Karches v. City of Cincinnati

526 N.E.2d 1350, 38 Ohio St. 3d 12, 1988 Ohio LEXIS 229
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 20, 1988
DocketNo. 87-830
StatusPublished
Cited by476 cases

This text of 526 N.E.2d 1350 (Karches v. City of Cincinnati) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Karches v. City of Cincinnati, 526 N.E.2d 1350, 38 Ohio St. 3d 12, 1988 Ohio LEXIS 229 (Ohio 1988).

Opinions

H. Brown, J.

The appellants have challenged the constitutionality of the zoning of their properties by the city of Cincinnati. We must decide, first, whether the challenge is ripe for determination. If the answer is in the affirmative, we may consider the merits of the constitutional attack.

I

The court of appeals held that the issue of the constitutionality of the RF-1 zoning as applied to the properties of appellants was not ripe for judicial review “* * * because the City had not reached a final decision regarding the application of the zoning regulations to the two tracts.” The court relied upon the two-step process of determining ripeness set forth in Williamson Cty. Regional Planning Comm. v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City (1985), 473 U.S. 172, 193.

The first step is a requirement of finality. That is met when “* * * the initial decisionmaker has arrived at a definitive position on the issue that in[15]*15flicts an actual, concrete injury.” The second step requires an injured party to exhaust any available administrative remedies prior to instituting a suit for judicial relief. The Williamson Cty. test for ripeness was approved in MacDonald, Sommer & Frates v. County of Yolo (1986), 477 U.S. 340. We accept the holdings in Williamson Cty. and County of Yolo, but disagree with the determination by the court of appeals that no definitive position had been taken by Cincinnati.

A

The court of appeals ruled that the city had not reached a final definitive position because appellants did not, on the basis of a specific proposed use, (1) petition for a zoning change, or (2) apply for a building permit. The appellate court reasoned that without a refusal by the city to allow a specific use, no final definitive position had been taken by the city.

We disagree. Denial by the city of a specific proposed use is not necessary to a finding that the city has taken a final definitive position sufficient to satisfy the test of ripeness. In making denial of a specific proposed use its focus, the court of appeals failed to recognize that, in Ohio, the constitutionality of a zoning ordinance may be attacked in two ways. An appeal from an administrative zoning decision can be taken pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2506. In addition, or in the alternative, a declaratory judgment action pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2721 can be pursued. A short examination of the two actions will reveal the differences between them, including the significant difference that denial of a specific proposed purpose is pivotal to the ripeness determination in an R.C. Chapter 2506 proceeding but not to the ripeness determination in a declaratory judgment action pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2721.

An appeal from a final administrative decision denying a property owner a variance is filed under R.C. Chapter 2506. Such an action is similar to the one in Williamson Cty., supra. In the past, the R.C. Chapter 2506 appeal appeared to be the exclusive method of challenging zoning restrictions in Ohio. See, generally, Mobil Oil Corp. v. Rocky River (1974), 38 Ohio St. 2d 23, 67 O.O. 2d 38, 309 N.E. 2d 900; State, ex rel. Sibarco Corp., v. Berea (1966), 7 Ohio St. 2d 85, 36 O.O. 2d 75, 218 N.E. 2d 428. A property owner who failed to seek legislative change of a zoning restriction seemed to be precluded from using declaratory judgment to contest the constitutionality of the restriction.

However, in Driscoll v. Austintown Associates (1975), 42 Ohio St. 2d 263, 71 O.O. 2d 247, 328 N.E. 2d 395, we dispelled any doubt that a declaratory judgment action could be used to challenge the constitutionality of a zoning ordinance. We held that in light of Civ. R. 57 (which provides in part that “[t]he existence of another adequate remedy does not preclude a judgment for declaratory relief in cases where it is appropriate”), a declaratory judgment action, filed pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2721, is available as an alternative remedy for such attacks. Driscoll, supra, at 268-269, 71 O.O. 2d at 250, 328 N.E. 2d at 400. The complaint in the present case seeks a declaratory judgment pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2721 on the ground that the zoning as applied to appellants’ properties is unconstitutional.

Although both an R.C. Chapter 2506 action and an R.C. Chapter 2721 declaratory judgment action seek the same result — elimination of an existing zoning regulation which precludes a proposed use of the property — any similarity between the two actions ends [16]*16there. Driscoll, supra, at 270, 71 O.O. 2d at 251, 328 N.E. 2d at 401.

The R.C. Chapter 2506 appeal is a judicial review of a final administrative decision denying a variance to a property owner. The challenge is that a prohibition against a specific proposed use is unconstitutional; and the task of the trial court is to determine whether the prohibition against the specific proposed use has any reasonable relationship to the legitimate exercise of police power by the municipality. Mobil Oil Co., supra. Thus, the determination turns on the specific proposed use of the property.

In contrast, a declaratory judgment action challenges the constitutionality of an existing zoning ordinance. The action does not call into issue the denial of a variance, even though, as discussed subsequently, exhaustion of the administrative variance procedure is usually required prior to initiating a declaratory judgment action. Driscoll, supra, at paragraph four of the syllabus. The overall constitutionality of a zoning ordinance as applied to a particular parcel of property is the central question. It may, but need not, involve a question as to the constitutionality of a prohibition against a specific proposed use. The declaratory judgment action is independent from the administrative proceedings and it is not a review of a final administrative order.

The distinction between the two actions is important because in an R.C. Chapter 2506 appeal, the trial court need not make an objective determination of the overall constitutionality of a zoning ordinance. It will view the constitutional issue only in light of the proposed specific use. If the court finds the restriction against the proposed use valid, its inquiry ends. In making such a limited determination, it is possible that the existing zoning could be unconstitutional, but the zoning would not be declared unconstitutional because the prohibition against the specific proposed use is valid. See, generally, Central Motors Corp. v. Pepper Pike (1979), 63 Ohio App. 2d 34, 13 O.O. 3d 347, 409 N.E. 2d 258; Flair Corp. v. Brecksville (1976), 49 Ohio App. 2d 77, 3 O.O. 3d 146, 359 N.E. 2d 459.

A declaratory judgment action lies when a party challenges a zoning ordinance as it applies to a specific parcel of property to proscribe the owner’s proposed use of the property. Driscoll, supra; see, also, Superior Uptown v. Cleveland (1974), 39 Ohio St. 2d 36, 68 O.O. 2d 21, 313 N.E. 2d 820; Kaufman v. Newburgh Heights (1971), 26 Ohio St. 2d 217, 55 O.O. 2d 462, 271 N.E. 2d 280; Burt Realty Corp. v. Columbus (1970), 21 Ohio St. 2d 265, 50 O.O. 2d 491, 257 N.E. 2d 355; and Willott v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
526 N.E.2d 1350, 38 Ohio St. 3d 12, 1988 Ohio LEXIS 229, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/karches-v-city-of-cincinnati-ohio-1988.