Lane Construction Corp. v. Town of Washington

2008 ME 45, 942 A.2d 1202, 2008 Me. LEXIS 47
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedMarch 11, 2008
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 2008 ME 45 (Lane Construction Corp. v. Town of Washington) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Judicial Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lane Construction Corp. v. Town of Washington, 2008 ME 45, 942 A.2d 1202, 2008 Me. LEXIS 47 (Me. 2008).

Opinion

LEVY, J.

[¶ 1] Lane Construction Corporation appeals from a judgment entered in the Superior Court (Knox County, Wheeler, J.) affirming a decision of the Town of Washington Board of Appeals that affirmed the Town Planning Board’s reconsidered decision to deny Lane a permit for a rock crusher at its quarry operation. The Planning Board reached this reconsidered decision after the Superior Court (Marden, J.) affirmed a decision of the Town Board of Appeals that vacated the Planning Board’s initial approval of the rock crusher as part of the process of quarrying. Lane also appeals the Planning Board’s decision to deny its application for a permit to operate bituminous asphalt and concrete batch plants at the quarry, as well as the Planning Board’s imposition of over $20,000 in fees. The Land Association of Washington, a citizens’ group, and ten individual neighbors1 (collectively referred to as LAW) cross-appeal, contending that the Planning Board violated LAW’s due process rights through biased and arbitrary actions, that the court erred in denying LAWs motion to remand, and that the court erred in not vacating Lane’s permit for the entire quarry project.

[¶2] After review of the record, we conclude that the Planning Board:

• Permissibly determined that rock crushing is an integral aspect of mineral extraction and, therefore, the Board properly approved the initial permit for a rock crusher.
• Permissibly determined that bituminous hot mix and concrete batch plants are not permitted in the Town’s Farm and Forest District and, therefore, properly denied a permit for the plants as accessory uses.
• Impermissibly imposed upon Lane unscheduled fees beyond the $50 permit fee.
• With respect to the cross-appeal, did not violate LAW’s due process rights or act in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

[¶ 3] We therefore vacate the judgment and remand for entry of a judgment that (1) affirms the Planning Board’s initial approval of a permit for the rock crusher; (2) denies the permit for the bituminous hot mix and concrete batch plants; and (3) vacates the Board’s imposition of fees beyond the $50 permit fee.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Planning Board’s Initial Hearings and Decision

[¶4] In March 2001, Lane applied to the Planning Board for a conditional use permit to construct and operate in the Town’s Farm and Forest District a hard rock quarry as the primary use, with a rock crusher and bituminous hot mix and [1206]*1206concrete batch plants as accessory uses. The Planning Board subsequently held numerous public hearings to consider whether the quarry, rock crusher, and plants were allowed under the Town of Washington’s Land Use Ordinance. LAW, a citizens’ group of abutters and neighbors to Lane’s parcel, opposed the application. After determining that rock crushing goes “hand in hand” with mineral extraction, the Planning Board approved the application for the quarry and the rock crusher pursuant to the Land Use Ordinance, and a permit was issued in August 2002.2 The Planning Board voted to deny Lane’s application with respect to the plants, however, finding that they were not accessory uses and were also manufacturing in nature and therefore prohibited in the Farm and Forest District where the operation was to be located.

B. The Initial Decision of the Board of Appeals

[¶ 5] Both Lane and LAW filed appeals to the Town Board of Appeals. In May 2003, the Board of Appeals upheld the Planning Board’s decisions to: (1) grant Lane’s application to operate the quarry; (2) disallow the plants, finding that they are not listed as allowable uses in the Farm and Forest District and were not accessory uses to the quarry; and (3) assess fees to Lane in the amount of approximately $20,000, finding that although the Town had no established fee schedule, the Planning Board could impose fees on the applicant during the review process. The Board of Appeals reversed the Planning Board’s permit for the rock crusher, finding that it was not permitted as part of the conditional use of mineral extraction.

C. The Superior Court’s Initial Decision

[¶ 6] LAW subsequently filed a complaint pursuant to Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure against Lane and the Town in the Superior Court appealing the Town’s approval of the quarry and raising claims of due process violations by the Planning Board due to the chairman’s alleged bias and arbitrary actions. Lane also filed a Rule 80B appeal challenging: (1) the denial of the rock crusher; (2) the denial of the plants; and (3) the imposition of fees.

[¶ 7] The Superior Court consolidated the two cases, directly reviewed the Planning Board’s findings, and issued a decision in March 2005 partially affirming the Planning Board’s actions. The court upheld the Planning Board’s decision to deny the plants and to impose $20,497.70 in fees. The court found that because Lane had withdrawn the plant applications, it did not need to consider the issue, but it also determined that the Planning Board had properly concluded that the requested plants were not “accessory uses” pursuant to the Land Use Ordinance. The court rejected LAW’s complaint, finding no evidence of unconstitutional bias or arbitrary and capricious action.

[¶ 8] The court, however, vacated the Planning Board’s determination that rock crushing goes “hand in hand” with mineral extraction, rather than qualifying as a separate, accessory use. The court reached this conclusion after determining that, as a matter of law, “mineral extraction” does not include the operation of a rock crusher. The court nevertheless remanded the issue to the Planning Board, noting that “the Board may still properly permit this activity within the [Farm and Forest District] if [1207]*1207it meets the [Land Use Ordinance’s] definition of ‘accessory uses.’ ”

D. The Planning Board’s Reconsidered Decision

[¶ 9] On remand, the Planning Board concluded that the rock crusher was not an accessory use under the Land Use Ordinance. As a result, Lane’s permission to operate the rock crusher was revoked. Lane appealed this decision to the Board of Appeals, which affirmed the Planning Board’s decision.

[¶ 10] Lane again sought review by the Superior Court, arguing that the Planning Board and Board of Appeals erred in finding that the rock crusher did not qualify as an accessory use. LAW, on the other hand, argued that changes to the project since the Planning Board had considered it — such as the denial of the plants and the rock crusher — necessitated new findings as to the proposal’s present compliance with the Land Use Ordinance. Accordingly, LAW filed a motion that sought to have the case remanded for additional fact-finding. The Superior Court upheld the Planning Board’s findings and denied LAW’S motion. These appeals followed.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

[¶ 11] Because the Board of Appeals and the Superior Court both acted in an appellate capacity, we review directly the Planning Board’s decisions for an abuse of discretion, error of law, or findings not supported by substantial evidence in the record. Fitanides v. City of Saco, 2004 ME 82, ¶28, 843 A.2d 8, 15.

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Bluebook (online)
2008 ME 45, 942 A.2d 1202, 2008 Me. LEXIS 47, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lane-construction-corp-v-town-of-washington-me-2008.