Conley v. Brazer

772 N.W.2d 545, 278 Neb. 508
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 4, 2009
DocketS-08-974
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 772 N.W.2d 545 (Conley v. Brazer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Conley v. Brazer, 772 N.W.2d 545, 278 Neb. 508 (Neb. 2009).

Opinion

772 N.W.2d 545 (2009)
278 Neb. 508

Nancy CONLEY and Todd Conley, appellants,
v.
Thomas BRAZER and Kathy Brazer, husband and wife, et al., appellees.

No. S-08-974.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

September 4, 2009.

*548 Brian C. Doyle and, on brief, Aimee J. Haley, of Fullenkamp, Doyle & Jobeun, Omaha, for appellants.

Alan M. Thelen, Deputy Omaha City Attorney, for appellee City of Omaha.

Donald P. Dworak, of Stinson, Morrison & Hecker, L.L.P., Omaha, for appellees Thomas and Kathy Brazer and Paradise Pet Suites, LLC.

HEAVICAN, C.J., CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

STEPHAN, J.

I. NATURE OF THE CASE

Appellants, Nancy Conley and Todd Conley, and appellees Thomas Brazer and Kathy Brazer are adjacent landowners in Douglas County, Nebraska. The Brazers applied for and received a building permit from Douglas County to construct a kennel on their property. The Conleys brought an action in the Douglas County district court to enjoin the Brazers' proposed construction. The Conleys alleged that the building permit was invalid due to deficiencies in the Brazers' application and that the county's extensions of the expiration date of the permit were not valid and effective. The district court found that the Douglas County building permit was "presumptively" valid and that therefore, the Conleys' proper recourse was to appeal to the Douglas County Board of Adjustment, not to the district court. The court granted the Brazers' motion to dismiss, and the Conleys timely appealed.

II. BACKGROUND

1. PARTIES AND PROPERTIES

The Brazers own and reside on property consisting of approximately 9.21 acres located in Douglas County. The Conleys' residential property is located immediately south of the Brazer property.

Since 1997, the Brazers have operated a dog grooming and breeding business on their property. In 2002, the business was expanded to include dog boarding; on average, one or two dogs were boarded per day. In 2003, the Brazers began developing plans to expand the boarding and grooming operation, and in 2006, they formed Paradise Pet Suites, LLC, for the purpose of developing and operating their expanded business. By 2007, the Brazers had decided to develop a business which would include pet grooming services, *549 a pet daycare, and private boarding services.

In February 2007, the Brazers applied for and were issued a Douglas County building permit in order to construct a new kennel on their property. At that time, their property was within the zoning jurisdiction of Douglas County. On March 1, 2007, the City of Omaha annexed Elkhorn, Nebraska, and as a result, Omaha's extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction was enlarged to include the Conley and Brazer properties. On April 18, a "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) was executed by a City of Omaha building official and the Douglas County director of environmental services. The MOU addresses building permits issued by Douglas County which, as of the date of annexation, were "still active" in that the projects authorized by them were in various stages of completion. The MOU provided that Douglas County inspectors would complete the inspection process on any and all permits that Douglas County issued prior to March 1, 2007, and that the City of Omaha would review requests for permits made after March 1 and issue all new permits.

2. COMMENCEMENT OF LITIGATION AND TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER

On March 13, 2008, soon after they first learned of the Brazers' construction plans, the Conleys filed an action in the district court for Douglas County seeking declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent any construction pursuant to the Douglas County building permit. Named defendants included the Brazers, Paradise Pet Suites, certain parties having financial interests in the Brazer property, and the construction company retained by the Brazers to build the kennel. In an amended complaint, the City of Omaha and Douglas County were added as defendants.

The Conleys alleged that the building permit issued by Douglas County was invalid for various reasons and that to proceed with their proposed construction, the Brazers were required to obtain necessary permits from the City of Omaha, because its extraterritorial zoning jurisdiction had expanded to include the Brazer property as a result of the Elkhorn annexation. On March 14, 2008, the Conleys moved for an ex parte temporary restraining order prohibiting the Brazers from engaging in any construction activities pursuant to the permit. The district court granted the Conleys' motion and ordered that the Brazers cease and desist any construction pursuant to the February 2007 building permit issued by Douglas County.

3. TEMPORARY INJUNCTION

The Conleys also moved for a temporary injunction, and the district court conducted an evidentiary hearing on the motion. The following facts were established by the evidence received at that hearing:

(a) Douglas County Building Permit

On February 8, 2007, the Brazers submitted an application for a building permit to Douglas County for the construction of a "Building & Fence For Kennel." On February 9, Douglas County building inspector Mark Ekberg issued building permit No. 6664 in response to the Blazers' application.

The Douglas County zoning regulations in effect at the time of the Brazers' application required applications for building permits to be accompanied by two copies of the site plan, which should depict existing and proposed water and sanitary sewer facilities. The building permit application states that two sets of building plans and well and septic permits are required.

As a building inspector for Douglas County, Ekberg receives all building applications and conducts all building inspections and plan reviews. According to Ekberg, when an application for a building *550 permit is received, the permit is issued even if all of the required information has not been submitted. If an incomplete application is submitted, Ekberg conducts a "plan review," which results in a document that states all the items that must be addressed prior to actual commencement of construction. If the items on a plan review are not addressed prior to construction, Ekberg "issue[s] a stop order."

Ekberg's plan review for the Brazer project, which bears the same date as the building permit, notes that the permit was conditional upon the completion of several items, including a requirement that the Brazers obtain well and sanitary sewer permits through the Douglas County Health Department. Ekberg testified that the Brazers did not prepare and submit any site plans for their project, nor did they submit any proof of a septic permit, even though the application states that site plans and permits were required.

The supervisor of sanitary engineering for the Douglas County Health Department testified that he supervises permits for septic systems and wells and that no permit has been applied for or issued for the Brazer property. According to the supervisor, there is no septic system available on the Brazers' site, and a septic permit would be required to construct one. He testified that according to Douglas County zoning regulations, "the septic and well permit has to be issued before any building permit" so that his department "can review the public health implications" of construction.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
772 N.W.2d 545, 278 Neb. 508, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/conley-v-brazer-neb-2009.