State v. Champoux

• Decision Date: 03 July 1997
• Docket Number: No. S-95-958,S-95-958
• Citation: 566 N.W.2d 763,252 Neb. 769
• Parties: STATE of Nebraska, Appellee, v. Steven M. CHAMPOUX, Appellant.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

Page 763

566 N.W.2d 763

252 Neb. 769

STATE of Nebraska, Appellee, v. Steven M. CHAMPOUX, Appellant.

No. S-95-958.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

July 3, 1997.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Constitutional Law: Statutes: Ordinances. The constitutionality of a statute or an ordinance is a question of law.

2. Judgments: Appeal and Error. With regard to questions of law, an appellate court is obligated to reach a conclusion independent of the decision reached by the trial court.

3. Municipal Corporations: Ordinances: Zoning: Proof. To successfully challenge the validity of a zoning ordinance that does not affect a fundamental right or a suspect classification, a litigant must prove that the conditions imposed by the city in adopting the ordinance were unreasonable, discriminatory, or arbitrary, and that the regulation bears no relationship to the purpose or purposes sought to be accomplished by the ordinance.

4. Constitutional Law: Due Process: Statutes. In cases involving due process challenges under the Nebraska Constitution, when a fundamental right or suspect classification is not involved in the legislation, the legislative act is a valid exercise of the police power if the act is rationally related to a legitimate state interest.

5. Constitutional Law: Ordinances: Presumptions: Proof: Appeal and Error. When passing on the constitutionality of an ordinance, an appellate court begins with a presumption of validity. The burden of demonstrating a constitutional defect rests with the challenger.

Peter W. Katt and Lisa K. Piscitelli, of Pierson, Fitchett, Hunzeker, Blake & Loftis, Lincoln, for Appellant.

Norman Langemach, Jr., Lincoln City Prosecutor, Lincoln, for Appellee.

Lisa M. Line, of Brodkey, Cuddigan & Peebles, Omaha, for amicus curiae James D. Severa, M.D.

WHITE, C.J., and CAPORALE, WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, and McCORMACK, JJ.

WHITE, Chief Justice.

Steven M. Champoux petitioned this court for further review of the Nebraska Court of Appeals' affirmance of his conviction for violating Lincoln Mun. Code § 27.03.220 (1994) by renting a residence located in an area zoned for single-family and two-family dwellings to more than three unrelated people. We affirm.

On February 7, 1994, a criminal complaint was filed in the county court for Lancaster County alleging that Champoux unlawfully "allow[ed] more than three unrelated persons to live in a building or premises ... in violation of the use regulations for the R-2 Residential District...." The R-2 Residential District is zoned for single-family and two-family dwellings. Section 27.03.220 defines a "family" as "[o]ne or more persons immediately related by blood, marriage, or adoption and living as a single housekeeping unit.... A family may include, in addition, not more than two persons who are unrelated...."

On February 16, 1994, Champoux filed a motion to quash, arguing that § 27.03.220 was unreasonable and arbitrary, in violation of the due process clause of the Nebraska Constitution, and that § 27.03.220 violated his tenants' constitutional right of privacy. The county court overruled the motion, a trial was held on stipulated facts, and Champoux was found guilty and fined $25.

Champoux appealed to the district court for Lancaster County. The district court affirmed the county court's judgment, finding that the ordinance was neither unreasonable nor arbitrary and that the ordinance did not implicate the tenants' right of privacy.

Champoux then appealed to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, which also affirmed. See State v. Champoux, 5 Neb.App. 68, 555 N.W.2d 69 (1996). The Court of Appeals found that the definition of "family" in § 27.03.220 did not violate the due process clause of the Nebraska Constitution, because the ordinance and the city's legitimate objectives of promoting community values and a certain quality of living were rationally related, and that Champoux did not demonstrate a constitutional defect in the zoning ordinance. The Court of Appeals also found that the ordinance did not implicate any of the tenants' fundamental constitutional rights.

Champoux timely petitioned this court for further review. On appeal, Champoux alleges that the Court of Appeals erred in (1) applying an equal protection violation standard of review when determining whether § 27.03.220 could survive Champoux's due process challenges, (2) finding that Champoux failed to demonstrate a constitutional defect in § 27.03.220, and (3) finding that § 27.03.220 did not violate Champoux's due process rights under the Nebraska Constitution.

The constitutionality of a zoning ordinance which defines "family" as any number of related persons living together as a single housekeeping unit and not more than two additional unrelated persons is an issue of first impression.

The constitutionality of a statute or an ordinance is a question of law. Kuchar v. Krings, 248 Neb. 995, 540 N.W.2d 582 (1995); Village of Brady v. Melcher, 243 Neb. 728, 502 N.W.2d 458 (1993). With regard to questions of law, an appellate court is obligated to reach a conclusion independent of the decision reached by the trial court. Kuchar, supra; Village of Brady, supra.

In his first assignment of error, Champoux alleges that the Court of Appeals erred in applying an equal protection violation standard of review when determining whether § 27.03.220 could survive Champoux's due process challenges. We disagree.

The Court of Appeals stated in its opinion that to successfully challenge the validity of a zoning ordinance that does not affect a fundamental right or a suspect classification, a litigant must prove that the conditions imposed by the city in adopting the ordinance were unreasonable, discriminatory, or arbitrary and that the regulation bears no relationship to the purpose or purposes sought to be accomplished by the ordinance. Champoux, supra. The Court of Appeals also stated, " '[C]lassifications appearing in social or economic legislation require only a rational relationship between the state's legitimate interest and the means selected to accomplish that end. The ends-means fit need not be perfect; it need only be rational.' " Id. at 72, 555 N.W.2d at 72 (quoting State v. Michalski, 221 Neb. 380, 377 N.W.2d 510 (1985)).

Champoux argues that Michalski involved a challenge to an ordinance on equal protection grounds and that the Court of Appeals' reliance on Michalski in determining the type of relationship that must exist between the regulation and its purposes resulted in an improper analysis of his underlying claims. Although Champoux is correct in stating that Michalski involved an equal protection challenge, we have held in numerous cases involving due process challenges under the Nebraska Constitution that when a fundamental right or suspect classification is not involved in the legislation, the legislative act is a valid exercise of the police power if the act is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. State ex rel. Dept. of Health v. Jeffrey, 247 Neb. 100, 525 N.W.2d 193 (1994); Robotham v. State, 241 Neb. 379, 488 N.W.2d 533 (1992); State v. Two IGT Video Poker Games, 237 Neb. 145, 465 N.W.2d 453 (1991). The standard of review employed by the Court of Appeals was identical to the standard we have utilized in other due process challenges. Thus, we find Champoux's first assignment of error to be without merit.

In his final two assignments of error, Champoux argues that the Court of Appeals erred in finding that he failed to demonstrate a constitutional defect in § 27.03.220 and in finding that § 27.03.220 did not violate Champoux's due process rights under the Nebraska Constitution. We disagree, and because we note that these two assignments of error are interrelated, we will discuss them together.

The constitutionality of a statute or an ordinance is a question of law. Village of Brady, supra. When passing on the constitutionality of an ordinance, this court begins with a presumption of validity. The burden of demonstrating a constitutional defect rests with the challenger. Village of Brady, supra; City of Lincoln v. ABC Books, Inc., 238 Neb. 378, 470 N.W.2d 760 (1991).

As noted above, to successfully challenge the validity of a zoning ordinance that does not affect a fundamental right or a suspect classification, a litigant must prove that the conditions imposed by the city in adopting the ordinance were unreasonable, discriminatory, or arbitrary and that the regulation bears no relationship to the purpose or purposes sought to be accomplished by the ordinance. Giger v. City of Omaha, 232 Neb. 676, 442 N.W.2d 182 (1989). Under the due process clause of the Nebraska Constitution, when a fundamental right or suspect classification is not involved in the legislation, the legislative act is a valid exercise of the police power if the act is rationally related to a legitimate state interest. Jeffrey, supra; Robotham, supra; Two IGT Video Poker Games, supra.

The question of whether a statute which defines "family" as any number of related individuals living together as a single housekeeping unit and not more than two additional individuals who are unrelated violates the due process clause of the Nebraska Constitution is an issue of first impression. However, this same question has been addressed by both the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous other jurisdictions.

In Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1, 2, 94 S.Ct. 1536, 1537-38, 39 L.Ed.2d 797 (1974), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld an ordinance which defined "family" as

"[o]ne or more persons related by blood, adoption, or marriage, living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit.... A number of persons but not exceeding two (2) living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit though not related by blood, adoption, or marriage shall be deemed to constitute a family."

The landlord in Village of Belle Terre rented a house to six unrelated students, and the landlord and three students...