Deans v. West

203 N.W.2d 504, 189 Neb. 518, 1973 Neb. LEXIS 838
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 19, 1973
Docket38516
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 203 N.W.2d 504 (Deans v. West) 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
Deans v. West, 203 N.W.2d 504, 189 Neb. 518, 1973 Neb. LEXIS 838 (Neb. 1973).

Opinion

McCown, J.

This is an action to enjoin the construction and operation of a mobile home court on the ground that this use of the property is in violation of county zoning regulations of S'cotts Bluff County. The district court sustained plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment and enjoined the defendants from use of the land as a mobile home court and from any further building thereon without a building permit. The defendants have appealed.

Plaintiff and defendants are the owners of adjoining tracts of land located in the southwest quarter of Section 10, Township 22 North, Range 55 West of the 6th P.M., Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska. Defendants’ land is an irregular-shaped tract of approximately 11% acres. Both plaintiff’s and defendants’ properties are “near to and north of the City of Scottsbluff.”

*520 On October 5, 1970, the S'cotts Bluff County board adopted county zoning and subdivision regulations which purported to establish some 12 zoning districts. On August 17, 1971, the Scotts Bluff County planning commission denied a request to rezone defendants’ land to a “Mobile Home District” classification. Notice of appeal to the board of county commissioners was filed. On September 13, 1971, the minutes of the county board show that the board accepted the opinion of the county attorney that the county planning and zoning authority was not legally constituted and determined that a hearing should not be held on the defendants’ appeal. Commencing on September 17, 1971, the defendants began construction of a mobile home park on their land. At approximately the same time, the planning commission and county board commenced procedures for adoption of a comprehensive development plan for the county and the adoption of the same zoning regulations and subdivision regulations purportedly adopted in the fall of 1970. On October 12, 1971, the county planning commission adopted a comprehensive development plan and again adopted the zoning and subdivision regulations and recommended that the county board adopt them. On October 13, 1971, the county board set a public hearing on the matters, and published notice. Following the public hearing on October 26, 1971, the county board unanimously adopted the comprehensive development plan and the zoning and subdivision regulations. The zoning and subdivision regulations were published in loose-leaf pamphlet form, but the official zoning map was not published as a part of the pamphlet or in any other way. A copy of the official zoning map was filed with the county clerk.

The zoning and subdivision regulations adopted by the county board on October 26, 1971, were identical to the regulations purportedly adopted in 1970, except for the cover and identifying and transmittal documents. The regulations established 12 zoning districts, one of *521 which was a mobile home district. There is no mobile home district on the official zoning map. The regulations provided that the boundaries of the districts “are hereby established as shown on the Official Zoning Map,” which was adopted by reference. The regulations also provided: “The Official Zoning Map shall be identified by the signature of the Chairman of the County Board attested to by the County Clerk, and bearing the seal of the county under the following words: ‘This is to certify that this, is the Official Zoning Map referred to in Section 2 of Resolution #-of Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska’, together with the date of the adoption of this regulation.” The official zoning map in evidence, exhibit 2, is not identified as required by the regulations nor is it certified and its title is “Proposed Zoning Plan.”

The regulations themselves do not identify nor set out the boundaries, of any district and the location and boundaries of a zoning district could only be determined by reference to an official zoning map. The regulations do set out various rules for interpretation where uncertainty exists as to the boundaries of districts as shown on the official zoning map. These rules, however, apply only when the boundaries approximately follow streets, highways, alleys, platted lot lines, city limits, railroad lines, or shore lines. They can be applied only by reference to the official zoning map in any event.

On the basis of the pleadings, affidavits, and exhibits, the plaintiff and defendants both moved for summary judgment. The district court found that the zoning and subdivision regulations adopted in 1970’ and 1971 and exhibit 2, the official zoning map, were valid enactments and a valid exercise of the zoning power of Scotts Bluff County, and granted the injunction prayed for by the plaintiff.

The first issue with which we are faced involves the validity of the proposed zoning and subdivision regulations adopted October 5, 1970. The record establishes *522 that no comprehensive development plan was adopted by the county board prior to October 26, 1971. Section 23-114.03, R. R. S. 1943, which became effective May 22, 1967, provides: “Zoning regulations shall be adopted or amended by the county board only after the adoption of the county comprehensive development plan by the county board * *

In Bagley v. County of Sarpy, ante p. 393, 202 N. W. 2d 841, we held that timely objection by a litigant with standing may nullify a rezoning resolution by a county board that has not adopted a comprehensive development plan conformable to statute.

Three and a half years without adopting a comprehensive development plan was clearly unreasonable and the zoning and subdivision regulations purportedly adopted in October of 1970, before a comprehensive development plan was adopted, were therefore invalid. This failure may well be the basis for the county attorney’s advice to the board which led to the adoption of a comprehensive development plan on October 26, 1971, and the attempted readoption of the zoning and subdivision regulations.

While one crucial defect of failing to adopt a comprehensive development plan was remedied in 1971, other defects remained. The first of these involves the “official zoning map” which was apparently the same both in 1970 and in 1971. That map covers the entire County of Scotts Bluff, an area of approximately 36 miles by 21 miles. There is no showing of any section numbers nor of any township or range identification. The scale of the map is shown only by a comparison of 1, 2, and 3 miles to 4,000, 8,000, Í2,000, and 16,000 feet. There is no measure of scale by the inch. A rough guess would approximate it at 5,000 feet to the inch.

The zoning judisdiction of Scottsbluff and of Gering, both of which are first class cities, is shown on the map as 1 mile beyond the city limits, although the zoning jurisdiction of the City of Scottsbluff as of June 7, 1967, *523 extended 2 miles beyond the city limits.

There are apparently 20 separate zoning districts marked on the map, and the boundary lines of every one of them in one or more places depart from roads or other boundaries referred to in the regulations, without any means of determining where those boundaries are fixed, and with no indication of courses or distance.

The official zoning map is marked “Proposed Zoning Plan” and is not identified or certified as required by the regulations.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
203 N.W.2d 504, 189 Neb. 518, 1973 Neb. LEXIS 838, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/deans-v-west-neb-1973.