Miller v. Sf County Bcc

• Decision Date: 18 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. 26,336.,26,336.
• Citation: 192 P.3d 1218,2008 NMCA 124
• Parties: Joseph F. MILLER, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF SANTA FE COUNTY, et al., Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

192 P.3d 1218

2008 NMCA 124

Joseph F. MILLER, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF SANTA FE COUNTY, et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 26,336.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

June 18, 2008.

Certiorari Denied, No. 31,216, August 6, 2008.

VanAmberg, Rogers, Yepa & Abeita, L.L.P., Ronald J. VanAmberg, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellees.

French & Associates, P.C., Stephen G. French, Robyn Hoffman, Albuquerque, NM, Basham & Basham, P.C., Mark A. Basham, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellants.

OPINION

KENNEDY, Judge.

{1} In this opinion, we discuss limits on the continuing validity of approval given to a subdivision plat. Under the circumstances of this case, we hold that the approval given to a subdivision plat in 1986 did not survive to 2004 so as to grant rights to proceed with development of the land and that Santa Fe County was correct in determining that the plat was no longer viable so as to deny the landowner construction permits.

{2} We reverse the district court and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Introduction

{3} The dispute in this case concerns the remaining portion of a tract of undeveloped land in the Eldorado area of Santa Fe County referred to as Lot 8, owned by Appellee Miller. In 1986, a subdivision plat was approved for Lot 8 by the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners (Board). The land was subsequently split into two lots; one is partially developed, and the portion purchased by Miller passed through other owners without being developed. Miller sought to develop his lot. In 2004, the Board issued a decision that the subdivision plat that had been approved in 1986 was no longer viable and denied construction permits for Miller. Miller appealed to the district court, and the district court reversed the Board's order. The Board now appeals the district court's final order on appeal.

Historical Facts

{4} In May of 1986, the Board granted the original owners of Lot 8 final plat approval to develop a 100 unit subdivision known as Tierra Colinas. This final plat approval was subject to several conditions. The final plat for Lot 8 was never recorded with the County Clerk, and the land was not developed at that time.

{5} Lot 8 was subsequently sold to two parties, Michael Richter and Pat Coughlin. In April of 1988, these owners of Lot 8 decided to divide the lot into two parcels, referred to as Lot 8A and Lot 8B. The lot split was approved by Santa Fe County and recorded in April of 1988. Lot 8A was retained by Mr. Richter and is the subject of this appeal.

{6} In June of 1994, Mr. Coughlin, the owner of Lot 8B, went before the Board asking that it "reapprove" the Tierra Colinas subdivision as a down-scaled subdivision from 100 units to 50 units to be built on Lot 8B. The Board granted conditional approval of the down-scaled subdivision, requiring compliance with the original conditions imposed on the Tierra Colinas subdivision and additional conditions.

{7} In 1996, Lot 8A's owner applied for and received master plan approval of a 98-unit residential subdivision called Sun Ranch East on Lot 8A. This master plan differed from the Tierra Colinas final plat approval for the same acreage of Lot 8 in almost doubling the density of development from that previously approved. This master plan was approved; the approval was recorded with the County Clerk. No further action was taken to develop Lot 8A.

{8} Later in 1996, however, the Board passed a series of moratorium ordinances to deal with a water emergency within the Eldorado communities. The first was Ordinance No.1996-4: Ordinance Declaring a Water Emergency within the Service Area of Eldorado Utilities. The ordinance stated that "no applications for new land divisions, master plans and subdivisions will be accepted by the Santa Fe County Land Use Administrator or his staff and no pending applications for land divisions, master plans or subdivisions will be acted upon by the Santa Fe County Land Use Administrator, for any property within Eldorado Utilities' Service Area." Subsequent ordinances have since been enacted which further limit development in the service area of Eldorado Utilities due to the water emergency. It is undisputed that Lot 8A is within the Utilities' service area.

{9} By January of 2000, Lot 8A had passed to Stephen Gibbens. On January 21, 2001, the Assistant County Attorney sent Mr. Gibbens a letter informing him that the County would not recognize the 1986 Tierra Colinas preliminary and final development plans. The County's attorney gave three bases for his opinion that the 1986 final plat approval was not valid. First, he stated that Mr. Gibbens did not have a vested right in the 1986 development plan because there was no contracting, building, or other substantial reliance by Mr. Gibbens on the 1986 approval. Second, the County stated that because the conditions of the 1986 approval were never met, the 1986 final development was never approved, and therefore no rights had vested. Third, the County took the position that the approval of the 1996 master plan for a new and more dense subdivision on the property showed the prior owner's intent to abandon the 1986 Tierra Colinas plan. The record does not indicate whether Mr. Gibbens took any further action with respect to this issue.

{10} Two years later, in March of 2003, Miller bought Lot 8A by warranty deed. The Real Estate Purchase Agreement stated that the property was being sold in "as is" condition. The agreement further stated that the seller

has sustained losses and damages, including for diminution of the value of the Property, by reason of certain actions, inactions, errors, omissions, breaches of contract and/or wrongful conduct of the County of Santa Fe, the State of New Mexico, Amrep Corporation, Eldorado at Santa Fe, Inc., Eldorado Utilities, Inc., and others presently unknown which resulted in the imposition of a moratorium on residential subdivision development at the Property.

In February of 2004, Miller submitted a final plat plan and a development plan to the County Land Use Director for a scaled-back 50-unit subdivision on Lot 8A.

{11} On March 31, 2004, the County Land Use Administrator, Roman Abeyta, sent Miller a letter in which he stated that the County would not recognize the 1986 Tierra Colinas final plat approval. Mr. Abeyta referenced the January 21, 2000 letter from the Assistant County Attorney to Mr. Gibbens. Mr. Abeyta stated that Miller had not provided any information that would change the County's opinion that the 1986 plat had expired or been abandoned. Mr. Abeyta also stated that Lot 8 had been split into two plats and recorded subsequent to 1986, thus creating two lots of record, and that the conditions of final plat approval for the 1986 plat had never been met. Specifically, the County had never been supplied with proof of adequate water supply and infrastructure as required. Finally, Mr. Abeyta stated that it was unreasonable to expect the County to allow such a project for which approval had been granted nearly 20 years ago to proceed in light of the development and water availability issues that had arisen since then.

{12} On May 20, 2004, Miller appealed the County Land Use Administrator's decision to the County Development Review Committee (CDRC). CDRC determined that the final plat approval for the 1986 Tierra Colinas subdivision had been abandoned and was expired. CDRC also determined that the 1996 Sun Ranch East master plan approval for Lot 8A had extinguished any prior land use or subdivision approvals for that property. Finally, they determined that the original conditions of approval had never been fulfilled. Therefore, there was never any actual approval and no vested rights to the subdivision.

{13} In July of 2004, Miller appealed the CDRC's decision to the Board. At the hearing, Miller testified that he had met with County Attorney Steve Kopelman and an Assistant County Attorney prior to purchasing Lot 8A and that he had been assured that the 1986 final plat approval for Tierra Colinas was still valid. Miller also testified that he was assured by the Land Use Administrator that the subdivision approvals were still in effect. Miller stated that he relied on a 1993 letter from the then County Attorney Terrence Brennan, to Mr. Coughlin (the owner of Lot 8B) in which Brennan stated: "Since Terra Colina [sic] was approved by Santa Fe County as a subdivision in 1986, and since that approval has never been rescinded, amended, or otherwise affected, Santa Fe County recognizes Terra Colina [sic], and the water tabs allocated to it, as a prior subdivision."

{14} The Board unanimously upheld the decision of the CDRC. The Board's letter decision stated that it determined that the 1986 50-lot residential subdivision approval had been abandoned. In its order, the Board stated several bases for its decision. It determined that the 1986 Tierra Colinas unrecorded plat had been abandoned by the action of the previous owners of the Lot 8A. The Board also found that the previous owner demonstrated intent to abandon the plat by dividing Lot 8 into two separate lots in 1988. The Board stated that "[t]he original subdivision could not now be constructed, as half of the property is no longer owned by the Applicant." The Board also stated that the 1996 master plan approval for the Sun Ranch East subdivision differed from the previous subdivision because it had increased density and made other configuration changes. The Board noted that the conditions of the 1986 plat approval were never satisfied. The Board further found that these actions on the part of the previous owners evidenced an intent to abandon seeking final approval of the 1986 plat. The Board also found that the 1986 final plat approval had to be recorded within a reasonable period of time and that approval no longer existed because of the passage of time. Finally, the Board concluded that it was...