Gillmor v. Summit County

2010 UT 69, 246 P.3d 102, 672 Utah Adv. Rep. 19, 2010 Utah LEXIS 186, 2010 WL 5294369
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 28, 2010
Docket20070266
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 2010 UT 69 (Gillmor v. Summit County) 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
Gillmor v. Summit County, 2010 UT 69, 246 P.3d 102, 672 Utah Adv. Rep. 19, 2010 Utah LEXIS 186, 2010 WL 5294369 (Utah 2010).

Opinion

246 P.3d 102 (2010)
2010 UT 69

Nadine GILLMOR, individually and as trustee of the Nadine Fausett Gillmor Trust; Evergreen Development; Milton O. Bitner Company; Ella M. Pace; Dwayne M. Pace, trustee of the Dwayne M. Pace revocable trust; Joan J. Pace, trustee of the Joan J. Pace revocable trust; Gale W. Pace; Kathleen D. Pace; and Anderson Development, LC, Plaintiffs and Appellants,
v.
SUMMIT COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Utah; Summit County Board of Adjustment, a quasi-judicial body; Summit County Attorney; and John Does 1-20, Defendants and Appellees.

No. 20070266.

Supreme Court of Utah.

December 28, 2010.

*103 Bruce R. Baird, Salt Lake City, for plaintiffs.

Jody K. Burnett, Robert C. Keller, Steven W. Allred, Salt Lake City, for defendants.

DURRANT, Associate Chief Justice:

INTRODUCTION

¶ 1 This case comes to us on direct appeal from the district court and involves a land use dispute between appellant, Nadine Gillmor, and appellee, Summit County (the "County"). We are asked to determine whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment in favor of the County on the ground that all of Gillmor's claims are time barred. Additionally, we must decide whether a plaintiff seeking review of a land use decision under section 801(2)(a) of the Utah County Land Use Development and Management Act ("CLUDMA") is permitted to challenge the facial validity of a zoning ordinance upon which the county's decision is based, or rather whether such challenges must be brought within thirty days of the enactment of the applicable ordinance.

¶ 2 First, we hold that Gillmor's claims are not time barred because section 801(2)(a) of CLUDMA entitles petitioners to district court review of any county land use decision that adversely affects their interests so long as the decision is made in the exercise or violation of the provisions of CLUDMA and a petition for review is filed within thirty days of the county's decision. Since Gillmor has complied with these requirements, we conclude that her claims are timely and entitled to judicial review.

¶ 3 Second, we hold that once petitioners have satisfied the jurisdictional requirements of section 801(2)(a) of CLUDMA, they may *104 assert any and all claims related to the alleged arbitrary, capricious, or illegal nature of a county's land use decision-including facial challenges to the zoning ordinance upon which the decision was based. Accordingly, we conclude that Gillmor was entitled to challenge the County's zoning ordinances in her Petition for Review. Based on these conclusions, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the County and remand this case for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

¶ 4 Because this case comes to us on summary judgment, we construe the facts in a light most favorable to Gillmor, the nonmoving party. CLUDMA grants counties power to "enact all ordinances, resolutions, and rules and [to] enter into other forms of land use controls and development agreements that they consider necessary or appropriate for the use and development of land within... the[ir] county."[1] In 1995, acting pursuant to this authority, the County established the Synderville Basin Planning District by ordinance. Following a 1997 amendment to CLUDMA, the Synderville Basin Planning District was converted into a "township."

¶ 5 In November 1997, the Synderville Basin Planning Commission proposed a general plan (the "1997 Plan") to the Synderville Township concerning zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations in the area. After a lengthy public process, the 1997 Plan was approved by the Summit County Board of County Commissioners (the "BCC"). Several months later, in March 1998, the BCC adopted the Synderville Basin Development Code (the "1998 Code"), which provides various ordinances relating to the development of property throughout the area.

¶ 6 Gillmor is the owner of over 300 acres of real property in the Synderville Basin Area. She also owns approximately 208 acres in the same area in her capacity as trustee of the Nadine Fausett Gillmor Trust. In 1998, Gillmor filed a lawsuit against the County challenging the adoption of the 1997 Plan and 1998 Code. In her complaint, Gillmor argued that the County's development ordinances violated constitutional guarantees of due process and equal protection. Additionally, she requested a declaratory judgment that the ordinances were "void ab initio." One year after commencement of the suit, it was voluntarily dismissed without prejudice.

¶ 7 In early 2004, after several attempts to sell her property to potential developers failed due to zoning restrictions, Gillmor submitted an application to the County (the "Amendment Application") requesting that the text of the 1998 Code be amended and that the requested changes be applied to her property. After public hearings, the BCC voted to deny the Amendment Application on the basis that it did not meet the criteria set forth in the 1998 Code.

¶ 8 Pursuant to section 801(2)(a) of CLUDMA, Gillmor petitioned the district court for review of the BCC's denial of her Amendment Application. The parties concede that Gillmor's Petition for Review was filed within thirty days of the BCC's final decision. In her petition, Gillmor raised twenty-one separate claims. Twenty of those claims—claims one through nineteen and twenty-one—contended that the County's 1997 Plan and 1998 Code violated CLUDMA and both the Utah and United States Constitutions. Based on these alleged violations, Gillmor's petition argued that the 1997 Plan and 1998 Code were "void ab initio" and unenforceable. Additionally, in her twentieth claim, Gillmor argued that "the County's denial of [her] zoning application was arbitrary, capricious and/or illegal."

¶ 9 Five months after filing her petition for review, Gillmor submitted a plat application to the County (the "Plat Application"). In her Plat Application, Gillmor argued that the 1997 Plan and 1998 Code were unconstitutional and invalid. Specifically, Gillmor contended that the County's zoning ordinances: (1) were "so vague, defective, undefined, discriminatory, and overreaching" as to violate Gillmor's "state and federal [constitutional] rights" and (2) violated CLUDMA based on several procedural deficiencies, such as the alleged failure to include a valid zoning map. *105 Based on these alleged flaws, Gillmor's application contended that her request could not be processed under the requirements set forth in the 1997 Plan and 1998 Code. Instead, Gillmor asserted that the County was required to accept the changes requested in her Plat Application because the request complied with other relevant provisions of state law.

¶ 10 On November 4, 2004—one day after Gillmor submitted her Plat Application to the County—the Summit County Director of Community Development returned the application to Gillmor with a letter denying her request (the "Denial Letter"). The Denial Letter notified Gillmor that she would have to follow the requirements set forth in the 1997 Plan and 1998 Code to obtain any right to develop her property at the densities requested in her Plat Application. The Denial Letter also informed Gillmor of the proper means of filing a valid plat application under the 1997 Plan and stated that the densities she requested could not be approved without complying with the plan's requirements. These requirements include submitting a "Sketch Plan" and an application for a Specially Planned Area Zone.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Northwest Landowners Association, et al. v. State, et al.
2025 ND 147 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2025)
Tischmak v. Tax Commission
2025 UT 24 (Utah Supreme Court, 2025)
Northern Monticello Alliance v. San Juan County
2023 UT App 18 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2023)
Hansen v. Kurry Jensen Properties
2021 UT App 54 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2021)
Lehi City v. Rickabaugh
2021 UT App 36 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2021)
Zendler v. University of Utah Health Care
2020 UT App 143 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2020)
Eskamani v. Auto-Owners Ins.
2020 UT App 137 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 2020)
Salt Lake Cnty v. State of Utah
2020 UT 27 (Utah Supreme Court, 2020)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2010 UT 69, 246 P.3d 102, 672 Utah Adv. Rep. 19, 2010 Utah LEXIS 186, 2010 WL 5294369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gillmor-v-summit-county-utah-2010.