Families of Manito v. City of Spokane

291 P.3d 930, 172 Wash. App. 727
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 10, 2013
DocketNo. 30417-5-III
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 291 P.3d 930 (Families of Manito v. City of Spokane) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Families of Manito v. City of Spokane, 291 P.3d 930, 172 Wash. App. 727 (Wash. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Kulik, J.

¶1 — St. Mark’s Lutheran Church submitted a conditional use permit (CUP) application, including a proposed site plan, to the city of Spokane for a parking lot addition. Based on the Spokane Municipal Code (SMC), St. Mark’s was allowed 1 parking space per 60 square feet of the “main assembly area.” A city planner recommended approval of the permit and allowed St. Mark’s to increase its existing parking from 87 spaces to 91 spaces. Later, the city planner increased St. Mark’s total allowable parking to 101, after conceding that the choir area, sanctuary, and fellowship hall all needed to be included in calculating the main assembly area.

¶2 Families of Manito, Ann Bergeman, Todd Stecher, and Sadie Lake (collectively known as Manito) opposed the approval of the permit. A hearing was held. On the second day of the hearing, St. Mark’s presented a new proposed site plan to the hearing examiner that increased the number of parking spaces based on the latest calculation from the city planner. The proposed site plan also incorporated the concerns expressed by Manito during the first day of the hearing. The hearing examiner modified the city planner’s decision approving the parking addition, directing St. Mark’s to construct the parking addition in accordance with the proposed site plan.

¶3 Manito appealed to superior court. The superior court reversed the hearing examiner’s decision, concluding that the hearing examiner erred by including the fellowship hall in the main assembly area and by allowing St. Mark’s to modify its application during the hearing and accepting the proposed plan. St. Mark’s appeals the reversal. Manito cross appeals, contending that Spokane erred by allowing a city planner, as opposed to the planning director, to issue the permit.

¶4 We conclude that the hearing examiner correctly included the fellowship hall in the main assembly area and that the city planner properly approved the CUP. Therefore, we reverse the superior court and affirm the hearing examiner’s decision.

[732]*732FACTS

¶5 St. Mark’s desired to expand its parking area on land adjoining the church’s sanctuary and existing parking lot. The land previously contained two single-family homes. St. Mark’s obtained approval of a boundary line adjustment combining the sanctuary, the existing parking area, and the adjoining property into a single larger parcel. St. Mark’s existing parking consisted of 87 parking spaces.

¶6 Before applying for a CUP, St. Mark’s and members of Spokane’s planning department discussed the number of parking spaces that St. Mark’s would be allowed under the city code. Under SMC 17C.230.130, Table 17C.230-2, the maximum number of parking spaces for religious institutions is 1 space per 60 square feet of the main assembly area. The planning department considered the main assembly area to be the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. In a later discussion, St. Mark’s contended that the choir area also qualified as part of the main assembly area and the allowed maximum should be 102 spaces. Over the course of the discussions, the planning department’s calculation of additional allowed spaces varied from 0 to 15.

¶7 St. Mark’s submitted a CUP application and site plan to the planning department. Based on previous discussions with the planning department, St. Mark’s requested 93 total parking spaces. The plan decreased the number of spaces in the existing lot to 68 and added 25 spaces in the new addition.

¶8 Dave Compton, a city planner for Spokane and a member of the planning department staff, reviewed the application. St. Mark’s published and mailed notice of the application. Manito opposed St. Mark’s CUP application, contending that the parking addition decreased property values, created traffic and pedestrian safety issues, changed the character of the neighborhood, and increased the potential for criminal activity, and expressing other concerns. Manito [733]*733submitted over 500 pages of information to the city planner. The city planner communicated with Manito and its attorney during the approval process. The city planner agreed to meet with Manito to discuss St. Mark’s application, but Manito canceled the meeting. The city planner considered the public response in making his decision.

¶9 The city planner issued a “Type II” CUP decision, recommending approval of the application with conditions. The city planner found that the main assembly area constituted the sanctuary and the fellowship hall only. Based on the calculation of these two areas, the city planner concluded that St. Mark’s parking would be limited to a total of 91 spaces in the combined existing and new parking area, an increase of 4 spaces to their existing number of parking spaces.

¶10 Both Manito and St. Mark’s appealed the city planner’s decision to Spokane’s hearing examiner. A hearing conducted by the hearing examiner lasted two days.

¶11 Both parties raised concerns regarding the areas of St. Mark’s that constituted the main assembly area. St. Mark’s challenged the omission of the choir area in the calculation of the main assembly area. Prior to the hearing, the city planner conceded and determined that the main assembly area included the choir area as well as the sanctuary and fellowship hall. The city planner recalculated the square footage of the main assembly area and increased the number of allowable parking spaces to 101 spaces. The net result of this decision increased St. Mark’s overall parking by 14 spaces.

¶12 Similarly, Manito challenged the inclusion of the fellowship hall in the calculation of the main assembly area. A former member of St. Mark’s testified at the hearing that the fellowship hall and the sanctuary were not used at the same time. By contrast, St. Mark’s presented testimony from its pastor stating that the two areas were used at the same time on certain occasions. He testified that the youth choir uses the fellowship hall during Sunday services and [734]*734that the fellowship hall is used as spillover for the sanctuary during events attracting a large number of attendees.

¶13 The hearing examiner noted that the issue of what constituted the main assembly area presented a close question. The examiner recognized the presumption in favor of the planning staff’s interpretation and considered the testimony given that the two spaces are used simultaneously. The examiner was convinced that the main assembly area should include the sanctuary, the fellowship hall, and the choir area.

¶14 Manito’s other main concern at the hearing was that the city planner’s decision did not place appropriate conditions on the parking addition to minimize adverse impacts. Manito argued that more mitigation could have been required such as additional landscaping, screening, control of lighting and access, and possibly a gate to limit traffic.

¶15 On the second day of the hearing, St. Mark’s proposed a new site plan for the addition and addressed Manito’s mitigation concerns. The new plan incorporated the additional parking spaces based on the city planner’s concession as well as other modifications. The hearing examiner found that the new plan showed some additional parking but reconfigured the layout in such a way as to minimize impacts on the surrounding properties to the greatest extent possible. He explained how the new plan screened the addition, calmed traffic, and minimized the parking along the neighboring property most affected by the addition.

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Bluebook (online)
291 P.3d 930, 172 Wash. App. 727, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/families-of-manito-v-city-of-spokane-washctapp-2013.