County of Ada v. Henry

668 P.2d 994, 105 Idaho 263, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 565
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJune 2, 1983
Docket14032
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 668 P.2d 994 (County of Ada v. Henry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
County of Ada v. Henry, 668 P.2d 994, 105 Idaho 263, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 565 (Idaho 1983).

Opinions

SHEPARD, Justice.

This is an appeal from the issuance of a permanent injunction. The action here involved was brought against defendants-appellants who, despite repeated warnings and restraining orders, persisted in the continued construction of a dwelling on their property, in violation of ordinances relating to zoning and building permits. We affirm.

In August of 1979, Ada County ordinances prohibited the subdivision of property within Ada County without prior approval of the county zoning commission. One Loveland owned a 40-acre tract of unplatted and undeveloped land fronting on Amity county road within Ada County. Without the requisite commission approval, he divided the 40-acre parcel and sold a 10-acre piece thereof to the defendants-appellants herein, Claude and Ann Henry. Another ordinance regulated the minimum lot size within the zone where the property was located and prohibited construction of single family dwellings unless lot size was at least 80 acres. Loveland allegedly represented to the defendants-appellants that they would be able to obtain a building permit for a house on the property.

Evidently, Loveland attempted unsuccessfully to obtain a building permit for the Henrys and the Henrys themselves submitted a building permit application. The Henrys’ application was denied by the zoning staff on the bases that Loveland’s property had been subdivided without prior approval and that the property did not meet the 80-acre minimum lot size. That denial of the building permit application was appealed to the Ada County Zoning Commission, which affirmed the denial.

Meanwhile, the Henrys, although lacking the requisite building permits, began excavation and the laying of a foundation for a house on the property. Suit was filed to enjoin that continued construction and a temporary restraining order was issued, prohibiting any further construction. A hearing was scheduled for November 28, 1979 to determine if a preliminary injunction should be issued. Since they had been advised by legal counsel that any effort to protest the injunction would be useless, the Henrys did not appear at that hearing and a preliminary injunction (not part of the record here) was entered on December 4, 1979.

In March 1980, the Henrys again applied for a zoning certificate and building permit. The staff of the zoning commission again denied the application, and again appeal was taken to the Ada County Zoning Commission. The zoning commission granted the relief sought by the Henrys and ordered the issuance of the zoning certificate. However, a member of the zoning staff filed an “appeal” from the decision of the zoning commission to the next level of administrative authority, i.e., the Ada County Board of County Commissioners. The county commissioners reversed the decision of the zoning commission and reinstated the decision of the zoning staff, thereby leaving the Henrys without any authority to construct the house. We emphasize that no appeal from that decision of the county commission was taken by any party.

In July 1980, Ada County ascertained that the Henrys were still proceeding in the construction of the house, and the county moved for an order to show cause why the Henrys should not be found in contempt for violation of the December 1979 preliminary injunction. A hearing was held on September 3, 1980, at which Mr. Henry testified [265]*265that he had been building continually from the fall of 1979 to the date of the hearing but promised the court that he would discontinue further construction. The court granted the county an additional restraining order and took the remainder of the matter under advisement to allow the county time to show proof of service of the preliminary injunction.

On September 4, 1980, the day following the hearing, the Henrys filed their answer and counterclaim, alleging a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, praying for an injunction against the enforcement of the Ada County subdivision and zoning ordinances, and demanding a jury trial. On December 11,1980, summary judgment was entered against the Henrys on their counterclaim and they were permanently enjoined from further construction and/or occupation of the dwelling.

The Henrys assert that the Ada County subdivision and zoning ordinances constitute an unconstitutional taking of their property without just compensation and that the ordinances thereby contravene the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution and Idaho Const, art. 1, § 14. It is clear that the fifth amendment’s prohibition applies as against the individual states through the application of the fourteenth amendment. San Diego Gas & Elec. v. City of San Diego, 450 U.S. 621, 101 S.Ct. 1287, 67 L.Ed.2d 551 (1981); Chicago, B. & Q.R. Co. v. Chicago, 166 U.S. 226, 17 S.Ct. 581, 41 L.Ed. 979 (1897). We view the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Agins v. City of Tiburon, 447 U.S. 255, 100 S.Ct. 2138, 65 L.Ed.2d 106 (1980), as dispositive of the Henrys’ assertions as they relate to the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution. In Agins, appellants had acquired five acres of unimproved prime suburban view property overlooking San Francisco Bay. Some time thereafter the city of Tiburón enacted zoning ordinances, which placed the property into a category “devoted to one-family dwellings, accessory buildings, and open-space uses.” Density restrictions within the ordinance limited construction to five single family residences on the five-acre tract. Shortly thereafter, the city of Tiburón initiated a condemnation action to acquire the land, but later the city abandoned those proceedings and the action was dismissed. Action was brought seeking two million dollars in damages for inverse condemnation or for a declaration that the zoning ordinances were unconstitutional as violative of the fifth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. It was contended that the city had completely destroyed the value of the property for any purpose or use whatsoever. The city of Tiburón demurred, asserting that the complaint failed to state a cause of action. The trial court and the California Supreme Court agreed, 24 Cal.3d 266, 157 Cal.Rptr. 372, 598 P.2d 25 (1979), and dismissed the action.

On appeal, the United States Supreme Court cited Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 47 S.Ct. 114, 71 L.Ed. 303 (1926), affirmed the decision of the California courts, and held that the zoning ordinances did not, on their face, constitute a taking of the appellants’ property without compensation. The Court stated, 447 U.S. at 261-262, 100 S.Ct. at 2141-2142:

“In this case, the zoning ordinances substantially advance legitimate governmental goals. The State of California has determined that the development of local open-space plans will discourage the ‘premature and unnecessary conversion of open-space land to urban uses.’ ... The specific zoning regulations at issue are exercises of the city’s police power to protect the residents of Tiburón from the ill effects of urbanization.

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County of Ada v. Henry
668 P.2d 994 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1983)

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Bluebook (online)
668 P.2d 994, 105 Idaho 263, 1983 Ida. LEXIS 565, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/county-of-ada-v-henry-idaho-1983.