Hanna v. Rathje

171 N.W.2d 876, 1969 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 925
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedNovember 12, 1969
Docket53714
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 171 N.W.2d 876 (Hanna v. Rathje) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hanna v. Rathje, 171 N.W.2d 876, 1969 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 925 (iowa 1969).

Opinion

MOORE, Justice.

This is a class action in equity by residents of the Town of Robins against members of the town council and owners of certain real estate seeking to have amenda-tory zoning Ordinance No. 43 and certain resolutions adopted in conjunction therewith declared illegal and void and to enjoin further action by defendants. The trial court upheld the ordinance and denied plaintiffs the relief sought. Plaintiffs have appealed. We affirm.

The Town of Robins, a part of the Cedar Rapids metropolitan area in Linn County, covers an area of approximately two and a half square miles and at trial time had a population of 635. According to the last census its population was 426. The population density is about 254 persons per square mile, an extremely low population density for a municipality. Its few engineer. It has a voluntary fire depart-small business establishments have ceased to exist. Only two professionals are employed by the town, an attorney and an ment and one part-time marshall. It has no water or sewer system and as a result fire, sanitary and health problems exist.

Defendants Unash and Park Town, Ltd., own an approximate 100 acre tract of land in the town on which Park Town intends to establish and operate a 500 unit mobile home court. This 100 acre tract is naturally screened from surrounding areas by topography, roads, trees, vegetation and a railroad line We shall refer to it hereafter as the Unash property.

In 1954, acting under the provisions of Code chapter 415, the Robins town council adopted Ordinance No. 4, a zoning ordinance. In section 2 thereof a described one *878 tract of land was zoned commercial and the rest of the town area was zoned residential. The Unash property was not within the area zoned commercial.

Section 6 of Ordinance No. 4 provides: “Special permit. The town council, by a three-fourths vote of all the members of the council, may issue special permits for non-conforming; buildings and occupancy, on condition the applicant for permit files, with the request for such permit, the written consent and approval of 60 per cent of the adjacent property owners within three hundred feet of the proposed building and occupancy. No permit shall be granted for such non-conforming use when sixty percent of the real estate owners in said district residing in said town within 300 feet of the proposed non-conforming structure object thereto.”

In January 1968 members of the council met privately and informally with representatives of Park Town, Ltd., which wanted to explore the possibility of developing a mobile home court in Robins. Numerous questions were asked by the councilmen and the company representatives explained the proposed project.

At a regular council meeting February 5, 1968 representatives of Park Town, Ltd., appeared and discussed the proposed mobile home court project and inquired about a location other than the Unash property.

At a regular council meeting April 1, 1968 the attorney for Park Town requested the council to fix the time and place for hearing on the application of defendants Unash and Park Town, Ltd., to rezone the Unash property. A special meeting for the purpose of hearing objections to the rezoning was set for April 24.

At the April 24th meeting some residents of the town expressed objections to the proposed rezoning. A petition signed by 179 taxpayers expressing opposition to establishing a mobile home court on the Unash property was filed. Another petition signed by several taxpayers favoring the rezoning was also filed. Ordinance No. 42, which would rezone the Unash property commercial, was presented. By a 4 to 1 vote the rule requiring reading of the ordinance on three separate days was suspended. By a 3 to 2 vote Ordinance No. 42 was adopted.

At a specially called meeting of the council May 1, 1968 the mayor vetoed Ordinance No. 42. No effort was made by the council to override this veto.

At a regular council meeting May 9, 1968 Ordinance No. 43 was presented. It provided for repeal of section 2 of Ordinance No. 4 and for the enactment as a substitute in lieu thereof a new section 2 which contained description of several tracts to be zoned commercial and designated all other areas of the town as restricted residential. The Unash property was within that described as commercial. A motion to place the ordinance on its first reading was passed.

At a special meeting May 13, 1968 the resignations of the mayor and a councilman were accepted and within a month a new mayor and councilman were elected and took their oaths.

At a regular council meeting June 3 a petition of property owners opposing rezoning of any area within the town limits for the establishment of a mobile home court was filed.

On July 1, 1968 Ordinance No. 43 was placed on second reading. At a regular council meeting August 5, 1968 there was considerable discussion concerning the establishment of a mobile home court. Ordinance No. 45 regulating operation of mobile home courts was adopted after the rule requiring second and third readings was suspended. The council also adopted resolutions approving an agreement with Park Town, Ltd., and approving restrictive covenants in respect to use of the Unash property as a mobile home court. Ordinance No. 43 was then placed on third reading and was adopted by a 3 to 2 vote.

*879 Late on the afternoon of August 14, 1968 the mayor had the marshall serve written notice on members of the council calling a special meeting that evening for the purpose of receiving the mayor’s veto of Ordinance No. 43 and the two resolutions adopted August 5. Defendant Taylor, one of the councilmen who had voted in favor of the ordinance and resolutions, was unable to attend and the mayor knew in advance Taylor would probably not be able to do so. At the meeting the mayor vetoed Ordinance No. 43 and the two resolutions.

At the next regular council meeting September 3, 1968 following considerable discussion concerning the proposed mobile home court the council by a 4 to 1 vote overrode the mayor’s veto of Ordinance No. 43 and the two resolutions.

This lawsuit attacking the validity of Ordinance No. 43 and the two resolutions was commenced November 4, 1968. It included a prayer for injunctive relief.

The trial court filed well prepared findings of fact and conclusions of law wherein he carefully considered plaintiffs’ many contentions and thereafter dismissed plaintiffs’ petition and taxed costs against them. Several of plaintiffs’ contentions are not pursued on this appeal and of course will not be considered by us. A part of a decree on which no appeal is taken by the party adversely affected is not before this court for review. Scott v. City of Waterloo, 223 Iowa 1169, 1171, 274 N.W. 897, 899.

I. This action in equity is reviewable de novo on appeal. Rule 334, Rules of Civil Procedure. Especially when considering the credibility of witnesses we give weight to the fact findings of the trial court but are not bound by them. Rule 344 (f), par. 7, R.C.P.

II. Plaintiffs’ first proposition relied on for reversal is the trial court erred in finding section 6 of Ordinance No. 4 need not be followed or complied with and finding zoning could be changed from restricted residential to commercial by the method followed.

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171 N.W.2d 876, 1969 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 925, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hanna-v-rathje-iowa-1969.