RDNT, LLC v. City of Bloomington

• Decision Date: 18 March 2015
• Docket Number: No. A13–0310.,A13–0310.
• Citation: 861 N.W.2d 71
• Parties: RDNT, LLC, Appellant, v. CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, Respondent.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

861 N.W.2d 71

RDNT, LLC, Appellant

v.CITY OF BLOOMINGTON, Respondent.

No. A13–0310.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

March 18, 2015.

Tamara O'Neill Moreland, Larkin, Hoffman, Daly & Lindgren, Ltd., Bloomington, MN, for appellant.

Paul D. Reuvers, Stephanie A. Angolkar, Iverson Reuvers Condon, Bloomington, MN, for respondent.

Jonathan W. Lips, Natalie Wyatt–Brown, Halleland Habicht P.A., Minneapolis, MN; and Benjamin T. Peltier, Saint Paul, MN, for amicus curiae Aging Services of Minnesota.

John M. Baker, Katherine M. Swenson, Greene Espel PLLP, Minneapolis, MN, for amicus curiae Minnesota Chapter of the American Planning Association.

Mark R. Whitmore, Daniel R. Olson, Bassford Remele, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for amicus curiae Ebenezer Society.

Susan L. Naughton, League of Minnesota Cities, Saint Paul, MN, for amicus curiae League of Minnesota Cities.

Terrance W. Moore, Carol R.M. Moss, Hellmuth & Johnson, PLLC, Edina, MN, for amicus curiae LifeSpan of Minnesota, Inc.

Kyle D. White, Saint Paul, MN, for amicus curiae National Alliance on Mental Illness of Minnesota.

OPINION

LILLEHAUG, Justice.

RDNT, LLC asks us to hold that the City of Bloomington's decision to deny RDNT's conditional use permit application was unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious, and to hold that the City did not properly consider RDNT's proposed traffic-mitigating conditions. We hold that the City's decision was not unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious, as the City based its decision on a legally and factually sufficient ground: that the proposed use would be injurious to the surrounding neighborhood or otherwise harm the public health, safety, and welfare. We also hold that the City's determination that RDNT's proposed efforts to mitigate traffic were insufficient was not unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious.

I.

RDNT, LLC (“RDNT”) owns the Martin Luther Care Campus (“Campus”), locatedin Bloomington. The Campus consists of two buildings: the Martin Luther Care Center and Meadow Woods Assisted Living. The Campus provides a variety of services, including assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing, adult day care, and transitional care.

On September 27, 2011, RDNT submitted an application to the City for a conditional use permit. In its application, RDNT sought to expand its existing assisted living services by adding a third building to the Campus. RDNT stated that the expansion would allow those served by its existing transitional care unit to transfer into the assisted living units, thereby allowing them to “age in place.”

At the time, the Campus consisted of 137 units in its skilled nursing facility and 117 units in its assisted living facility. The proposed addition would be three stories tall and contain 67 “catered living units,” increasing the total units from 254 to 321: a 26 percent increase. It would also increase the staff from 186 to 202 employees: an 8 percent increase. And it would increase the total building square footage from 198,209 square feet to 321,264 square feet: a 62 percent increase.

On November 3, 2011, RDNT presented its application to the Bloomington Planning Commission in a meeting open to public comment. Numerous citizens spoke about the proposed expansion, with many voicing concerns about increased traffic. The Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend denial of the conditional use permit application. The Planning Commission adopted the view of its staff report that the proposed expansion would violate the City's comprehensive plan because: 1) it is not adjacent to an arterial or collector street; 2) it is not in close proximity to transit, amenities, and services; and 3) it would not preserve the character of the surrounding low density, single family neighborhood. The Planning Commission also adopted the staff's view that the proposed use would violate the City's conditional use permit ordinance because it would be injurious to the surrounding neighborhood or otherwise harm the public health, safety, and welfare. The staff based its views on estimated increases in traffic and on the size, density, and design of the proposed building.

The City Council met on November 21, 2011, to consider the application. Among other materials, the City Council reviewed traffic studies from two different experts estimating the future traffic volume that would be generated by the proposed expansion.

SRF Consulting Group, Inc. (“SRF”), hired by the City, conducted the first study. Using data collected on its own and by City staff, SRF calculated that the Campus generated 1,145 trips on an average day, resulting in 4.50 trips per bed. That figure exceeded the standard trip generation rate for similar facilities, which is 2.66 trips per bed. SRF relied on the 4.50 trips per bed rate in order to provide a “conservative estimate.” SRF then examined the extent to which the proposed expansion would increase traffic. Using the “actual (collected) trip generation rates,” SRF determined that the expansion would increase the daily number of trips from 1,145 to 1,447: a 26 percent increase. SRF concluded that the Campus generated trips on the higher end compared to similar facilities. SRF also concluded that “existing neighborhood roadways and intersections have sufficient capacity to accommodate the additional vehicles expected from the ... expansion and no additional roadway improvements would be necessary to accommodate the expansion as proposed.” SRF noted that delays at East Old Shakopee Road and East 98th Street would likely increase, but the increase would be “minimal.”

URS Corporation (“URS”), retained by RDNT, conducted the second study. In evaluating the effect of the expansion on the number of trips generated, URS acknowledged that SRF's collected trip generation rate was calculated using an “accepted method.” However, URS contended that SRF based its rate on incorrect assumptions. URS contended that the new addition would share trips with the current site and would thus not increase traffic at the same rate that the existing use generated. URS further asserted that because the new facility would offer a “lower intensity of care,” similar to the existing assisted living facility, it would require fewer employees and trips than a more intensive-care facility, like the existing skilled nursing facility. Instead, URS determined that the industry standard rate of 2.74 trips per bed should apply to the new expansion. This would result in an additional 184 daily trips, for a total of 1,329 daily trips: a 16 percent increase. URS also evaluated the Campus's existing Transportation Demand Management Program (“TDMP”), which included a variety of measures designed to reduce the number of new and existing trips generated by the Campus. URS concluded that a more robust TDMP could further reduce the number of trips generated by the Campus by up to 70 trips per day. URS also determined that working with major vendors could reduce truck trips by six to eight trips per day.

In addition to the expert studies, the City Council received information from the neighborhood. Those in favor of the expansion highlighted the individual and community benefits of assisted living for the elderly. Those in opposition focused primarily on the effect that the Campus's existing traffic had on noise, safety, home values, and the general character of the neighborhood. Public comments given at the City Council meeting echoed the written concerns, with the primary emphasis on traffic issues.

By a vote of four to three, the City Council passed a resolution to deny RDNT's application for a conditional use permit. The resolution set forth four reasons for the denial. The first three reasons related to conflicts with different comprehensive plan provisions. The fourth reason related to the City conditional use permit ordinance, which requires that the “proposed use will not be injurious to the surrounding neighborhood or otherwise harm the public health, safety and welfare.” Bloomington, Minn., Code of Ordinances ch. 21, art. V, div. A, § 21.501.04(e)(5) (2014).¹ The City Council found that the increase in square footage rendered the expanded Campus “incompatible with the scale and character of the surrounding low density, single family neighborhood.” The City Council found that most structures in the neighborhood would be one-fifth or less than the size of the new addition. It also cited increased traffic volumes, projected to total between 1,377 and 1,447 daily trips, as injurious or otherwise harmful. The City Council further found that the traffic volume would be “over three and one half times the average daily trips” than if the 13–acre site were instead developed to a low density of three units per acre. And it found the various traffic concerns submitted by the public to be “credible and consistent with the traffic studies presented and staff analysis of the application.” Finally, the City Council found RDNT's TDMP to be insufficient to avoid the injury, given the location and nature of the Campus.

RDNT filed a complaint and petition for alternative writ of mandamus with the Hennepin County District Court. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court granted summary judgment to RDNT and reversed the denial of RDNT's application. The district court held that, for each of the four reasons given, the City “misapplied certain standards, misrepresented the impact of certain studies, and appeared to ignore evidence to the contrary.” Specifically, as to the fourth reason, the district court held that the record was insufficient to support a finding that the proposed use would injure the neighborhood or harm the community. The district court criticized the City's reliance on the SRF study and the generalized neighborhood opposition.

The City appealed. In an unpublished opinion, the court of appeals reversed, holding that the City appropriately exercised its discretion. RDNT, LLC v. City of Bloomington, No. A13–0310, 2014 WL 30382 (Minn.App. Jan. 6, 2014). Of the four...