Sandblom v. Corbin
| Decision Date | 17 January 1980 |
| Docket Number | CA-CIV,No. 1,1 |
| Parties | Paul SANDBLOM and Saundre K. Sandblom, husband and wife; William J. Rappoport and Tula Rappoport, husband and wife, Appellants, v. Robert CORBIN, Henry H. Haws, Robert Stark, Joe Lopez and Eldon Rudd, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors; Moise E. Berger, Maricopa County Attorney; Paul E. Blubaum, Maricopa County Sheriff; Raymond A. Johnson, Maricopa County Department of Building Safety; and Camelback Shadows, Inc., an Arizona Corporation, Appellees. 3955. |
| Court | Arizona Court of Appeals |
McLoone, Theobald & Galbut, P.C. by Philip C. Tower and Lewis & Roca by Jeremy E. Butler, Phoenix, for appellants.
Burch, Cracchiolo, Levie, Guyer & Weyl by Frank Haze Burch, Arda S. Rutherford, and Roush, Mori & Welch by Foster G. Mori, Phoenix, for appellees, Camelback Shadows, Inc.
Cleon M. Duke, Deputy County Atty., Phoenix, for appellees.
Richard B. Zielinski, Asst. County Atty., Phoenix, for appellees other than Camelback Shadows.
This is an appeal from a judgment granted in favor of the defendants in a zoning action.
The facts necessary for resolution of this controversy are as follows: Appellee, Camelback Shadows, Inc. (Camelback Shadows) is the owner of real property which is the subject of this appeal. On March 14, 1972, Camelback Shadows applied for a special use permit, pursuant to Article 24, Section 2401(1)(p), the 1969 Amended Zoning Ordinance for the Unincorporated Areas of Maricopa County (Ordinance), for the purpose of developing a new resort hotel. Accompanying this application were plans and specifications for a resort to be constructed of 97 resort units containing a total of 169,530 square feet, a large commercial-type building of 35,342 square feet, and a recreation building of 5,680 square feet. The application was referred to the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission (Commission) which, after proper notice and public hearings, recommended that the application be denied. 1 Subsequently, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors (Board) considered the matter in some detail and, after proper notice and public hearings, returned the application to the Commission with the following instructions:
It is hereby resolved, that the application be returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission with instructions to approve a plan of development from the applicant which has no two story units on the perimeters; which does not have lights on tennis courts; and which will reduce the number of square feet for commercial use by the members and guests of the resort to that which can be used by the resort itself, and provide such other stipulations and conditions as the said Commission shall deem reasonable for the protection of the general health and welfare.
Pursuant to the Board's resolution, Camelback Shadows submitted a new or revised application and site master plan (1973 Plan). Under the original plan, 35,542 square feet had been designated as commercial space, of which 18,440 square feet was dedicated to resort shops and services (designated as resort conveniences or leasable area), while the remaining 17,102 square feet consisted of hotel administrative, lobby and restaurant-meeting space (designated as directly related hotel space). The 1973 plan reduced total commercial space to 31,792 square feet, of which 11,050 square feet was dedicated to resort conveniences and the balance of 20,742 square feet was classified as directly related hotel space. In addition to the above changes, the number of resort units was reduced from 97 to 95, all two story units were removed from the perimeter, and the lights were removed from the tennis courts. On February 15, 1973, the Commission adopted a resolution recommending approval of the 1973 Plan. Thereafter, on February 26, 1973, the Board adopted the following resolution granting the special use permit:
WHEREAS, on December 18, 1972, the Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Arizona, adopted a resolution remanding Zoning Case Z-72-44 back to the Planning and Zoning Commission with instructions to approve a plan of development for the applicant which has no two-story units on the perimeter; which does not have lights on the tennis courts; and which will reduce the number of square feet for commercial use by the members and guests of the resort, to that which can be used by the resort itself; and which provides such other stipulations and conditions as the said Commission shall deem reasonable for the protection of the general health and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the applicant has submitted revised plans which eliminate all two-story units on the perimeter, no lights will be permitted for the tennis courts; reduce the leasable space for shops and services oriented to the desires and needs of the guests pursuant to the Board of Supervisors' resolution of December 18, 1972; and
WHEREAS, the Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended that the Board approve the application subject to certain conditions;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this Board approve the application subject to the following conditions:
(1) Conformance with a "Site Master Plan" drawn to scale one inch equals 40 feet by Schwenn and Clark Architects, Inc., dated revised January 19, 1973 which shows proposed walls located behind the 55-foot half-width right-of-way of Lincoln Drive; subject to assurance satisfactory to the County Engineer to guaranty that off-site improvements will be made in accordance with the "Site Master Plan" prior to issuance of any building permits; conformance with site grading and drainage plans and revisions thereto that may be required by the Maricopa County Flood Control District; provided that landscape architectural plans be submitted subject to Commission action and approval before any building permits are issued; and
(2) Dedication of a 55-foot half-width right-of-way for Lincoln Drive before building permits are issued; and
(3) Submittal of a master site plan with each building identified by key numbers for purposes of identification at such time as building permits are requested; and
(4) Submittal of a grading and drainage plan that has been reviewed and stamped approved by the County Flood Control Engineer before building permits are issued.
No work was done on the site from 1973 to 1975. Then, by letter dated January 31, 1975, Camelback Shadows requested that the Board substitute a revised site master plan (1975 Plan) with the same conditions as previously imposed. The 1975 Plan proposed changes pertaining almost exclusively to the main core commercial area of the resort complex. While there was some slight movement of some of the locations of the residential units and directional reorientation, their location, size and shape remained essentially the same. The plan also proposed to change the architectural style of the complex from what the trial court described as a "nondescript Orange County style to a distinctive Colonial Mission style." A comparison of the 1973 and 1975 plans shows that the core area of the complex remained in the identical spot with the same directional orientation. The gross building area square footage under all classifications also remained the same. However, certain space allocations, which had been previously categorized in the sub-commercial class of resort conveniences, were transferred to the sub-commercial class of directly related hotel space. The 1975 plan also eliminated certain space allocations from the commercial category and introduced new resort conveniences, including a branch bank.
On February 3, 1975, the Board, upon public hearing, but without notice or prior submission to the Commission, approved and adopted the 1975 revised site master plan. The record of that hearing clearly shows that the Board believed that the 1975 plan was a significant improvement over the prior plan, and was satisfied that it met all the previously defined requirements. On July 27, 1976, appellants who were surrounding property owners, filed their action. The thrust of their complaint was that the development of the resort was proceeding under an invalidly amended special use permit. Appellants, in their complaint, sought the following relief: (1) a declaratory order establishing the rights and legal relations of the parties; (2) an injunction against Camelback Shadows to halt construction and remove all structures in violation of the Ordinance; and (3) an injunction against the named county defendants, ordering them to take whatever action was necessary to halt construction and oversee the removal of all structures in violation of the Ordinance.
On February 25, 1977, the Superior Court of Maricopa County, the Honorable Stanley Z. Goodfarb presiding, presented its extensive findings of fact and conclusions of law, and ordered that judgment be entered in favor of the defendants upon plaintiffs' complaint.
Subsequent to the filing of the notice of appeal, the Town of Paradise Valley annexed the appellees' (Camelback Shadows) property, and issued its own special use permit. Thereafter, appellees filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as moot, arguing that even if the appellants were granted the relief sought, it would have no effect on any of the parties because Maricopa County no longer had jurisdiction over the subject property. We denied appellees' motion with leave to re-argue the issue in their briefs. Pursuant to that order, appellees again raise the issue of mootness.
Upon reconsideration we conclude that the case against the Maricopa County defendants is moot and their dismissal from this appeal is appropriate. In our opinion, a case becomes moot when an event occurs, pending an appeal, which renders the relief sought either impossible or without practical effect on the parties to the action. See Hawes v. Cooper, 14 Ariz.App. 88, 480 P.2d 1005 (1971); ...
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