the Property as a site for the Facility and awarded a contract to Project Rehab, Inc.¹ (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X, Ex. A.). Allegedly, under the terms of the contract, CTC was to be in operation of the Facility by May 1, 1997, (P's MSJ on Counts IX and X, Ex. B., p. 2), although CTC advised the Court that the BOP extended this date to May 31, 1997 in light of the Court's hearing on this matter.

B. Zoning in the City of Westland.

Under Michigan's Zoning Enabling Act, M.C.L.A. § 125.581 et seq., cities and villages may create and implement their own zoning policies and procedures subject to a wide variety of factors and considerations. Pursuant to its own zoning ordinance, the City has divided itself into different Zoning Districts which each have several uses that are permitted as of right, as well as "special land-uses," the applicability and approval of which are governed by Article XIII of the Ordinance. Westland, Mich., Zoning Ordinance (hereinafter "Zoning Ordinance"), Arts. VI and IX. OB-1 and OB-2 are two of these Zoning Districts. Zoning Ordinance, Art. IX.

The Zoning Ordinance provides that if a use is not a use as of right, the owner may obtain a special land-use permit by filing an application with the City's Planning Department. Zoning Ordinance, Art. XIII. Thereafter, the City's Planning Director prepares a report regarding the application and makes a recommendation. Id. Upon completion of the report, the Planning Director forwards the report to the City's Planning Commission. Id. After giving notice of and conducting a public meeting on the application, the Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the City Council. Zoning Ordinance, Art. XIII. Thereafter, the City Council makes the final determination on the application based upon the requirements and standards of the Zoning Ordinance. Id.

C. The Application Process.

On April 25, 1996, CTC contacted Mr. Todd Kilroy, Planning Director of the City, and inquired about operating the Facility in Zoning District OB-2, High-Intensity Office Business District. (CTC's First Amended Complaint ("Complaint"), Ex. 1, p. 1). On June 19, 1996, CTC made a $5,000 deposit on a $300,000 contingent purchase agreement for the Property with PSCU. (CTC's supplemental Brief on Standing ("CTC's Supplement"), Ex. 1).

In its pleadings, CTC alleges that it selected the Property as the site for the Facility for several reasons. First, because the Property is on Michigan Avenue between Merriman Road and Henry Ruff Road in Westland, MI, the Property is near major thoroughfares which is important for the transportation needs of the Facility's residents. (CTC's Motion for Summary Judgment on Count I ("P's MSJ on Count I"), p. 1). Second, the site has parking and is adaptable to the residential and counseling needs of the Facility. (Id.). Finally, the area immediately surrounding the site is predominantly vacant, while the more general vicinity includes businesses, shopping centers, and other light industrial uses — i.e., there is no adjacent residential area. (Id. at p. 1-2).

On June 24, 1996, various City officials and departments and CTC conducted a "study session" of the Property as the location for the Facility, apparently incident to the Planning Director's report under Article XIII of the Zoning Ordinance. (P's MSJ on Count I, Ex. A). At this time, the City requested that the Police Department investigate similar facilities operated by CTC in Saginaw, Detroit, and Grand Rapids, MI. (P's MSJ on Count I, Ex. B).

On July 1, 1996,...