Arrigoni Enterprises, LLC v. Town of Durham

18 F. Supp. 3d 188, 2014 WL 1892596, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65399
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedMay 8, 2014
DocketNo. 3:08CV520
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 18 F. Supp. 3d 188 (Arrigoni Enterprises, LLC v. Town of Durham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arrigoni Enterprises, LLC v. Town of Durham, 18 F. Supp. 3d 188, 2014 WL 1892596, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65399 (D. Conn. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES G. CARR, Senior District Judge.

This is an action by plaintiff Arrigoni Enterprises, LLC (Arrigoni) which sought a variance from defendants the Town of Durham, Connecticut, the Durham Planing & Zoning Commission, and the Durham Zoning Board of Appeals (collectively, the defendants or Town) to excavate, crush, and remove rock for the development of three commercial buildings. The Town denied its application on the basis of a local zoning regulation.

Pending is Arrigoni’s post-trial motion seeking declaratory judgment that the zoning regulation be repealed for vagueness (Doc. 173).

For the reasons that follow, I deny Arri-goni’s motion.

Background

Arrigoni, a Connecticut company, submitted an application to the Town to develop its property. The three buildings Arri-goni wanted to erect were to be located within the Town’s Design Development [190]*190District (DDD) zone. After receiving the application, defendants instructed plaintiff to apply for an excavation permit pursuant to § 12.05 of the Durham Zoning Regulations (the Section).

Arrigoni then prepared and submitted an excavation plan. The plan included a proposal to process 73,000 cubic yards of excavated rock by crushing it. Defendants denied the application because § 12.05 does not permit the crushing of rock in the DDD zone.

The key provision of that Section is Part 12.05.03.01.03.B which states, “No washing, crushing or other forms of processing earth products shall be conducted upon the premises unless located within a heavy industrial (HID) zone and then if must not be located within 100' of any property or street line.”1 (Doc. 68-5, at 6).

Plaintiff then sued defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming the Section violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and is also unconstitutionally vague. In January, 2013, the parties went to trial on plaintiffs § 1983 and equal protection claims. A jury returned a verdict for the defendants. The last issue in this case is plaintiffs vagueness claim.

Discussion

Arrigoni makes three general arguments in its declaratory judgment motion. First, it contends that declaratory relief is appropriate in this matter. Second, it argues § 12.05 is vague because it fails to give adequate notice as to prohibited activities. Finally, it contends that the Section is vague because it lacks enforcement standards.

A. Declaratory Judgment

Arrigoni argues that declaratory relief is appropriate because a judgment will clarify and settle a substantial controversy. Specifically, plaintiff seeks to develop its property through excavation and § 12.05 will continue to give rise to controversy unless it is adjudicated.

Defendants contend that plaintiffs request for declaratory relief fails as a matter of law because plaintiff does not assert any viable constitutional claims. Defendants argue that plaintiffs due process vagueness claim is merely the same equal protection claim that was resolved at trial. Defendants contend that the vagueness challenge should only address how the regulation applies to the plaintiff, not how it applied to other companies.

The Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201(a), gives me broad discretion to determine whether I should exercise jurisdiction over a declaratory action. Dow Jones & Co., Inc. v. Harrods Ltd., 346 F.3d 357, 359 (2d Cir.2003). Here, a declaratory judgment will serve a useful purpose in settling plaintiffs vagueness claim as a jury did not decide this issue. However, to the extent that plaintiff repeats its equal protection claim by comparing the Town’s application of the regulation to other persons, I decline to exercise jurisdiction. The trial jury already disposed of plaintiffs equal protection claim.

Thus, my judgment is limited to plaintiffs vagueness facially and as applied to Arrigoni’s claim.

B. Vagueness of § 12.05

Two independent grounds exist for finding a statute impermissibly vague.

The first arises if the statute “fails to provide people of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to understand what conduct it prohibits.” Hill v. Colorado, 530 U.S. 703, 732, 120 S.Ct. 2480, 147 L.Ed.2d 597 (2000). The second arises when the statute “authorizes or even en[191]*191courages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.” Id.

The degree of vagueness tolerated in a statute depends on the nature and purpose of the legislation. “[EJeonomic regulations are subject to a relaxed vagueness test, laws with criminal penalties to a stricter one, and laws that might infringe constitutional rights to the strictest of all.” Rubin v. Garvin, 544 F.3d 461, 467 (2d Cir.2008) (citing Vill. of Hoffman Estates v. Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 498-99, 102 S.Ct. 1186, 71 L.Ed.2d 362 (1982)). Importantly, statutes need not achieve “ ‘meticulous specificity’ at the expense of ‘flexibility and reasonable breadth.’ ” Id. (quoting Grayned v. City of Rockford, 408 U.S. 104, 110, 92 S.Ct. 2294, 33 L.Ed.2d 222 (1972)).

Arrigoni asserts § 12.05 is unconstitutionally vague both as applied to his case and on its face. Because I must “examine the complainant’s conduct before analyzing other hypothetical applications of the law,” Vill. of Hoffman Estates, supra, 455 U.S. at 495, 102 S.Ct. 1186, I first turn to plaintiff’s as-applied vagueness challenge.

1. Vagueness as Applied

To assess an as-applied vagueness challenge, I “first determine whether the statute gives the person of ordinary intelligence a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited and then consider whether the law provides explicit standards for those who apply it.” Rubin, supra, 544 F.3d at 468.

Arrigoni argues that it had no notice that the Section prohibited the excavation, crushing, and removal of 70,000 cubic yards of rock when such activity was part of site development of 30,000 square feet. Arrigoni points to the Town’s approval of another company’s excavation and crushing of 30,000 cubic yards of rock as evidence that the Town enforces the statute arbitrarily.

Defendants argue that § 12.05 is absolutely clear and gives adequate notice that rock crushing is prohibited in the DDD zone. Pointing to the regulation’s unambiguous term (“No ... crushing or other forms of processing earth products shall be conducted”), the defendants contend the regulation, as applied to plaintiffs application, gave plaintiff ample notice that it could not crush rock in the DDD zone.

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Related

Arrigoni Enterprises, LLC v. Town of Durham
629 F. App'x 23 (Second Circuit, 2015)

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Bluebook (online)
18 F. Supp. 3d 188, 2014 WL 1892596, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65399, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arrigoni-enterprises-llc-v-town-of-durham-ctd-2014.