Urrutia v. Blaine County

• Citation: 2 P.3d 738,134 Idaho 353
• Decision Date: 03 April 2000
• Docket Number: No. 24586.,24586.
• Parties: Johnny Michael URRUTIA and Lynn Marie Urrutia; Lawrence John Urrutia and Patricia G. Urrutia; Sonja Allece Humphries and Martin J. Humphries; Constance Rae Stauts and Frank Lynn Stauts; Louisa Marie Harris and Samuel Robert Harris; Valentia Jo Allen and Jeff Allen; The Urrutia Family Limited Partnership; and Virginia Reed, Petitioners-Respondents-Cross Appellants, v. BLAINE COUNTY, Idaho, By and Through its duly elected BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, Respondent-Appellant-Cross Respondent.
• Court: Idaho Supreme Court

2 P.3d 738

134 Idaho 353

Johnny Michael URRUTIA and Lynn Marie Urrutia; Lawrence John Urrutia and Patricia G. Urrutia; Sonja Allece Humphries and Martin J. Humphries; Constance Rae Stauts and Frank Lynn Stauts; Louisa Marie Harris and Samuel Robert Harris; Valentia Jo Allen and Jeff Allen; The Urrutia Family Limited Partnership; and Virginia Reed, Petitioners-Respondents-Cross Appellants, v. BLAINE COUNTY, Idaho, By and Through its duly elected BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, Respondent-Appellant-Cross Respondent.

No. 24586.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Twin Falls, November 1999 Term.

April 3, 2000.

Rehearing Denied June 9, 2000.

Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney, Hailey, for appellant. Douglas A. Werth argued.

Rosholt, Robertson & Tucker, Twin Falls, for respondent Urrutia. Gary D. Slette argued.

Hepworth, Lezamiz & Hohnhorst, Twin Falls, for respondent Reed. John C. Hohnhorst argued.

TROUT, Chief Justice.

This is a land use case involving the district judge's reversal of the Blaine County Board of Commissioners' (Board) decision to deny two subdivision applications submitted by respondents Johnny Michael Urrutia, et al. (Urrutias) and Virginia Reed (Reed). The Urrutias and Reed have cross-appealed from the district judge's refusal to award attorney fees under I.C. § 12-117. We hold that the Board's decision to deny the Urrutias and Reed subdivision applications was improper in that the Board placed inappropriate emphasis upon the subdivision's noncompliance with the Comprehensive Plan. While we agree with the district judge that the Board's decision should not stand, we vacate that decision so that these applications may be remanded to the Board for further consideration applying the proper standards.

I. BACKGROUND

The Urrutias submitted a subdivision application to Blaine County on September 22, 1994. The property is located in an area zoned A-20 which permits single-family residences and the division of land into lots of twenty acres or larger in a subdivision. The Planning and Zoning Commission (Commission) recommended approval of the Urrutias subdivision. The Board considered the Commission's recommendation at a hearing on February 6, 1995 and again on February 13, 1995. The Board granted preliminary plat approval for the Urrutias subdivision on February 21, 1995. The Board issued final plat approval of the Urrutias subdivision on July 17, 1995 and stated that although the application did not entirely conform to the comprehensive plan, it did comply with the zoning ordinance and subdivision ordinance.

Respondent and Cross-Appellant Reed owns and resides on a 119 acre parcel located in an area within Blaine County, zoned A-20. On March 8, 1995, Reed submitted an application to the Commission for approval of a plat to subdivide her property into four single-family residential lots ranging from twenty to forty-two acres. Reed's application was approved and submitted to the Board for review. The Board determined that the application conformed with the comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and subdivision ordinance and approved Reed's application on July 17, 1995.

Dean R. Rogers (Rogers), an adjoining landowner, filed an action for judicial review of the Board's decisions approving the Urrutias and Reed subdivision applications. The Urrutias and Reed intervened and were represented by counsel. On October 24, 1996, the district judge remanded the decision to the Board with respect to the Urrutias subdivision in order to give Rogers "an opportunity to express his concerns and to create a record thereof," and, with respect to both the Urrutias and Reed subdivisions, for the Board to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law consistent with Bone v. City of Lewiston, 107 Idaho 844, 693 P.2d 1046 (1984). The Board discussed both applications at a January 6, 1997 meeting and determined that neither application conformed to the 1994 comprehensive plan. The Board subsequently issued written findings of fact and conclusions of law denying the Urrutias and Reed subdivision applications.

The Urrutias and Reed filed a Joint Petition For Judicial Review in the District Court for the Fifth District on January 6, 1997. On September 11, 1997, the Urrutias and Reed filed a motion requesting the district court take judicial notice of (1) a list compiled by the Blaine County assessor listing the single-family subdivisions approved by the Board in the county's A-20 zone between 1974 and 1996; and (2) the Board's September 4, 1997 action approving Phase II of the Prairie Sun Ranch Subdivision located in the A-20 zone. The district judge granted the motion to take judicial notice and issued its memorandum decision on February 2, 1998. In that decision, the district judge found that (1) the Board had misunderstood and failed to properly apply the district judge's decision in Rogers v. Blaine County; (2) the Board's decision to reject the applications based upon non-conformity with the comprehensive plan was contrary to Bone v. City of Lewiston, 107 Idaho 844, 693 P.2d 1046 (1984); and (3) the Board's justification for denying the applications was invalid, and the record established, as a matter of law, that the applications were in full compliance with the zoning and subdivision ordinances. The district judge reversed the Board's decision and ordered the Board to grant the applications. The district judge awarded costs, but not attorney fees to the Urrutias and Reed. Blaine County filed its Notice of Appeal on March 16, 1998 and on April 7, 1998, the Urrutias and Reed filed their Notice of Cross-Appeal.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Idaho Administrative Procedures Act (IDAPA) governs the review of local administrative decisions. Comer v. County of Twin Falls, 130 Idaho 433, 437, 942 P.2d 557, 561 (1997). In an appeal from the decision of a district court acting in its appellate capacity under the IDAPA, this Court reviews the agency record independently of the district court's decision. Id.; Howard v. Canyon County Bd. of Comm'rs, 128 Idaho 479, 480, 915 P.2d 709, 710 (1996). The Court does not substitute its judgment for that of the agency as to the weight of the evidence presented. I.C. § 67-5279(1). The Court instead defers to the agency's findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous. Castaneda v. Brighton Corp., 130 Idaho 923, 926, 950 P.2d 1262, 1265 (1998) (citing South Fork Coalition v. Board of Comm'rs of Bonneville County, 117 Idaho 857, 860, 792 P.2d 882, 885 (1990)). In other words, the agency's factual determinations are binding on the reviewing court, even where there is conflicting evidence before the agency, so long as the determinations are supported by substantial competent evidence in the record. Id. Here, the Board is treated as an administrative agency for purposes of judicial review. See South Fork, 117 Idaho at 860, 792 P.2d at 885. The Court may overturn the Board's decision where the Board's findings: (a) violate statutory or constitutional provisions; (b) exceed the agency's statutory authority; (c) are made upon unlawful procedure; (d) are not supported by substantial evidence in the record; or (e) are arbitrary, capricious, or an abuse of discretion. I.C. § 67-5279(3). The party attacking the Board's decision must first illustrate that the Board erred in a manner specified in I.C. § 67-5279(3), and then that a substantial right has been prejudiced. Price v. Payette County Bd. of County Comm'rs, 131 Idaho 426, 429, 958 P.2d 583, 587 (1998). If the Board's action is not affirmed, "it shall be set aside ... and remanded for further proceedings as necessary." I.C. § 67-5279(3).

III. THE BOARD ERRED IN DENYING THE SUBDIVISION APPLICATIONS BASED ON NON-COMPLIANCE WITH THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

The Board initially approved both the Urrutias and Reed subdivision applications, finding that the Urrutias' proposal did not entirely conform to the comprehensive plan, while Reed's did comply. The Board further found that both applications conformed to Blaine County's zoning ordinance and subdivision ordinance. On remand from the district judge, the Board denied both subdivision applications based essentially on the Board's conclusion that neither subdivision complied with the comprehensive plan. The district judge determined that the Board erred in its reliance on the comprehensive plan alone as a basis for denying the applications and with that portion of the district judge's decision, we agree. Because, under IDAPA, the district court or this Court are limited in the actions which may be taken in reviewing an agency decision, this case must be remanded back to the Board for consideration of these subdivision applications applying the proper standards.

A brief review of the purpose of a comprehensive plan within the framework of the Local Land Use Planning Act will help explain this Court's view of the appropriate standards to be applied by the Board on remand. The Local Land Use Planning Act was promulgated to ensure the orderly and effective development of land to the benefit of Idaho citizens. See I.C. § 67-6502. The Act indicates that a comprehensive plan and a zoning ordinance are distinct concepts serving different purposes. A comprehensive plan reflects the "desirable goals and objectives, or desirable future situations" for the land within a jurisdiction. I.C. § 67-6508. This Court has held that a comprehensive plan does not operate as legally controlling zoning law, but rather serves to guide and advise the governmental agencies responsible for making zoning decisions. South Fork Coalition v. Board of County Comm'rs of Bonneville County, 117 Idaho 857, 863,792 P.2d 882, 888 (1990) (quoting Bone v. City of Lewiston, 107 Idaho 844, 850, 693 P.2d 1046, 1052 (1984)); cf. Sprenger, Grubb & Assocs., Inc., v. City of Hailey, 127 Idaho 576, 585, 903 P.2d 741, 750 (1995); Balser v. Kootenai County Board of Comm'rs, 110 Idaho 37, 39, 714 P.2d 6, 8 (1986); Ferguson v. Board of County Comm'rs for Ada...