Drake v. Craven
| Citation | 672 P.2d 1064,105 Idaho 734 |
| Decision Date | 11 October 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 14077,14077 |
| Parties | Ben R. DRAKE and D.M. Downer, as individuals, and Snake River Valley Home Builders Association, an Idaho corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ira L. CRAVEN, Earl Giles, Stan Pilcher, Commissioners of Canyon County, Idaho and Canyon County Planning and Zoning Commission, Defendants-Respondents. |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Idaho |
Jon N. Wyman, Wyman & Wyman, Boise, for plaintiff-appellant.
William B. Dillon, III, Deputy County Atty., Caldwell, for Canyon County.
Ben Drake appeals from a summary judgment which affirmed a denial by the Canyon County Commissioners of his application for rezoning. Drake presents four issues on appeal. First, Drake broadly argues that the district court should have granted him relief from the denial of his rezoning application by the Commissioners. Second, Drake contends that, in an interlocutory order, the district court should not have allowed the County Commissioners the option of either hearing the matter themselves on remand or of referring the matter to the county zoning commission. Third, Drake argues that the court should have held the county's zoning ordinance to be invalid, or unconstitutional as applied to his case. Fourth, Drake argues that the court erred in refusing to augment the record to include certain minutes of the planning and zoning commission. In addition, both parties request an award of attorney fees on appeal. We affirm the decision of the district court, and disallow the requests for fees.
Drake owns a parcel of land located in rural Canyon County. The land is bordered by a large dairy farm, by several small livestock feeding operations, and by a subdivision previously developed by Drake. The parcel in question is zoned for agricultural use.
In 1974, Drake filed an application to rezone the property for residential use, so that he could develop the property into a subdivision. At its January 15, 1975, meeting, the Canyon County Zoning Commission voted to recommend that Drake's application for rezoning be denied. On February 20, the Board of County Commissioners, sitting as a "board of adjustment" under the County's zoning ordinance, reviewed the zoning commission's recommendations. The board tabled Drake's application, apparently in anticipation of a county-wide moratorium on subdividing and rezoning land.
Drake then filed a complaint in district court alleging that the board had arbitrarily, capriciously and unlawfully refused to grant his application. Pursuant to stipulation of the parties, the district judge remanded the proceeding to the board, with directions to make findings of fact concerning Drake's application. Under the court's order the board was given discretion to base its findings either on the hearings previously held or on a new hearing to be held by the board. Thereafter the board held a second hearing on May 19, 1975. By written decision dated May 30, 1975, the board again denied Drake's request for rezoning.
Following this rehearing, the board moved for summary judgment on Drake's complaint in district court. The judge rejected Drake's arguments attacking the validity of the zoning ordinance but denied summary judgment to the board, holding that facts surrounding the rezoning request and denial had not been adequately presented. The district court again remanded the matter to the board of county commissioners for rehearing either before that board or before the zoning commission, at the option of the County Commissioners, with specific instructions on the manner in which a rehearing was to be held.
The rehearing ordered by the court was held by the board of commissioners on December 11, 1979, in the manner specified. The board heard testimony from Drake, from several residents of the area surrounding the proposed subdivision, from the Canyon County Sheriff, from the superintendent of the area's school district, and from a supervisor of the Canyon County Highway District. Following this hearing, the board concluded, upon the facts they had found, that the presence of Drake's proposed new subdivision would result in unreasonable interference with agricultural activities on the surrounding property. Drake's application was again denied.
On the basis of the findings of fact and conclusions of law entered as a result of this hearing, the board again moved in district court for summary judgment. The district judge granted summary judgment, affirming the board's decision denying Drake's request for rezoning. This appeal followed.
Drake's first issue is stated as, "Did the court err in denying relief to the appellant upon appeal wherein the County Commissioners refused the appellant's application for a subdivision?" This statement of issue is really nothing more than a general invitation to search the record for error. It does not identify any findings of fact, statements of law, or application of law to facts, that are assertedly in error. Rule 35(a), I.A.R., requires that This means that an appellant must identify specific issues to be presented on appeal and present supporting argument with citations to the authorities, statutes and parts of the transcript and record upon which he relies. See, e.g., Cox v. Mountain Vistas, Inc., 102 Idaho 714, 719 (footnote 4), 639 P.2d 12, 17 (1981). Drake has not met these requirements in respect to his first issue.
Drake's second contention is that the district court should not have allowed the county commissioners the option of either hearing the matter themselves on remand or of referring the matter to the zoning commission for hearing. Drake argues that input by way of recommendation from the zoning commission was required prior to final action by the board of county commissioners. The lack of this input, he asserts, deprived him of the opportunity to learn, in advance, the issues to be considered when the board opted to retain the matter rather than referring it to the zoning commission for further consideration.
The applicable zoning statutes (former I.C. §§ 31-3801 et seq., now codified as I.C. §§ 67-6509 and 67-6511) required one public hearing before the local planning and zoning commission, and another public hearing before the "governing board" (in this case the board of county commissioners), as a condition to amendment of a local zoning plan. Likewise, the Canyon County zoning ordinance required a public hearing before the Canyon County zoning commission and another public hearing before the board of county commissioners, as a condition to amendment of the ordinance. The requisite hearings, both under the statutes and under the ordinance, had occurred, in fact, in this case prior to the interlocutory, optional remand order of the district court.
The primary issue throughout the entire process was whether the Canyon County zoning ordinance should be amended by rezoning Drake's property from agricultural to residential. When the proceeding was optionally remanded to the board of county commissioners, the district court specifically directed the board (or the zoning commission) to consider "any material changes that may have occurred since the initial rejection" of Drake's application. The transcript of the board's hearing shows that the board understood the order of the court, and chose to retain the matter, rather than referring it to the zoning commission. At the outset of the hearing, Drake's counsel suggested that the procedure ordered by the court would limit the board to consideration only of those factors upon which the zoning commission had based its recommendation.
The district court held that the board acted correctly in ignoring Drake's suggested limitations and in hearing and considering all the evidence which Drake and other interested parties offered. The court held there was no statute limiting the board's review of the zoning commission's recommendation in the manner suggested by Drake. The court noted:
Ultimate responsibility for zoning, and for zoning changes, is placed with the Board as a fact-finding agency. Moreover, the transcript shows clearly that Drake and his counsel were not misled by the procedure selected by the Board, no objection was made to proceeding as a Board of Adjustment, and Drake presented evidence beyond that which was offered at the first hearing before the Planning and Zoning Commission.
The record is clear that Drake was not deprived of an opportunity to meet the issue before the board, i.e., whether the rezone request should be granted or denied. The record shows Drake was aware that the board was not limited to factors considered by the zoning commission in making its recommendation on the issue. It shows that Drake was afforded the opportunity to present evidence concerning any factors or reasons bearing on resolution of the issue. And the record shows that he, in fact, did present such evidence. We hold that the optional remand order of the district court was not error.
Drake next asserts that the district court erred in ruling that the Canyon County zoning ordinance was valid and was not unconstitutional as applied to his rezone application. We will discuss first his argument concerning the validity of the ordinance, and then his contentions which relate to constitutional issues.
Drake first challenged the validity of the ordinance upon the ground that the ordinance was not accompanied by any separate comprehensive plan document. Such a separate comprehensive plan is now required by the Local Planning Act, I.C. §§ 67-6501 et seq., enacted in 1...
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