Wright v. Michaud
| Decision Date | 22 May 1964 |
| Citation | 200 A.2d 543,160 Me. 164 |
| Parties | Rodney P. WRIGHT v. Lewellyn R. MICHAUD et al., Orono Zoning Board of Appeals. |
| Court | Maine Supreme Court |
Malcolm S. Stevenson, Bangor, for plaintiff.
Needham & Needham, Bangor, for defendants.
Before WILLIAMSON, C. J., and WEBBER, TAPLEY, SULLIVAN, SIDDALL, and MARDEN, JJ.
On Report. The Appellant's application for a permit to 'park' a mobilehome in a zone denominated as 'Residential and Farming' in the zoning ordinance of the Town of Orono was denied by the Building Inspector. Although the record does not contain a copy of the appeal or decision thereon, the stipulation of the parties shows that the Appellant appealed from the decision of the Building Inspector, requesting a variance from the zoning ordinance to park his mobilehome in that zone. The stipulation also disclosed that the appeal was denied by the Board of Zoning Appeals, the board finding no facts to justify a variance for undue hardship.
The Enabling Act relating to municipal development is set forth as amended in R.S.1954, Chap, 90-A, § 61. That part of the act which authorizes municipalities to enact zoning ordinances is contained in Par. II, Section B and reads as follows:
(emphasis supplied)
The zoning ordinance of the Town of Orono divides the town into the following types of use zones:
1. Residence and Farming Zone
2. Residence A. Zone
3. Residence B. Zone
4. Business Zone
5. Industrial Zone
The Residence and Farming Zone permits among other uses single and two family dwellings subject to certain limitations relating to the size of the lot. The Board of Appeals may permit a mobile park in that zone provided it be set back 200 feet from any right of way.
The following pertinent provisions are found in the ordinance:
'No individual trailer or mobilehome shall be allowed to locate in any zone in the Town of Orono and no trailer or mobilehome shall constitute a single resident use, whether on foundation or not.' Sec. 1803
The stipulated issues are summarized as follows:
1. Was the decision of the Orono Board of Appeals arbitrary, contrary to the weight of the evidence, and an abuse of discretion?
2. Is Section 1803 prohibiting the location of individual mobile homes anywhere in the Town of Orono, even if all the other requirements of the particular zone are fulfilled, arbitrary and discriminatory and in violation of the Constitution of the State of Maine and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States?
3. In Section 1803 in excess of the authority granted to the Town of Orono by the Enabling Act?
4. Does Section 1803 apply to mobile homes from which wheels are removed, and a form of foundation is to be constructed?
The provisions of the Enabling Act delegate broad police powers to municipalities to adopt zoning ordinances as an integral part of a comprehensive plan for municipal development and promotion of the health, safety, and general welfare of its inhabitants. The geography, the economic and industrial development, the residential necessities, the nature and extent of residential, business and industrial growth of one municipality may be entirely different from those in another municipality.
The Enabling Act does not attempt to specify the needs of any particular city or town in the field of zoning. It places no limitation upon the legislative action of a municipality in the enactment of zoning ordinances seeking to accomplish the intended purposes of the act, except those dictated by constitutional limitations. Subject to those limitations, to be hereafter discussed, Section 1803 of the zoning ordinance is not in excess of the authority granted by the statute.
The Appellant contends in view of the definitions of a trailer and a mobilehome (Sec. 302, Par. (1) and (q)) that Sec. 1803 of the ordinance does not apply to a mobilehome from which wheels are removed and a foundation therefor is to be constructed. The parties stipulated that all wheels and mobile underpinnings were to be removed from the Appellant's mobilehome, and a foundation created by use of insulation sideboards around cement blocks to which the home would be attached. Sanitation was to be provided by use of a 500 gallon septic tank. An artesian well, located nearby, was to be available for fire protection. A lawn with 150 foot frontage was contemplated, and trees and shrubbery were to be planted later on the property.
Courts of other jurisdictions have differed in their treatment of mobilehomes and house trailers in ordinances of this type. In Anstine v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of York Township, 411 Pa. 33, 190 A.2d 712 (1963) the court concluded that the removal of the undercarriage of a mobilehome to which the wheels were attached, and the bolting of the structure to a concrete block foundation, created a fixed rather than a mobile structure. In Lescault v. Zoning Board of Review of Town of Cumberland, 91 R.I. 277, 162 A.2d 807 (1960) it was held that a trailer set on a foundation of concrete blocks was a one-family dwelling and was clearly within the requirements of the zoning ordinance. In re Willey, 120 Vt. 359, 140 A.2d 11 (1958) the trailer was mounted on cinder blocks and 2 X 3 timbers. It was connected with city sewer and water lines. The court held that the trailer was mobile when it was brought to the lot but became fixed to the realty by various connections and was properly classified as a one-family house under the zoning ordinance. On the other hand in Town of Manchester v. Phillips, 343 Mass. 591, 180 N.E.2d 333 (1962), the court found that the zoning by-laws of the Town of Manchester, which limited to single residence districts detached one-family dwellings and which defined 'dwelling' as a building to be used as living quarters but not including overnight camps, trailers, or mobilehomes, excluded a mobilehome type of unit from the category of dwellings, whether the unit was equipped with wheels or not.
In Town of Brewster v. Sherman, 343 Mass. 598, 180 N.E.2d 338 (1962), the Town of Brewster had excluded trailers from areas other than existing commercial trailer parks or camps. The trailer in question was to be transformed into an immovable single family residence permanently affixed to the land by means of a cement block foundation and connected to water, electricity and a sewerage disposal system. The court held that the prohibition of residence in any 'trailer or tent' sufficiently described this type of trailer or mobile home unit whether it remained mobile or was affixed with substantial permanence to the land. See also City of Astoria v. Nothwang, 221 Or. 452, 351 P.2d 688 (1960).
These cases were decided under statutes and ordinances of various types. In none of them do we find a provision similar to Section 1803 wherein it is specifically stated that no individual trailer or mobilehome shall be allowed to locate in any zone in the Town of Orone and that neither shall constitute a single residence use, whether on a foundation or not. This provision, if constitutional, prohibits the use of individual trailers or mobilehomes, whether on a foundation or not, except that in the Residence and Farming Zone an exception is permitted upon approval of the Board of Appeals for a Mobilehome Park, provided that it be set back not less than 200 feet from any right of way.
The vital issue in this case concerns the constitutionality of Section 1803.
The constitutional guaranties relating to due process and equal protection were not intended to limit the subjects upon which the police power of a state may be exercised. State v. Robb, 100 Me. 180, 185, 60 A. 874.
Private property is held subject to the implied condition that it shall not be used for any purpose that injures or impairs the public health, morals, safety, order or welfare. York Harbor Village Corporation v. Libby et al., 126 Me. 537, 540, 140 A. 382.
Neither the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, nor the Construction of this State, prohibits zoning legislation. Bolduc v. Pinkham et al., 148 Me. 17, 19, 88 A.2d 817.
A classification must not be arbitrary. It must be natural and reasonable and...
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