D'Angelo v. Knights of Columbus Bldg. Ass'n of Bristol, R.I., Inc.

• Decision Date: 14 May 1959
• Docket Number: No. 2720,2720
• Citation: D'Angelo v. Knights of Columbus Bldg. Ass'n of Bristol, R.I., Inc., 151 A.2d 495, 89 R.I. 76 (R.I. 1959)
• Parties: Antonio F. D'ANGELO et al. v. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BUILDING ASSOCIATION OF BRISTOL, R. I., INC. et al. Eq.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 495

151 A.2d 495

89 R.I. 76

Antonio F. D'ANGELO et al. v. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS BUILDING ASSOCIATION OF BRISTOL, R. I., INC. et al.

Eq. No. 2720.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

May 14, 1959.

Ferdinand A. Bruno, Providence, Pasquale T. Annarummo, Warren, for complainants.

Joseph D. Accardi, Bristol, for respondent Knights of Columbus Bldg. Assn. of Bristol, R. I., Inc.

Frank L. Martin, Town Solicitor, Joseph Mainelli, U. S. Atty., Arnold Williamson, Jr., Asst. U. S. Atty., Providence, as amicus curiae.

ROBERTS, Justice.

This bill in equity was brought to enjoin the respondents from acting under an amendment to the zoning ordinance of the town of Bristol. A preliminary injunction was denied and the cause was then heard on the complainants' prayer for a permanent injunction. At the completion of the complainants' case the respondents moved to dismiss the bill. The motion was granted and the bill was dismissed. A final decree to that effect was duly entered from which the complainants have appealed to this court.

The complainants, husband and wife, are owners of property on the north side of State street in said town in a district designated as residence E under the zoning ordinance of 1931. The property is used in part as a residence and in part by the complainant husband as a doctor's office, the latter constituting a permitted use under the classification residence E. The respondent Knights of Columbus Building Association of Bristol, R. I., Inc., hereinafter referred to as Knights of Columbus, is the owner of property adjoining that of complainants which is also in the district zoned as residence E under said ordinance. Prior to the hearing in the superior court a stipulation was filed by the parties substituting the name of Joseph A. Murgo, town engineer of the town of Bristol, as a party respondent in the places of the repondents John Alfred and Angelo Pirri, co-building inspectors of the town of Bristol. By their bill complainants seek to enjoin the use of the property of Knights of Columbus for business purposes.

The merits of this controversy were heard initially on the prayer for a preliminary injunction, and the justice who heard the matter wrote a lengthy rescript thereon. The decision presently before us was entered by another justice of the superior court who in effect adopted the conclusions contained in the earlier rescript. Upon the hearing for a permanent injunction the bill of complaint was dismissed at the conclusion of complainants' evidence. The procedure herein employed was authorized by General Laws 1956, § 9-14-22, whereby a respondent at the conclusion of the complainant's evidence may move to dismiss without waiving his own right to proceed with evidence in the event the motion is denied. See Flynn v. Byrne, 82 R. I. 48, 105 A.2d 800.

In the rescript on the prayer for a preliminary injunction, certain specific findings of fact were made. In their briefs and arguments before this court the parties have assumed the existence of the facts recited in that rescript. Upon an examination of the transcript, however, it appears that certain evidence which apparently was before the trial justice who denied the preliminary injunction was not presented in the proceeding which we are now reviewing. In such circumstances we would ordinarily feel constrained to dispose of the instant appeal without reference to that evidence. However, since the evidence in question is not disputed by the parties on this appeal and since the conclusions which we have reached require that the cause be remanded for further proceedings, we are of the opinion that nothing would be accomplished by disregarding the undisputed facts which are essential to a consideration of the legal issue presented. We shall therefore accept as established the unchallenged findings of fact contained in the rescript which was relied on as the basis for the decision. Thus, reference herein will be to the decision contained in the rescript of the justice who heard the prayer for a preliminary injunction.

It appears from such decision that the district in which the properties of complainants and respondent Knights of Columbus are located is largely residential and has been so classified since the original zoning ordinance of the town. The lot belonging to Knights of Columbus is entirely surrounded by property classified as residential. It is now using this property for general corporate purposes including meetings, dances, wedding parties, and the like, all of which constitute a nonconforming use, which use existed at the time the original zoning ordinance was enacted in 1931.

In March 1957 respondent Knights of Columbus entered into an agreement with the Postmaster General of the United States under which the property would be sold by said respondent to a private party designated by the Postmaster General. It was the intention of the parties that the property would subsequently be leased on a long-term basis to the United States for use as a post office. A post office is not a permitted use under the classification residence E but is a use included under the classification business F, which also embraces the existing nonconforming uses of the property in question and many other uses not available to property in a residence E district.

In March 1957 Knights of Columbus petitioned the town council to change the classification of its lot from residence E to business F. After a public hearing the town council, over the objection of complainants and others, granted the petition to rezone the lot in question. On April 22, 1957 the rezoning amendment was duly approved at a financial town meeting. The instant bill in equity was brought to enjoin Knights of Columbus from using the property for the business purposes allowable under the new classification and also to enjoin the building inspector from issuing a permit for such use.

The complainants contend that in rezoning the lot of Knights of Columbus, the town council exceeded the powers conferred upon it under the enabling act. It is argued that the amendment herein constituted spot zoning and that as such it is invalid because it was not made 'in accordance with a comprehensive plan * * *.' It is undisputed that the rezoning accomplished by the amendment applies only to the one lot owned by Knights of Columbus and that all of the surrounding area is still classified as residence E.

In his rescript the trial justice concluded that the amendment in question, although admittedly spot zoning, was not in all the circumstances invalid. He concluded that the rezoning was not solely for the financial gain of the property owner and did not seem to be discriminatory. In upholding the validity of the amendment he relied strongly on the fact that the property was already subject to a nonconforming use and that such use was included within the new classification. Upon the evidence before us, we are of the opinion that the decision cannot be sustained.

The enabling act under which the validity of local zoning enactments must be tested is G.L.1956, § 45-24-3. That section reads:

'Such regulations shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan and designed to lessen congestion in the streets; to secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers; to promote the public health and the general welfare; to provide adequate light and air; to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue concentration of population; to facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements. Such regulations shall be made with reasonable consideration, among other things, to the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses, and with a view to conserving the value of builldings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout such town or municipality.'

The practice of spot zoning has been described as follows: 'Action by a zoning authority which gives to a singe lot or a small area privileges which are not extended to other land in the vicinity is in general against sound public policy and obnoxious to the law. It can be justified only when it is done in furtherance of a general plan properly adopted for and designed to serve the best interests of the community as a whole.' Bartram v. Zoning Commission, 136 Conn. 89, 93, 68 A.2d 308, 310. See Flynn v. Zoning Board of Review, 77 R. I. 118, 125, 126, 73 A.2d 808. It is the statutory requirement of comprehensiveness which is of prime importance in cases of spot zoning, since isolated treatment of a small area seems to suggest a departure from the general plan. See Borough of Cresskill v. Borough of Dumont, 15 N.J. 238, 104 A.2d 441. In the case at bar we are of the opinion that the principal issue is whether the amendment in question is part of a consistent local plan of zoning.

The town council in...