Hemontolor v. WILSON CTY. BD. ZON. APPLS.

883 S.W.2d 613
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedFebruary 18, 1994
StatusPublished

This text of 883 S.W.2d 613 (Hemontolor v. WILSON CTY. BD. ZON. APPLS.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hemontolor v. WILSON CTY. BD. ZON. APPLS., 883 S.W.2d 613 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

883 S.W.2d 613 (1994)

Albert HEMONTOLOR, Petitioner/Appellant,
v.
WILSON COUNTY BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, Respondent/Appellee and
Mrs. Delane Kolbe, Derrell Reese, Bill Hodges, Miss Millie Burford, and Dr. & Mrs. Robert H. Badger, Respondents/Appellees.

Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Western Section, at Nashville.

February 18, 1994.
Application for Permission to Appeal Denied July 18, 1994.

*615 Thomas C. Binkley, Jeffrey Zager, Trabue, Sturdivant & Dewitt, Nashville, and John William Martin, Lebanon, for petitioner/appellant.

Michael R. Jennings, Lebanon, for respondent/appellee Wilson County Bd. of Zoning Appeals.

William E. Farmer, Lebanon, for respondents/appellees Delane Kolbe, et al.

Application for Permission to Appeal Denied by Supreme Court July 18, 1994.

FARMER, Judge.

Appellant, Albert Hemontolor, (Hemontolor) applied to the Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals (Board) for permission to use his property[1] as a sanitary landfill. On July 6, 1990, the Board denied the application "based on testimony, private landfill could bring in out-of-state medical waste, road conditions and public safety on roads." [sic] Hemontolor filed a petition for writ of certiorari requesting that the Board be directed to allow him to use his property in such manner. The chancellor granted the petition and ordered the Board to "approve the requested use subject to [Hemontolor] meeting all reasonable conditions as identified by the ... Board; ... ."

Pursuant to the chancellor's decree, the Board approved Hemontolor's application subject to seven conditions. The following five are at issue on this appeal:

(1) That prior to commencement of the operation of the landfill that Cedar Grove Road, the affected parts of Belotes Ferry Rd. and those culverts and bridges expected to be affected by this proposed use be constructed to a standard capable of carrying the heavy truck traffic expected to serve the proposed landfill. This would necessarily involve, to the greatest extent possible, the elimination of blind spots from the many hills and curves along Cedar Grove Road. This construction standard should be to the satisfaction of, and be acceptable to, the Wilson County Road Commission.
(2) That applicant (appear before) the Wilson County Road Commission for a determination of the amount of bond for possible future damage to the road, bridges, and culverts along Cedar Grove Road and that part of Belotes Ferry Road from its intersection with Cedar Grove Road to U.S. Hwy. 231. This bond should then be posted with the Road Commission in sufficient amount to cover the costs of any needed repairs to the road, culverts and bridges caused by this proposed use.
(3) A reasonable buffer of approximately 250' should be maintained along Cedar Grove Road.
(4) A landscaped berm of adequate height to screen this proposed use from Cedar Grove Road should be installed along the margin of Cedar Grove Road, behind the 250' buffer.
(6) The active landfill site should be designed and maintained so as to prevent surface water runoff from leaving the landfill site.

Hemontolor filed a second petition for writ of certiorari and mandamus requesting that the Board be directed to remove these conditions *616 from its approval of his application.[2] This appeal is from the chancellor's denial of the petition upon determining that the Board acted with authority in imposing the conditions which were "valid and reasonable."

Hemontolor presents the following issues for our review:

1. Whether the Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals lacks the statutory authority to condition Albert Hemontolor's lawful use of his property upon the improvement of an off-site, public roadway?
2. Whether mandatory improvement of an off-site, public roadway as a condition to the lawful use of private property is unduly burdensome and therefore unlawful?
3. Whether Section 6.40.04 of the Wilson County Zoning Regulations is unconstitutionally vague?
4. Whether the Administrative Record fails to support the Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals' imposition of conditions upon Albert Hemontolor's lawful use of his property?

Appellees present the following additional issues:

1. Whether the lower Court erred on April 8, 1991 when it overruled the previous ruling of the Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals issued on July 6, 1990 wherein the Appeals Board denied the [Hemontolor] request on appeal to use the subject agricultural land for a sanitary landfill?
2. Whether the lower Court erred in failing to join the Wilson County Regional Solid Waste Authority as a party defendant in this matter?
3. Whether the lower Court erred in failing to join the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation as a party defendant in this matter?
4. Whether the lower Court erred in failing to receive additional evidence as permitted by Tennessee Code Annotated Section 27-9-111?

Our scope of review, and that of the trial court, under a common law writ of certiorari, is to determine whether the Board exceeded its jurisdiction, followed unlawful procedure, acted arbitrarily or capriciously or acted without material evidence to support its decision. Massey v. Shelby County Retirement Bd., 813 S.W.2d 462, 464 (Tenn. App. 1991); Brooks v. Fisher, 705 S.W.2d 135, 136 (Tenn. App. 1985).

Sections 5.20.02-.03 of the Wilson County Zoning Regulations identify "uses" in an agricultural district as those "permitted" and those "permissible on appeal." Section 5.20.03 states:

The following uses may be permissible on appeal by the [Board] in accordance with provisions contained in Section 6.40 of these Regulations.
... .
R. Sanitary landfill subject to meeting all requirements of a registered solid waste disposal site as defined in Chapter 1200-1-7 of the Rules of the Tennessee Department of Public Health and Environment and any criteria identified by Wilson County officials;[3]

Section 6.40.04 identifies the Board's "powers" to include hearing and deciding "requests for special exceptions, such as uses permitted on appeal... ." Subsection B allows the Board to "require reasonable conditions be met concerning ... access to property, ... and any other reasonable requirement the Board deems necessary to protect the surrounding property ... and shall require a sufficient bond for damage to roads if required by the Road Commission... ."

*617 We first address the condition that improvements be made to Cedar Grove Road. In effect, this condition requires Hemontolor to either expend the funds for such improvements or forego using his property in the manner desired, and that for which it appears most suitable, until the county makes these improvements. Road superintendent, Val Kelley, testified that the cost to improve the road to sufficiency would be between $750,000 and $1,000,000.

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Related

Massey v. Shelby County Retirement Board
813 S.W.2d 462 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1991)
Brooks v. Fisher
705 S.W.2d 135 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1985)
Watts v. Civil Service Board for Columbia
606 S.W.2d 274 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1980)
Brewer v. Lawson
569 S.W.2d 856 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1978)
Hemontolor v. Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals
883 S.W.2d 613 (Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1994)
Crawford v. Crawford
2 Shan. Cas. 156 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1876)

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Bluebook (online)
883 S.W.2d 613, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hemontolor-v-wilson-cty-bd-zon-appls-tennctapp-1994.