Frank's Nursery Sales v. City of Roseville, 50167.
| Decision Date | 03 July 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 50167.,50167. |
| Citation | 295 NW 2d 604 |
| Parties | FRANK'S NURSERY SALES, INC., Respondent, v. CITY OF ROSEVILLE, et al., Appellants. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Peterson, Bell & Converse and Robert C. Bell, St. Paul, for appellants.
Carlson, Fuller & Finney, Stuart L. Finney and Mark E. Fuller, Bloomington, for respondent.
Heard before OTIS, PETERSON, and SCOTT, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc.
Plaintiff, Frank's Nursery Sales, Inc. (Frank's), brought this action to compel defendants City of Roseville and its city manager, James Andre, to issue a building permit to allow Frank's to build a store on land it owns in the city. The trial court concluded the city's denial of the permit was arbitrary and capricious and ordered defendants to issue all necessary building permits for the construction of the proposed store. Defendants appeal from that order. We affirm.
Frank's operates retail stores which deal mainly in lawn, garden, and plant supplies but also sell some craft items.1 In March 1976, Allied Stores, Inc. (Allied), owned property known as LaBelle's Subdivision, located at the intersection of Highway No. 36 and Fairview Avenue in Roseville, Minnesota. Allied and M & M Development Company, (M & M) wished to build a LaBelle's Catalog Showroom on Lot 2 of that subdivision and commenced negotiations with Frank's and the Learning Tree Center to be included in an expanded development. Frank's thereafter acquired Lot 1 of the subdivision.
After determining that rezoning of the subdivision would be necessary before development could begin, representatives of Frank's and the other businesses met with the assistant city manager and other city officials and staff members to discuss the proposed development and application for rezoning. Application was made by Allied and M & M on July 7, 1976, to rezone three lots in the subdivision. They requested that Frank's lot be rezoned from I-1 (industrial) to B-1 (limited business).2 The permitted uses in a B-1 zone include operation of "lawn and garden" centers.
During late July, Frank's representatives met with city staff members to provide them with information about Frank's operations and facilities. Based on that information, the staff submitted to the planning commission a report that referred to Frank's as a "nursery and garden" store. The report was considered at a planning commission hearing. In addition a representative of Allied at the hearing presented slides that depicted the facilities and operations of LaBelle's, Frank's, and the Learning Tree Center. The commission was supplied with copies of Frank's 1975 annual report, which included a breakdown of sales by product category, and one of Frank's representatives informed the commission of the percentage of sales related to craft items. Also present at the commission hearing, however, were a number of citizens who expressed concern about increased traffic as a result of the proposed development, which is adjacent to a residential area.
The commission recommended denial of the application for rezoning, but Frank's asserts that at no time during the proceedings was it informed that it would not qualify as a lawn and garden center if the rezoning to B-1 were granted.
Despite the action by the commission, applicants made the same presentation to the city council. The council was provided with the same materials and saw the same slides. Again questions were raised about the percentage of crafts sales, and again a number of citizens expressed concern about traffic as a result of the development.
At trial witnesses for Frank's testified that while city officials asked about other than lawn and garden merchandise sold, at no time did anyone suggest that Frank's might not come within the permitted use of the B-1 zone. Frank's witnesses also testified that at no time was Frank's informed that it would have to limit its sales to products that were strictly lawn and garden related nor did it make promises to that effect. One witness testified that Frank's could not have promised to limit its merchandise because product mix was administered on a company-wide basis and the company would not operate one store in a completely different fashion from its other stores. Finally, each of the witnesses for Frank's, not all of whom were employees, testified that in his opinion Frank's was a lawn and garden center.
Mayor June Demos testified, however, that she had raised doubts at the council hearing that Frank's was truly a lawn and garden center because of its craft sales and "supermarket-like" operation. She testified she asked the city attorney at the meeting whether items not plant related could be sold in a lawn and garden center in a B-1 zone. The city attorney responded that the city had the right to define the term "lawn and garden" center and that Frank's would have to abide by the ordinance when it sought a building permit. Demos further testified she stated at the hearing that she felt only lawn, garden, and indoor horticultural items could be sold at a lawn and garden center and that Frank's representatives stated they would abide by the city's definition.
Other witnesses for the city, residents who had attended the hearing to protest the development, also testified that those in attendance had raised questions about Frank's inclusion within the B-1 (limited business) zone, complaining that Frank's was a high-volume retail store more properly located in a B-2 (retail business) zone.3 The residents testified the council and Frank's assured them that Frank's would comply with the ordinance.
On September 13, 1976, the council approved the rezoning, with Demos casting the only negative vote. The council set four conditions, however: that the development be substantially in accordance with the plans presented to the council; that all rezoned properties be deed-restricted to exclude all uses except those permitted in the B-1 zone; that the applicants (Allied and M & M) contribute $20,000 to the city to help finance a solution to the traffic problem in the area; and that a performance bond be posted to assure that landscaping was completed according to plan. No explicit restrictions were placed on Frank's sales.
On December 13, 1976, the city council, without public notice, amended the section of the ordinance that described the B-1 zone to add a definition of "lawn and garden" center. That definition excluded any establishment that sold products other than lawn, garden, and horticultural products even though the sale of those other products was not the primary business of the establishment. There had been no previous definition of "lawn and garden" center and no other permitted use within B-1 was defined by the amendment.
On January 20, 1978, after the conditions set by the council had been met, Frank's applied for a building permit. The city denied the permit the same day, referring to the language of the B-1 section of the ordinance. Frank's contends that because the property had been deed restricted to B-1 uses, it could not go back to the council to seek approval for a rezoning to B-2. Frank's therefore brought an action to compel issuance of the building permit. The trial court concluded that the December 13, 1976, amendment to the ordinance was invalid for lack of notice and that absent the amendment, Frank's was a "lawn and garden" center within the meaning of the B-1 section of the ordinance.
1. At trial Frank's contended, first, that the words and conduct of the city officials, who had complete information on its business, led Frank's to believe that B-1 zoning would be appropriate. Frank's contended that it relied on that belief to its detriment and that the city should therefore be estopped from denying the permit. The city responded that it had not misrepresented its interpretation of the ordinance but that even if it had, it could not be estopped from applying and enforcing the ordinance correctly. However, although the vast majority of the testimony and argument centered on the estoppel issue, the trial court made no finding on that issue.
We conclude Frank's contention that the city was estopped from denying the permit must be rejected as a matter of...
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