Rhema Christian Ctr. v. Bd. of Zoning Adj., 84-1627.

• Decision Date: 10 September 1986
• Docket Number: No. 84-1627.,84-1627.
• Citation: 515 A.2d 189
• Parties: RHEMA CHRISTIAN CENTER, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT, Respondent.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

Page 189

515 A.2d 189

RHEMA CHRISTIAN CENTER, Petitioner, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT, Respondent.

No. 84-1627.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued November 18, 1985.

Decided September 10, 1986.

Deidra E. Thomas and Winifred E. Cannon, with whom Shirley Williams, Melissa Johnson, and Gwendolyn Crockett, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for petitioner.

Beverly J. Burke, Asst. Corp. Counsel, with whom Inez Smith Reid, Corp. Counsel at the time the brief was filed, and John H. Suda, Acting Corp. Counsel, Washington, D.C., at the time the brief was filed, were on the brief, for respondent.

Before NEBEKER, NEWMAN and FERREN, Associate Judges.

FERREN, Associate Judge:

For a second time, the Board of Zoning Adjustment denied Rhema Christian Center's application for a special exception to operate a parochial school at its church in a residential neighborhood. Rhema contends: (1) the school is an accessory use of the church and therefore must be permitted as of right; (2) the Board's refusal to permit this accessory use violated Rhema's constitutional right to the free exercise of religion; (3) alternatively, because public schools are permitted as of right in residential neighborhoods, and because the Board has granted special exceptions for other private schools in the same neighborhood — including one next door to Rhema — the Board's denial of Rhema's application violated its constitutional right to equal protection of the laws; and (4) in any event, the Board's decision is not supported by substantial evidence. We affirm, primarily by reference to claim and issue preclusion doctrine.

I.

In the fall of 1981, Rhema Christian Center began operating a parochial day school in its church facilities at 4915 Sargent Road, N.E., located in an R-2 residential zoning district. Rhema apparently assumed it could establish the school as of right, as an accessory use of the church. Subsequently, the Zoning Administrator informed Rhema that a certificate of occupancy was required and that Rhema would have to obtain a special exception from the Board of Zoning Adjustment before a certificate could issue. Rhema stopped operating the school at its church and moved it to leased space in the Faith United Church three blocks away.

In May 1982, Rhema filed its first application for a special exception permitting use of the church for a school with 40 students and three teachers. The Board granted leave to amend the application to propose a maximum of 80 students and six teachers, including a pre-school group, and to propose use of an adjacent lot for a play area and a parking lot.

Before the public hearing, Rhema asked the Board to rule that the school was an accessory use of the church and thus permissible as of right. Rhema argued that the zoning regulations refer only to private schools, not to parochial schools, presumably because a parochial school has traditionally been considered an accessory use of a church. Relying on City of Concord v. New Testament Baptist Church, 118 N.H. 56, 382 A.2d 377 (1978), Rhema urged that because churches are permitted as of right in an R-2 district, the school, as an accessory use, must be permitted as of right as well. Rhema also suggested that the requirement of a special exception would infringe upon its constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. The Board referred the matter to the Corporation Counsel.

Relying on Damascus Community Church v. Clackamus County, 45 Or.App. 1065, 610 P.2d 273 (1980), appeal dismissed, 450 U.S. 902, 101 S.Ct. 1336, 67 L.Ed.2d 326 (1981), and 11 D.C.M.R. 3101.4 (1982), the Corporation Counsel opined that operation of a church as of right does not authorize operation of a parochial school as of right because the zoning regulations treat church and non-public school uses differently and independently. The opinion also stated that requiring a parochial school to qualify for a special exception would not infringe upon Rhema's free exercise of religion; while religious beliefs are absolutely protected, the state may regulate religious conduct. Finally, according to the Corporation Counsel, because a school is a more intensive use than a church, the District of Columbia legitimately has exercised its police powers to apply different zoning criteria to the two uses. Based on the Corporation Counsel's opinion, the Board denied Rhema's request.

After a public hearing, the Board also denied Rhema's application for a special exception. In a final order dated December 17, 1982, the Board ruled: (1) the school was objectionable to the adjoining and nearby property because of noise, number of students, and close proximity to residential property, and (2) the pre-school was not reasonably necessary to the neighborhood since it would not draw students from the neighborhood children. The final order incorporated the Board's previous ruling that the school was not an accessory use of the church. Rhema did not petition this court for review of the Board's final order.

Instead, in July 1983, Rhema again asked the Zoning Administrator for a certificate of occupancy for its school. The Zoning Administrator again replied that the proposed parochial day school for 80 students was not permitted as of right in an R-2 district. He again suggested that Rhema petition the Board for a special exception under 11 D.C.M.R. § 3101,42 (1982).

On May 22, 1984, Rhema filed a second application under 11 D.C.M.R. §§ 3101.42, 3102.5, 8207.2 (1982) (see Appendix) for a special exception permitting the church to operate a parochial day school with 80 students and six teachers (but without the previously proposed pre-school and adjacent lot uses). The application also asked the Board to rule that the parochial school was an accessory use of the church, permitted as of right under 11 D.C.M.R. §§ 3101.32. -.5, 3102.31, -.5 (1982) (see Appendix). Rhema added in the application that, by requesting a special exception, it did "not waive its claim to operate a school in the church as a matter of right," nor did it "waive any of its Constitutional rights relative to this matter."

In response, the Board's Executive Director, by letter of May 29, 1984, reminded Rhema that the Board had decided, in connection with the first application, that the school was not an accessory use of the church and, therefore, required Board approval. The letter instructed Rhema that, if it sought to revive the accessory use issue, it should appeal the decision of the Zoning Administrator denying a certificate of occupancy. Rhema did not do so. Moreover, in accordance with the Executive Director's letter, Rhema agreed to address only its request for a special exception under 11 D.C.M.R. §§ 3101.42, 8207.2 (1982) and did not further pursue the accessory use issue with the Board.

After a public hearing on Rhema's second application, the Board denied the requested special exception on September 5, 1984, ruling that Rhema had not met its burden of proving the proposed school would not adversely affect use of the neighboring property. The Board concluded that a school with 80 students and six teachers would be objectionable to adjoining and nearby property owners because of inherent traffic and noise generated by that number of students in close proximity to residential dwellings. The Board also concluded that the second application was "not significantly different" from the prior application, which the Board had denied 21 months earlier. The appeal followed.

II.

Rhema raised both the accessory use and the free exercise issues, as well as its asserted right to a special exception for a parochial school, in the first Board proceeding. Rhema, however, has presented an equal protection issue for the first time in this second proceeding — and has done so only in this court, not before the Board. At the outset, therefore, we confront serious questions about whether some or all of Rhema's assertions of error are barred by the doctrines of claim preclusion (res judicata) and/or issue preclusion (direct and collateral estoppel), which are applicable to administrative, as well as judicial, proceedings. City Wide Learning Center, Inc. v. William C. Smith & Co., 488 A.2d 1310, 1313 (D.C.1985) (quoting United States v. Utah Construction & Mining Co., 384 U.S. 394, 422, 86 S.Ct. 1545, 1560, 16 L.Ed.2d 642 (1966)); William J. Davis, Inc. v. Young, 412 A.2d 1187, 1193-94 (D.C. 1980); 4 K. Davis, ADMINISTRATIVE LAW TREATISE, § 21:2 (2d ed. 1983); RESTATEMENT, SECOND, JUDGMENTS § 83 (1982).

A.

In determining whether preclusion doctrine is applicable in a particular case, "[t]he threshold inquiry is whether the earlier proceeding [was] the essential equivalent of a judicial proceeding." Davis, 412 A.2d at 1194. The Board is an adjudicatory agency; it hears and decides cases (applications and appeals) initiated by parties other than the Board itself. D.C.Code § 5-424 (1981). Moreover, our local Administrative Procedure Act, D.C.Code §§ 1-1501 to 1510 (D.C.1981), as well as the Board's own procedural regulations, 11 D.C.M.R. §§ 3300-3399 (1985), ensure the essential elements of due process in adjudication, including notice, representation, a hearing with presentation of evidence and cross-examination, and a written decision with findings of fact and conclusions of law. Rose Lees Hardy Home and School Association v. District of Columbia Board of Zoning Adjustment, 324 A.2d 701, 707 (D.C.1974). There is no question that these procedural requirements were met in the first proceeding. Thus, the "threshold inquiry" for preclusion is satisfied.

B.

Before we apply preclusion doctrine, it will be useful to provide a conceptual framework for analyzing the particular factual and legal posture of this case. Generally speaking, once a claim has been finally adjudicated, the doctrine of claim preclusion, or res judicata, prevents the same parties from relitigating the same claim, including any issue that...