Laird v. City of Danville

• Decision Date: 29 April 1983
• Docket Number: No. 801913,801913
• Citation: 225 Va. 256,302 S.E.2d 21
• Parties: Ruth C. LAIRD, et al. v. CITY OF DANVILLE, et al. Record
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court

Page 21

302 S.E.2d 21

225 Va. 256

Ruth C. LAIRD, et al. v. CITY OF DANVILLE, et al.

Record No. 801913.

Supreme Court of Virginia.

April 29, 1983.

Robert L. Morrison, Jr., Danville (Warren, Parker, Williams & Stilwell, Danville, on brief), for appellants.

Charles H. Majors, W. Ewell Barr, City Atty., Danville (Glenn W. Pulley, James A.L. Daniel, Louis P. McFadden, Jr., Meade, Tate & Daniel, P.C., Danville, on briefs), for appellees.

Before CARRICO, C.J., COCHRAN, POFF, COMPTON, STEPHENSON, and RUSSELL, JJ., and HARRISON, Retired Justice.

CARRICO, Chief Justice.

At the time of the proceedings below, ch. XV, § 2 of the city charter of Danville authorized the city council to delegate to the planning commission the power to approve requests for rezoning. Section 19-27 of the city code actually accomplished the delegation; § 19-28 prescribed the procedures for disposition of zoning applications by the planning commission; and § 19-29 provided for an appeal to city council and for reversal of a planning commission decision if council found the decision to be arbitrary or an abuse of discretion. The principal question in this case concerns the validity of these charter and code provisions. ¹

On December 1, 1978, Harry D. Ireson and Iris M. Ireson filed an application with the planning commission for the rezoning from R-1 residential to C-2 commercial of certain property located in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Riverside Drive, or U.S. Route 58, and Park Avenue in the City of Danville. The property, or a portion thereof, was under contract of sale to Grover Adkins and Glen Wood, who planned to use the land for an automobile dealership. A competing dealership was located in the northeast quadrant of the intersection, and another commercial use was located in the southeast quadrant.

At a meeting held February 21, 1979, the planning commission denied the rezoning request. The Iresons appealed to city council. On March 13, council rezoned a portion of the property, designated as Lots 1B and 1C, to C-2 commercial. On March 28, Ruth C. Laird, Bruce C. Dungan, William E. Evans, Victor W. White, and David C. Brooks (collectively, Laird), owners of property in Windsor Heights subdivision located to the north of the property in question, filed a petition for declaratory judgment seeking an adjudication that council's action in rezoning Lots 1B and 1C was illegal and void.

On June 6, the trial court held that council's rezoning action was "invalid and of no effect" because council had not made a finding that "the Planning Commission acted arbitrarily or abused its discretion in making its decision." The court remanded the matter to council "for its consideration ... of the appeal from the Planning Commission in accordance with applicable standards." The court retained jurisdiction of the case in the event further relief became necessary.

On June 7, city council adopted an ordinance stating that council had reviewed the planning commission's refusal to rezone and had found the decision to be "arbitrary and an abuse of discretion." The ordinance rezoned Lots 1B and 1C to C-2 commercial. Laird immediately filed a "Petition for Relief," requesting the court to void this rezoning action by council.

In the meantime, on March 16, 1979, Lewis E. Ireson, Louise M. Ireson, and Pearle E. Cox filed an application with the planning commission for the rezoning to C-2 commercial of Lot 35A, which fronted on Riverside Drive and adjoined Lot 1B on the east. Lot 35A was also under contract of sale to Adkins and Wood, who intended to use it in their car dealership. On June 21, the planning commission denied this rezoning request, and the denial was appealed to city council. On September 11, council adopted an ordinance stating that the planning commission's refusal to rezone Lot 35A was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion. The ordinance rezoned the lot to C-2 commercial.

On September 12, Laird filed another petition for declaratory judgment, this time seeking an adjudication that city council's rezoning of Lot 35A was illegal and void. This new proceeding and Laird's pending "Petition for Relief" in the case involving Lots 1B and 1C were heard by the court on June 10, 1980.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court announced its findings, which were incorporated into final decrees entered August 27, 1980. The decree relating specifically to Lots 1B and 1C stated that ch. XV, § 2 of the city charter and §§ 19-27, -28, and -29 of the city code were invalid because they produced an unlawful delegation of legislative power in authorizing the planning commission to rezone property. The decree stated further that city council's June 7, 1979 rezoning of Lots 1B and 1C was void and invalid because it was accomplished "in accordance with the provisions of the aforesaid Charter and Code sections and not in conformance with the requirements of law otherwise applicable." The decree went on to say, however, that subsequent to the June 10 hearing, the planning commission and city council had reconsidered the zoning of Lots 1B and 1C "in accordance with the requirements of the applicable provisions of the Code of Virginia" and that on July 17, 1980, upon the planning commission's recommendation, council had adopted an ordinance rezoning Lot 1B to C-2 commercial. ² The decree ended with the language, "this matter is accordingly dismissed."

The decree relating to Lot 35A reiterated the trial court's findings that ch. XV, § 2 of the city charter and §§ 19-27, -28, and -29 of the city code were void and invalid. This decree stated further, however, that "Lot 35-A was properly rezoned by the Council of the City of Danville at its regular meeting on September 11, 1979," and that "said lot ... is and shall be zoned C-2 Commercial."

Laird has not questioned in this appeal the trial court's finding in the August 27, 1980 decree that Lot 1B had been rezoned to C-2 commercial "in accordance with the requirements of the applicable provisions of the Code of Virginia." This finding and, hence, the rezoning of Lot 1B, have become final and not subject to further review.

Accordingly, we consider only the rezoning of Lot 35A. With respect to this lot, Laird argues that the provisions of the city charter authorizing city council to delegate to the planning commission the power to rezone are entitled to a presumption of legislative validity. The key factor in giving effect to this presumption, Laird submits, is that the grant of authority was from the General Assembly and not city council; therefore, the grant must be measured against the General Assembly's authority to delegate power. The Constitution of Virginia imposes no limitation upon this authority, Laird maintains, but appears, instead, to authorize the delegation involved here by providing in art. III, § 1 for the creation of administrative agencies "with such authority and duties as the General Assembly may prescribe."

Continuing, Laird argues that the delegation of legislative authority to an administrative agency is proper if accompanied by a statement of policies, purposes, and principles to guide and control the agency in the performance of its duties. Here, Laird states, sufficient guidelines are found in Title 15.1 of the Virginia Code and in the city's comprehensive plan, charter, and code. Council has actually performed the legislative act of zoning the entire city, Laird asserts, and, with the guidelines established for the planning commission, "[t]here is no discernible reason why the partial rezoning of a few lots is so purely legislative as to be exercisable only by a purely legislative body."

We disagree. Laird's arguments are interesting, but for the most part they are irrelevant or esoteric. We believe the case turns on the simple proposition that the rezoning of property, no less than the establishment of its original zoning classification, is wholly legislative, requiring action in the form of an amendatory ordinance adopted by the one "purely legislative body" that exists in the locality involved.

Under Va.Code § 15.1-486, the zoning of property is accomplished when the "governing body" of a county or municipality "by ordinance" classifies the territory within its jurisdiction. Similarly, under Code § 15.1-491(g), the rezoning of property is accomplished when the "governing body ... by ordinance" amends the property's zoning classification. In each instance, the term "governing body" identifies the board of supervisors in a county, or the municipal council in a city or town, as the entity which alone has the authority to legislate "by ordinance" in a particular locality.

It might be argued that these statutory requirements are nullified when the provisions of Danville's city charter interact with Va.Code § 15.1-501. This Code section, a part of ch. 11 of Title 15.1, states in part that "[n]o provision in any municipal charter in conflict with this chapter shall be affected hereby." Va.Code §§ 15.1-486 and -491(g) are in the same chapter as § 15.1-501. Hence, because the city charter permits rezoning by the planning commission, which obviously cannot enact ordinances, it might be argued that in Danville property may be rezoned other than by ordinance.

It would appear, however, that this argument is refuted by another charter provision. Chapter II, § 11 of the charter (Acts 1952, ch. 578) states in part that "every act of the council ... placing any burden upon or limiting the use of private property shall be by ordinance." Rezoning unquestionably places burdens upon or limits the use...