Fifty Six LLC v. Metropolitan Development Commission

38 N.E.3d 726, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 576, 2015 WL 4753802
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 12, 2015
DocketNo. 49A05-1407-PL-323
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 38 N.E.3d 726 (Fifty Six LLC v. Metropolitan Development Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fifty Six LLC v. Metropolitan Development Commission, 38 N.E.3d 726, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 576, 2015 WL 4753802 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

BROWN, Judge.

[1] Fifty Six LLC (“Landowner”) appeals from the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of the Metropolitan Development Commission (the “MDC”). Landowner raises one issue which we revise and restate as whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying Landowner’s motion to correct error or erred when it granted the MDC’s cross-motion for summary judgment. We reverse and remand.

Facts and Procedural History

[2] In 2009, local residents, schools, churches, businesses, and other institutions began a community effort to prevent divestment of a local retail'area in Millers-ville, which is a neighborhood located on the northeast side of Indianapolis in the area near’and surrounding 56th Street and Emerson Avenue. Millersville is located in the southeastern portion of Washington Township and the southwestern portion of Lawrence Township, and Landowner owns an approximately twenty-one acre parcel of land (“Landowner’s Parcel”) in Millers-ville. The efforts of members of the Mil-lersville community eventually led to the creation of the Millersville at Fall Creek Valley Community Organization (the “Organization”). The Organization sought to promote Millersville’s history, schools, and culture; protect its water, parks, and greenways; preserve its diverse-neighborhoods; utilize community resources to safely connect homes, schools, shops, and [728]*728trails; and create a desirable community for its residents.

[3] In early 2010, the Organization began to work with the Indianapolis Division of Planning ,to assemble focus groups and work groups to study the issues identified as areas of concern, which eventually culminated in a new comprehensive plan for the neighborhood, the Millersville at Fall Creek Valley Village and Corridor Plan (the “Millersville Plan”). The Millersville Plan that was eventually adopted contained two segments,, “a village plan focused on the retail area centered on the Intersection of Emerson Way and 56th Street and the historic town of Millers-ville,” and “a corridor plan focused on Fall Creek and its adjacent neighborhoods.” Appellee’s Appendix at 21.

[4] On December 14, 2011, a preliminary first draft of the Millersville Plan was presented at a public meeting and was made available for public review. Another draft of the Millersville Plan was prepared in anticipation of a January 18, 2012 adoption hearing and included changes to the housing density requirements for Critical Area # 4, which included Landowner’s Parcel, as well as recommendations on tree conservation and infrastructure. On January 12, 2012, the Division of Planning decided to postpone the adoption hearing, and a subsequent draft of the Millersville Plan was completed on February 1, 2012, in anticipation of a February 15, 2012 adoption hearing, and the plan was made available to the public oh February 3,2012. On February 7, 2012, a decision was made to postpone the scheduled hearing until March 21, 2012, to accommodate the needs of Rosemary Huffman, a representative of Landowner. On March 9, 2012, another draft of the Millersville Plan was completed in anticipation of the March 21, 2012 adoption hearing, and the plan was made available to the’ public on the same day in the Division of Planning’s Office and on the City’s website. One or more of the previous drafts of the Millersville Plan described Landowner’s Parcel (the “Initial Description”) as “[t]his parcel along the east side of Brendan Forest drive [sic] consists of approximately 20 acres.” Appellant’s Appendix at 217.

[5] On April 25, 2012, a public meeting was held at which Landowner was given the following text describing Landowner’s Parcel (the “Revised Description”):

Brendan Forest is a meandering, low-traffic street. An approximately 21-acre site is located along most of the east side of the street. The remainder of the street’s frontage is developed with single-family lots ranging in size from one-half to five acres. The Critical Area is a transitional zone with Wool-lens Garden, a City-owned, State-designated nature preserve to the north; Brendonwood, a historic, low-density neighborhood to the west; a large apartment' community to the east; and 56th Street, a high-volume arterial street to the south. The I-465/56th Street interchange is nearby.

Id. at 216. Landowner requested time to review this additional language, and Keith Holdsworth, Principal Planner with the Department of Metropolitan Development Planning Division, suggested that the language be discussed at a public meeting on May 2, 2012. A public meeting was scheduled for May 2, 2012, to discuss the Mil-lersville Plan, but Landowner instead requested a separate meeting for May 9, 2012, to discuss the Revised Description.

[6] Another draft of the Millersville Plan was ■ completed on May 4, 2012 in anticipation of a May 16, 2012 adoption hearing. The May 4, 2012 draft described Landowner’s Parcel using the Initial De-. scription and was made available on the City’s website, and notice of the hearing [729]*729was provided in a Notice of Public Hearing which was published in the Court and Commercial Record on May 4, 2012, and in the Indianapolis Star on May 5, 2012. At the scheduled May 9, 2012 public meeting, a decision was made to include the Revised Description provided to Landowner on April 25, 2012, in the Millersville Plan. On May 11, 2012, a final draft of the Millers-ville Plan was completed, in preparation for the May 16, 2012 adoption hearing, which formally replaced the Initial Description of Landowner’s Parcel with the Revised Description of Landowner’s Parcel. According to Holdsworth’s affidavit, the Revised Description was added “in response to [Landowner’s] request to add more description of the area.” Appellant’s Appendix at 217. The final draft of the Millersville Plan, in its entirety, was made available to the public on Friday, May 11, 2012 in the Division of Planning and the Office of the City-County Council, as well as on the City’s website on May 14, 2012.

[7] On May 16, 2012, the MDC held a public hearing and voted on and approved Resolution No. 2012-CPS-R-001 (the “Resolution”) which amended the Comprehensive Plan for Marion County by adopting the Millersville Plan. Specifically, the Resolution stated:

Be it resolved that, pursuant to I.C. 36-7-4, the Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana, hereby amends the Comprehensive 'or Master Plan for Marion County, Indiana, by the adoption of the Millers-ville at Fall Creek Valley Village and Corridor Plan, which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference as an amendment to the Comprehensive or Master Plan of Marion County, Indiana.

Appellee’s Appendix at 144. The. Millers-ville Plan designated. Landowner’s .Parcel as being located in Critical Area,,# 4, established land use recommendations for the area and. described Landowner’s Parcel using the Revised Description.1

[8] On June 15, 2012, Landowner filed a “Verified Action For Mandate And Request For Declaratory Relief’ in which it asserted that the MDC failed to adhere to the public notice requirements for amendments to a comprehensive plan provided for in Ind.Code §§ 36-7-4-507 and -511(a) as well as the requirements for township advisory committees provided by Ind.Code § 36-7-4-504.5

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38 N.E.3d 726, 2015 Ind. App. LEXIS 576, 2015 WL 4753802, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fifty-six-llc-v-metropolitan-development-commission-indctapp-2015.