Culbertson v. Board of County Commissioners

2001 UT 108, 44 P.3d 642, 437 Utah Adv. Rep. 3, 2001 Utah LEXIS 196
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 18, 2001
DocketNos. 981279, 981659
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2001 UT 108 (Culbertson v. Board of County Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Culbertson v. Board of County Commissioners, 2001 UT 108, 44 P.3d 642, 437 Utah Adv. Rep. 3, 2001 Utah LEXIS 196 (Utah 2001).

Opinion

HOWE, Chief Justice.

INTRODUCTION

1 1 Plaintiffs Alayna J. Culbertson and Diane Pearl Meibos brought these actions, one against the Board of County Commissioners of Salt Lake County and Ken Jones (collectively, the County), and one against Hermes Associates, Ltd., Nick Vidalakis, J. Rees Jensen, and Fort Union Associates, L.C., (collectively, Hermes)1 for declaratory and injunctive relief and damages relating to the expansion of Hermes's Family Center in Salt Lake County. Cross-motions for summary judgment were filed in each case, and summary judgments were granted to the defendants in both cases. In No. 981279, plaintiffs appealed after they allegedly exhausted their administrative remedies, and the case was transferred to the court of appeals, which had original jurisdiction under Utah Code Ann. section 78-22a-8(2)(b)G). In No. 981659, plaintiffs appealed to this [646]*646court from an adverse judgment over which this court has jurisdiction under section 78-2-2(8)(J). Because the issues in both cases share underlying common facts, the parties successfully petitioned the court of appeals for certification of No. 981279 to this court as permitted by rule 48(b)(1) of the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure. After certification, this court consolidated the two cases to assure consistent judgments in these intimately related appeals.

BACKGROUND

2 In 1991, Hermes sought to expand the Family Center, a shopping complex located between 900 East and Union Park Avenue in what was then unincorporated Salt Lake County.2 Although Hermes owned or was able to purchase most of the land it sought to develop, it was unable to acquire from plaintiffs and their predecessors in title, Eugene and Gloria Croxford, a tract of property (the Croxford property) on the south side of the proposed project site. Ultimately, Hermes's site plan excluded the Croxford property, and Hermes was required to obtain a conditional use permit (CUP) from the County to continue the project. Hermes's site plan and CUP were given preliminary approval subject to several conditions including "[alpproval of the street vacation plan by the County Commission."

{3 The Croxford property abuts on the south side of North Union Avenue. The avenue had been used and maintained as a county street for many years, providing access to houses on the street, including two houses and garages on the Croxford property. To accommodate the expansion of the shopping center, the County in August 1994 passed Ordinance 1275 (the Ordinance), which vacated North Union Avenue between 1000 East and 1800 East, except for the segment of the avenue in front of the Crox-ford property. There, the avenue is 33 feet wide. The Ordinance vacated the north eight feet of the width of that segment which reverted to Hermes because Hermes owned the property abutting on the north side of the avenue. The Ordinance "permanently closed" the remaining twenty-five feet of the width of that segment. The County stated in the Ordinance that it was "closing" rather than vacating the twenty-five-foot segment so that it could "convey an access easement over said property to Hermes [and the owners of the Croxford property], which will allow better access to their respective properties than by having the property revert as a matter of law, half to each by vacation." 3

T4 The Ordinance also provided that the owners of the Croxford property would "still have direct access to 7240 South and [would] be provided additional access to the north side of the property from 7240 South through a 25 foot wide public right-of-way" that Hermes was to convey to the County. Pursuant to the Ordinance, Hermes granted the County an "easement for public right of way" extending north from 7240 South to the closed portion of North Union Avenue along the west border of the Croxford property. That public right-of-way has been designated 1070 East Street.

{5 Hermes's site plan and CUP were given final approval by the County on July 28, 1994, and construction on the building labeled on the site plan "retail 3," or the Ernst Home Center Building (Ernst building), began shortly thereafter. The final version of the CUP requires that "[hlighback curb, gutter and sidewalk ... be installed along the property lines which abut any public road or street" (emphasis added), and the final site plan approval states, "Conditions of this approval are in addition to the requirements of other Salt Lake Co. Ordinances."

16 Plaintiffs notified Hermes and the County (collectively, defendants) twice through legal counsel that the Ernst building encroached upon 1070 East Street, restricting access to their property. They asked the County to enforce the applicable ordinances, building codes, and Hermes's CUP to stop [647]*647the encroachment and ensure that 1070 East Street complied with county roadway standards. Finally, plaintiffs filed an action (Culbertson I1) challenging the adoption of the Ordinance both substantively and procedurally and requesting enforcement of county roadway standards and the CUP4 The Culbertson I district court dismissed the 1994 action-all claims in the second amended complaint "relating to [the Ordinance] as passed by the Board of ... [clommissioners" with prejudice and all other claims in the second amended complaint without prejudice, directing plaintiffs to exhaust their administrative remedies before refilling these claims. Plaintiffs appealed the court's ruling, but the court of appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because the notice of appeal was not timely filed.

T7 Shortly after the Culbertson I court's ruling, Hermes petitioned the County to except 1070 East Street and North Union Avenue from its roadway standards pursuant to chapter 14.12.150 of the Salt Lake County Code of Ordinances.5 The County granted the exceptions in June 1995, after receiving favorable recommendations from the public works engineering division director, the division of development services, and the planning commission.

1 8 Plaintiffs, after pursuing certain administrative remedies, then filed the instant actions alleging that the Ernst building and the building labeled "retail 2" (the Future Shop building) on the site plan were built in violation of county zoning ordinances, county roadway standards, and the CUP because they encroached upon North Union Avenue and 1070 East Street and because the buildings were built without the proper setbacks and landscaping. The back wall of the Future Shop building was built on the vacated eight-foot-wide strip of the former North Union Avenue that ran in front of plaintiffs' homes, parallel to the closed twenty-five-foot segment. Plaintiffs alleged that these violations deprived them of adequate access to their property. They prayed for a declaration that the buildings violated the above ordinances and the CUP and sought to invalidate the roadway standards exceptions granted to Hermes by the County. In addition, they petitioned the court to order the County to enforce its ordinances and the CUP by removing the offending portions of the buildings, and also sought damages from Hermes.

19 Plaintiffs moved for summary judgment on their claims. Defendants cross-moved, contending that plaintiffs' actions were barred by res judicata because the claims had been fully litigated in Culbertson I and asserting that plaintiffs had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies.

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Bluebook (online)
2001 UT 108, 44 P.3d 642, 437 Utah Adv. Rep. 3, 2001 Utah LEXIS 196, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/culbertson-v-board-of-county-commissioners-utah-2001.