Croft v. Town of Summerville

• Decision Date: 16 June 2021
• Docket Number: Opinion No. 28036,Appellate Case No. 2020-000334
• Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: Faye P. Croft, Personally and as Trustee of the James A. Croft Trust; James A. Croft Trust; William A. Harbeson; Heyward G. Hutson; James Stephen Greene, Jr.; South Carolina Public Interest Foundation; Summerville Preservation Society; and Dorchester County Taxpayers Association, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Petitioners, v. Town of Summerville and Town of Summerville Board of Architectural Review, Respondents.

Faye P. Croft, Personally and as Trustee of the James A. Croft Trust; James A. Croft Trust; William A. Harbeson;
Heyward G. Hutson; James Stephen Greene, Jr.; South Carolina Public Interest Foundation;
Summerville Preservation Society; and Dorchester County Taxpayers Association, individually,
and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Petitioners,
v.
Town of Summerville and Town of Summerville Board of Architectural Review, Respondents.

Appellate Case No. 2020-000334
Opinion No. 28036

STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Supreme Court

Heard March 3, 2021
June 16, 2021

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS

Appeal from Dorchester County
Edgar W. Dickson, Circuit Court Judge

VACATED

Michael T. Rose, of Mike Rose Law Firm, PC, of Summerville, and W. Andrew Gowder Jr., of Austen & Gowder, LLC, of Charleston, for Petitioners.

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G. Waring Parker, of G. Waring Parker Law Firm, LLC, of Summerville, and Timothy Alan Domin, of Clawson & Staubes, LLC, of Charleston, for Respondents.

Jay Bender, of Baker, Ravenel and Bender, LLP, of Columbia, for Amicus Curiae South Carolina Press Association.

JUSTICE JAMES: In this appeal, several Summerville residents and public interest groups (Petitioners) ask the Court to invalidate approval granted by the Town of Summerville Board of Architectural Review (the Board) for construction of a proposed development project (the Project). Petitioners contend the Board violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)¹ and various Summerville ordinances. At some point during Petitioners' appeal of the Board's decision, Applegate & Co. (the Developer) decided not to go forward with the Project. Since there remains no actual controversy for this Court to decide, we vacate the court of appeals' decision and dismiss Petitioners' appeal as moot.

Background

On July 9, 2014, the Town of Summerville (the Town) and Town of Summerville Redevelopment Corporation entered into an agreement with the Developer to construct the Project. The Project, to be called "The Dorchester," included plans for a conference center, hotel, condominiums, and parking garage. The Developer subsequently sought design approval from the Board.

The Board is a seven-member public body charged with reviewing applications for construction, modification, and demolition within Summerville's historic district. Summerville, S.C., Code of Ordinances § 32-175(b), (f). As a public body, the Board must comply with the record disclosure and open meeting requirements of FOIA and Summerville's ordinances. See S.C. Code Ann. §§ 30-4-30, -60; Summerville, S.C., Code of Ordinances §§ 32-176(d)-(e), -182(b). Pertinent provisions of both are discussed below.

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On July 21, 23, and 29, 2014, six Board members² met on separate occasions with the Mayor of Summerville and the Developer in groups of two. Prior to those gatherings, the Board Secretary wrote in an email to Board members:

The Mayor would like to get your input and thoughts on

...