Evans v. Teton County

• Decision Date: 03 June 2003
• Docket Number: No. 27854.,27854.
• Citation: 139 Idaho 71,73 P.3d 84
• Parties: Richard EVANS and Matthew Finnegan, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TETON COUNTY, Idaho Board Of Commissioners, Teton Springs, L.L.C., Max H. Rammell and Denice K. Rammell, husband and wife, Merrill R. Rammell and Roberta L. Rammell, husband and wife, Miles E. and Jessie M. Hastings Family Trust, Kearsley Family L.L.C., and John H. Winger, Defendants-Respondents.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

73 P.3d 84

139 Idaho 71

Richard EVANS and Matthew Finnegan, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TETON COUNTY, Idaho Board Of Commissioners, Teton Springs, L.L.C., Max H. Rammell and Denice K. Rammell, husband and wife, Merrill R. Rammell and Roberta L. Rammell, husband and wife, Miles E. and Jessie M. Hastings Family Trust, Kearsley Family L.L.C., and John H. Winger, Defendants-Respondents.

No. 27854.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, March 2003 Term.

June 3, 2003.

Rehearing Denied July 28, 2003.

Phyllis Lamken, Victor, argued for appellants.

Teton County Attorney, Driggs, for respondent Teton County. Laura Lowery argued.

Holden, Kidwell, Hahn & Crapo, Idaho Falls, for respondent Teton Springs, L.L.C. Dale Storer argued.

Roy Moulton, Driggs, for respondents Rammell, et al.

KIDWELL, Justice.

Richard Evans and Matthew Finnegan (appellants) appeal the Teton County Board of County Commissioners' (Board of Commissioners) decision to approve Teton Springs, L.L.C.'s (Teton Springs) final plat of phase 1 of the Teton Springs subdivision, request for a zone change from A-2.5 to R-1, and application for a Planned Unit Development (PUD). The Board of Commissioners' decision is affirmed.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

Teton Springs, a Wyoming limited liability company authorized to do business in the state of Idaho, proposed to convert 780 acres of mostly undeveloped farmland and wetland in southern Teton County into a PUD consisting of a golf course and residential resort. The PUD is adjacent to the Targhee National Forest in southern Teton County, south of Victor, Idaho. Upon completion, the proposed development will include an 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, pro shop, maintenance buildings, fishing ponds, equestrian facility, 100-room hotel, 50 overnight units, health club and tennis facility, swimming pool, restaurant, conference rooms, nordic ski facility, storage facilities, helicopter pad, parking lots, 18 two to three acre ranch estates, 100 three-quarters to one acre golf estates, 170 one-third to one-half acre golf homes, 180 five thousand square foot residential lots, and 100 overnight cabin lots from one thousand to twenty-five hundred square feet.

Of the 780 acres upon which the PUD will be built, the respondents Rammel own 460 acres, the Hastings own 160 acres, the Kearsleys own 80 acres, and the Wingers own 80 acres. Approximately 140 of the 780 acres are located within the "Area of City Impact," an unincorporated area of Teton County neighboring the city of Victor. In addition to the national forest to the south, the acreage surrounding the PUD supports a mix of agricultural, residential, and commercial uses. There are some pre-existing subdivisions to the north of the PUD. The appellants live on two-and-one-half acre residential lots near the PUD.

On August 2, 1999, Teton Springs filed an application for approval of the PUD. Teton Springs also requested a zone change from A-2.5 to R-1. On September 1, 1999, the Teton County Planning and Zoning Commission (Zoning Commission) held a public hearing to consider the application. Following the hearing, the Zoning Commission recommended approval of the concept plan for the PUD and zone change. On October 25, 1999, the Board of Commissioners conducted a public hearing to consider the Teton Springs PUD and proposed zone change. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board of Commissioners approved the concept plan of the PUD conditionally upon resolution of issues regarding natural stream flows, the development's impact on the city of Victor, traffic flow, impact on county services, sewer system capacity, and density. The Board of Commissioners decided to wait to consider the zoning change when it considered Teton Springs' final plat.

After the October hearing, the Zoning Commission obtained comments regarding the PUD application from the Idaho Department of Water Resources, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Idaho Fish and Game Department, the District 7 Health Department, and various other county and local agencies. On May 3, 2000, the Zoning Commission held another public hearing to consider the Teton Springs PUD application and the proposed zone change. At the hearing's conclusion, the Zoning Commission recommended accepting the PUD application and granting the zone change. On May 9, 2000, the Zoning Commission issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions in support of its decision.

On June 12, 2000, the Board of Commissioners and the city of Victor held a joint public hearing to consider the Teton Springs PUD and request for a zone change. At the conclusion of this hearing, the Board of Commissioners and the city of Victor approved the PUD and granted the zone change. The Board of Commissioners also adopted the Findings of Fact and Conclusions issued by the Zoning Commission.

On July 7, 2000, the appellants filed a Petition for Judicial Review of Teton Springs' application for approval of a PUD and zone change. The appellants alleged the Board of Commissioners violated Teton County Zoning Ordinance (Zoning Ordinance), Teton County Subdivision Ordinance (Subdivision Ordinance), and the Teton County Comprehensive Plan (Comprehensive Plan) by approving the PUD and granting a zone change. As a result, the appellants alleged they would suffer substantial injury. On September 25, 2001, the district court issued a decision affirming the Board of Commissioners' approval of Teton Springs' application for a PUD and zone change. The appellants timely filed this appeal.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Local Land Use Planning Act (LLUPA) allows an affected person to seek judicial review of an approval or denial of a land use application, as provided for in the Idaho Administrative Procedural Act (IDAPA). Idaho Code § 67-6521(1)(d) (2002); Evans v. Bd. Of Comm'rs of Cassia County, 137 Idaho 428, 430, 50 P.3d 443, 445 (2002). The district court conducts judicial review of the actions of local government agencies. I.R.C.P. 84(a)(1) (2002). For purposes of judicial review of LLUPA decisions, a local agency making a land use decision, such as the Board of Commissioners, is treated as a government agency under IDAPA. Urrutia v. Blaine County, 134 Idaho 353, 357, 2 P.3d 738, 742 (2000). The district court bases its judicial review on the record created before the local government agency. I.R.C.P. 84(e)(1). This Court reviews decisions under the IDAPA independently of any intermediate appellate court. Evans, 137 Idaho at 431, 50 P.3d at 446.

This Court must affirm the Board of Commissioners unless it determines the Board of Commissioners' findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions: (1) violated the constitution or statutory provisions; (2) exceeded its statutory authority; (3) were made upon unlawful procedure; (4) were not supported by substantial evidence on the record; or (5) were arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. Id.; I.C. § 67-5279(3). There is a strong presumption that the actions of the Board of Commissioners, where it has interpreted and applied its own zoning ordinances, are valid. Evans, 137 Idaho at 431,50 P.3d at 446. The party appealing the Board of Commissioners' decision must first show the Board of Commissioners erred in a manner specified under I.C. § 67-5279(3), and second, that a substantial right has been prejudiced. I.C. § 67-5279(4); Price v. Payette County Bd. Of Comm'rs, 131 Idaho 426, 429, 958 P.2d 583, 586 (1998).

Whether the Board of Commissioners violated a statutory provision is a matter of law over which this Court exercises free review. Friends of Farm to Market v. Valley County, 137 Idaho 192, 196, 46 P.3d 9, 13 (2002); Polk v. Larrabee, 135 Idaho 303, 308, 17 P.3d 247, 252 (2000).

This Court defers to the Board of Commissioners' findings of fact unless the findings of fact are clearly erroneous. Evans, 137 Idaho at 431, 50 P.3d at 446; Friends of Farm to Market, 137 Idaho at 196, 46 P.3d at 13. The Board of Commissioners' factual findings are not clearly erroneous so long as they are supported by substantial, competent, although conflicting, evidence. Friends of Farm to Market, 137 Idaho at 196, 46 P.3d at 13.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Appellants Have Standing To Challenge The Board of Commissioners' Decision to Approve Teton Springs' Application And Request For A Zone Change.

Teton Springs argues the appellants lack standing because they are not "affected persons" under I.C. § 67-6521(d). For this proposition, Teton Springs cites Rural Kootenai Organization, Inc. v. Board. of Commissioners, 133 Idaho 833, 993 P.2d 596 (1999), where this Court ruled members of RKO lacked standing to raise a due process claim without demonstration of a distinct, palpable injury and a causal connection between the injury and lack of notice. Teton Springs also relies on I.C. § 67-6535(c), which requires "actual harm or a violation of fundamental rights" to obtain a remedy under LLUPA. The appellants counter that they have standing to appeal the Board of Commissioners' decision to approve the PUD and zone change because they own land within 300 feet of the PUD and will be adversely affected by its construction.

LLUPA confers standing to seek judicial review of a local land use decision to an "affected person" aggrieved by the decision. I.C. § 67-6521(d). This Court notes that while it recognizes the underlying policy of I.C. § 67-6521(d) conferring standing to affected persons, the legislature cannot, by statute, relieve a party from meeting the fundamental constitutional requirements for standing. See Noh v. Cenarrusa, 137 Idaho 798, 53 P.3d 1217 (2002)

. An affected person is "one having an interest in real property which may be adversely affected by the issuance or denial of a permit authorizing the development." I.C. § 67-6521(a) (emphasis added).

The appellants emphasize they own land within 300 feet of the PUD. The record shows the appellants received...