Eisenbrown v. Town of Lake Lure

824 S.E.2d 211
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedMarch 5, 2019
DocketNo. COA17-934
StatusPublished

This text of 824 S.E.2d 211 (Eisenbrown v. Town of Lake Lure) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eisenbrown v. Town of Lake Lure, 824 S.E.2d 211 (N.C. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

DIETZ, Judge.

Along the shore of scenic Lake Lure in Rutherford County is a small resort lodge operating as the Lodge on Lake Lure. The Lodge has existed in one form or another for nearly a century. In 2015, the owners of the Lodge proposed a conditional rezoning of the property that would permit it to grow in size and scope, including more overnight guests, a new lakeside restaurant, and offsite parking at two properties bordering a nearby golf course.

After the Town of Lake Lure approved the conditional zoning application, Plaintiffs, who are nearby landowners of residential homes or vacation rentals, challenged the newly enacted conditional zoning ordinance in court. The trial court ultimately granted summary judgment in favor of the Town and the Lodge owners on most claims, but invalidated the portion of the conditional zoning ordinance that permitted remote parking on the properties bordering the golf course.

As explained below, we affirm the trial court's determination that the challenged ordinance was not an ultra vires act; was not an arbitrary and capricious zoning act; was not an illegal spot zoning; and was procedurally proper. We also agree with the trial court's determination that the ordinance impermissibly removed restrictions on commercial parking in certain residential districts, amounting to a de facto rezoning without the required notice and procedure. But we disagree with the trial court's conclusion that a separate offsite parking provision was invalid because it permitted the Lodge to use offsite parking at other locations throughout the Town. We therefore affirm the trial court's order in part and reverse in part.

Facts and Procedural History

Lake Lure is a small town located along the shores of the 720-acre lake of the same name in Rutherford County. Along the waterfront, Defendant Lake Lure Lodge, LLC owns a seventeen-room lodge and private dining club situated on a scenic multi-acre tract of land.

The Lodge was first built in 1937 and served for decades as a private retreat for state highway patrol officers. In 1990, the Lodge opened to the general public and has since been a recreational lodging destination. The Lodge is a key driver of Lake Lure's economy.

The properties surrounding the Lodge consist of several zoning districts, including R-1 Residential, GU Governmental-Institutional, R-3 Resort Residential, and R-4 Residential/Office. For example, roughly 1,500 feet south of the Lodge Property, there is property zoned R-3 that is home to an active summer camp regularly attracting bus and delivery truck traffic. Also nearby is a GU district that is home to a fire station and a golf course with a club house.

The Plaintiffs' properties-the closest of which is approximately 2,000 feet away from the Lodge Property-are all zoned R-1 Residential. The principal use of land in R-1 Residential zoning districts "is for single-family dwellings," but the Town's Zoning Regulations permit other uses, including vacation rental properties and, in certain circumstances, parking for nearby commercial properties. Zoning Regulations, Town of Lake Lure, § 92.026, § 92.103. There are 21 vacation rental homes within a 2,000 foot radius of the Lodge Property, including rental properties owned by at least two of the Plaintiffs.

When Lake Lure Lodge, LLC purchased the Lodge Property in 2015, it was zoned R-1 Residential. As part of its comprehensive site plan, the Town's future land use map designates the Lodge Property as R-3 Resort Residential.

On 31 August 2015, the Lodge submitted an application to the Town to rezone the Lodge Property from an R-1 Residential district to an R-3CD Resort Residential conditional district. The Lodge proposed various expansions to the property and the lodge itself, including adding extra parking for guests and adding a new restaurant over the lodge's boathouse that would extend over the water. On 9 October 2015, the Lodge submitted a "Petition for Conditional District Zoning" with a general development plan and detailed project narrative showing the proposed expansion.

Because the Lodge did not have sufficient parking on the property to accommodate the proposed expansion, the Lodge bought two residential properties approximately 1,700 feet away from the Lodge Property and directly across the street from the golf course in the GU district. Both Offsite Parcels are zoned R-1 Residential. The Lodge submitted a drawing to town staff showing seventy proposed parking spaces on these two offsite parcels, although that drawing does not appear to be part of the conditional zoning application.

On 26 October 2015, the town held a "neighborhood compatibility meeting" to discuss the Lodge expansion plan with residents. The Lodge also met with smaller community groups to discuss the expansion plan. The Lodge then modified the development plans in response to comments from Town residents.

On 17 November 2015 and 1 December 2015, the Lake Lure Zoning and Planning Board held two meetings to consider the Lodge's application. In response to concerns at the November meeting about the size and location of a proposed boathouse restaurant that would extend out over the lake, the Lodge proposed altering the plan to a lakeside restaurant that was fully on the shore and smaller in size.

Ultimately, the Zoning and Planning Board recommended approval of the application. On 15 December 2015, the Lake Lure Town Council held a special meeting to review the Lodge's conditional zoning application and a proposed development plan. The Town Council heard public comments, including criticism of the proposed offsite parking. The Town Council also heard from representatives of the Lodge, who explained that they had changed their "boathouse restaurant concept" to a "lakeside restaurant which we heard from constituents would be more appropriate and better received."

The Town Council held a formal, public hearing on 22 December 2015. Consistent with the applicable notice requirements, the Town Council advertised this public hearing through a local newspaper ad; signs posted on and near the Lodge Property; and letters sent to nearby landowners. At the hearing, members of the Town Council discussed both the offsite parking plans and the lakeside restaurant. When the hearing ended, the Town Council adopted Ordinance No. 15-12-22, approving the conditional zoning for the Lodge Property and finding that it was consistent with the Town's 2007-2027 Comprehensive Plan.

On 22 February 2016, Plaintiffs sued for declaratory relief, seeking to invalidate the newly enacted ordinance based on claims of procedural defects; deprivation of due process; action that was ultra vires , arbitrary and capricious, and contrary to fundamental zoning concepts; illegal spot zoning; and illegal contract zoning. After discovery, both parties moved for summary judgment.

Following two hearings, the trial court entered an order on 19 January 2017 granting summary judgment for Plaintiffs on their claim that the challenged ordinance's offsite parking provisions were invalid. The trial court found that these modifications were "arbitrary and unreasonable" because they allowed offsite parking "to be established anywhere without any relationship to the location of the Conditional District." The trial court also found that the modifications resulted from "inadequate" notice procedures because the ordinance effectively rezoned these two residential properties to permit commercial parking.

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Bluebook (online)
824 S.E.2d 211, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eisenbrown-v-town-of-lake-lure-ncctapp-2019.