Lamar Corp. v. City of Twin Falls
| Decision Date | 11 June 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 24304.,24304. |
| Citation | 133 Idaho 36,981 P.2d 1146 |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
| Parties | The LAMAR CORPORATION, a Louisiana corporation, successor-in-interest to Northwest Outdoor Advertising, L.L.C., an Idaho limited liability company, d/b/a Idaho Outdoor Advertising, successor-in-interest to Kunz & Company, a California corporation d/b/a Idaho Outdoor Advertising, Petitioner-Respondent-Cross Appellant, v. The CITY OF TWIN FALLS, an Idaho municipal corporation, and the City Council of the City of Twin Falls, Respondents-Appellants-Cross Respondents. |
Wonderlich & Wakefield, Twin Falls, for appellants. Jacqueline S. Wakefield argued.
Hepworth, Lezamiz & Hohnhorst, Twin Falls, for respondents. John C. Hohnhorst argued.
The City Council of the City of Twin Falls (City Council) and City of Twin Falls (collectively, City) appeal a decision of the district court reversing a zoning decision of the City Council. The City Council had denied the application of Idaho Outdoor Advertising1 (Idaho Outdoor) for a special use permit to erect a billboard. The district court reversed, ruling that the Twin Falls zoning ordinance unconstitutionally limited commercial speech. The City also appeals the district court's denial of its request to delete certain materials from the transcript and record on appeal. Idaho Outdoor cross-appeals the district court's decision that sufficient evidence supported the City's action, as well as the district court's denial of its motion for attorney fees. The decision of the district court is affirmed in part and reversed in part.
The City of Twin Falls has adopted a Comprehensive Plan to guide future development. The Comprehensive Plan identifies Addison Avenue as an "entryway corridor" into the city and states goals that include "promoting and encouraging aesthetically pleasing approaches to the City" and "encouraging area beautification through sign design that enhances the community."
The Twin Falls Zoning Code (TFZC) regulates signs in conformance with the City's Comprehensive Plan and its Building Code. Billboards are allowed only by special use permit. In order to issue a permit, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P & Z) must find that the billboards, in addition to meeting measurable size, height, and spacing requirements, meet six additional criteria listed in TFZC § 10-9-2(M)(4)(c) relating to traffic safety and visual impact.
In March 1995, Idaho Outdoor applied for a special use permit to erect a twelve by twenty-four foot, illuminated, double-faced billboard at 468 Addison Avenue West. P & Z held a hearing on the application the following month. Planning and Zoning staff (staff) recommended that the permit be denied, or, in the alternative, that a permit be issued subject to the condition that Idaho Outdoor remove two nonconforming billboards several hundred yards away. By a 5-2 vote, P & Z granted the special use permit conditioned on the removal of two other billboards.
Idaho Outdoor appealed to the City Council. The City Council initially voted 4-3 to deny the special use permit. Later, the City Council upheld P & Z's decision to issue a special use permit conditioned on the removal of the two nonconforming billboards.
Idaho Outdoor appealed the permit denial to the district court (first district court proceeding). In July 1996, the district court reversed the City Council's decision and remanded for new hearings. Citing Nollan v. California Coastal Comm'n, 483 U.S. 825, 107 S.Ct. 3141, 97 L.Ed.2d 677 (1987), it held that any conditions on the special use permit must relate to the same property or the same billboard for which the permit was sought.
P & Z held a new hearing in September 1996. Staff used overhead projections to review the request from a planning and zoning perspective. Although finding that the area had many signs related to on-site businesses, P & Z members noted that the proposed billboard was larger than existing signs and not harmonious to the area. P & Z voted 5-1 to deny the special use permit.
Idaho Outdoor appealed to the City Council. At the hearing, staff showed pictures of the site and an Idaho Outdoor executive circulated competing computer-generated photographs. Two speakers representing Idaho Outdoor suggested that nearby on-site signs, as well as a building across the street, were taller than the proposed billboard. Two neighbors spoke against the proposed billboard, opposing it on the basis of visual blight, size, and potentially lowering property values. One specifically noted the visual effect at an entrance to the city.
Affirming P & Z's action, the City Council unanimously voted to deny the permit on the basis that it did not meet the visual impact requirements of TFZC § 10-9-2(M)(4)(c). The City Council found:
The proposed sign will be twenty-two (22) to twenty-four (24) feet in height and twenty-four (24) feet in width, in an area where there are low level single story buildings and very few projections above the building lines. The proposed sign would stand out high above the existing skyline on property with only 106 feet of frontage on Addison Avenue West.
It concluded:
The sign is not compatible with building heights of the existing neighborhood and imposes a foreign and inharmonious element to the existing skyline. In addition, the proposed sign is inconsistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan regarding gateway arterials.
Idaho Outdoor appealed to the district court (second district court proceeding). In October 1997, the district court reversed the City Council's decision and ordered the City to issue a special use permit. Although holding that there was sufficient evidence to support the City Council's findings of fact and that the City Council's denial of the special use permit was not arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion, the district court concluded that TFZC § 10-9-2(M)(4)(c) "contained insufficient objective and definite standards to guide the licensing authority in its decision" and thus was an unconstitutional prior restraint on commercial speech. The district court denied attorney fees to Idaho Outdoor.
The City appealed and Idaho Outdoor cross-appealed. In its notice of cross-appeal, Idaho Outdoor requested that the transcript and record include enumerated materials before the district court in the first district court proceeding. The City moved the district court to delete materials relating to the first district court proceeding. The district court denied the City's request.
The district court reviewed the City Council's permit denial in its appellate capacity pursuant to I.C. §§ 67-5279 and 67-6521(1)(d). This Court reviews the record independently of the district court's decision made in its appellate capacity. Howard v. Canyon County Bd. of Comm'rs, 128 Idaho 479, 480, 915 P.2d 709, 710 (1996). We defer to the City Council's findings of fact unless those findings are clearly erroneous and unsupported by evidence in the record. Castaneda v. Brighton Corp., 130 Idaho 923, 926, 950 P.2d 1262, 1265 (1998). We may not substitute our judgment for that of the City Council as to the weight of the evidence on factual matters. I.C. § 67-5279(1).
A strong presumption of validity favors the actions of zoning authorities when applying and interpreting their own zoning ordinances. Howard, 128 Idaho at 480, 915 P.2d at 710. However, the City Council's zoning decision may be set aside if it (a) violates constitutional or statutory provisions; (b) exceeds the City Council's statutory authority; (c) is made upon unlawful procedure; (d) is not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole; or (e) is arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. I.C. § 67-5279(3). Even if the City Council erred as above, this Court will affirm its action unless a substantial right of Idaho Outdoor has been prejudiced. I.C. § 67-5279(4).
As a preliminary matter, we consider a procedural issue regarding the proper composition of the record and transcript on appeal. In its notice of cross-appeal, Idaho Outdoor requested a reporter's transcript of oral argument in the first district court proceeding, as well as documents relating to that proceeding. Pursuant to I.A.R. 29(a), the City objected to the inclusion of these documents. The district court overruled the City's objection and denied the request for deletion. The City appeals the denial, contending that the disputed items contained material that was not the subject matter of this appeal.
The reporter's transcript contains those portions of the record designated by the parties. I.A.R. 25. The clerk's record contains, in addition to materials automatically included pursuant to I.A.R. 28(a), "all additional documents requested by any party." I.A.R. 28(b). After the clerk of the court serves the parties with the transcript and record, the parties have 21 days in which to file objections, including requests for corrections, additions, or deletions. I.A.R. 29(a). After a hearing, the district court must make a determination and settle the record. I.A.R. 29(a).
When reviewing a district court's decision settling the record and transcript pursuant to I.A.R. 29(a), this Court applies an abuse of discretion standard. See Aker v. Aker, 52 Idaho 50, 56-57, 11 P.2d 372, 375 (1932) (). In determining whether a district court has abused its discretion, this Court asks (1) whether the district court correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) whether it acted within the outer boundaries of its discretion and consistent with applicable legal standards; and (3) whether it reached its decision by an...
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