Nelson v. Maine Land Use Reg. Comm'n

Superior Court of Maine·Decided June 29, 2007·No. KENap-06-72·Unpublished

Opinion

STATE OF MAINE SUPERIOR COURT CIVIL ACTION

KENNEBEC, ss. DOCKET NO. AP-06-72 T)l~ ,/v\-)~ L /), 0 ; ';'/':J.:

ROBERT and PATRICIA NELSON, Petitioners

v. DECISION AND ORDER

MAINE LAND USE REGULATION COMMISSION,

Respondent

Robert and Patricia Nelson ("Petitioners"), pursuant to M.R. Civ. P. 80C and 5 M.R.S.A. § 11001, ask this court to review the September 6, 2006 decision of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission ("LURC") approving Bayroot, LLC's Application to Amend Subdivision Plan for LURC Project No.5 ("SP 5").

In 1972, LURC approved Brown Company's subdivision application, SP 5, with conditions, for an area around Parmachenee Lake. The 19-1ot subdivision was approved as a camp lot lease program. The lease lots were dispersed throughout the 31,OOO-acre subdivision and provided outdoor enthusiasts with the opportunity to lease lots in a remote wilderness area. In its 1972 decision, LURC disapproved Brown Company's proposed location of four sites for the reason that the soil at those locations was unsuitable for development,l LURC imposed, in Condition 2 of its decision, a duty on the applicant to return to the Commission to obtain approval for new locations for

1 "Soil types on sites 1, 3, 9, 13 and 14 are rated with severe to very severe limitations for the uses proposed." R. at 20, <j[ 10 Finding of Fact. "Certain sites have unsuitable soil types, and should be re­ located, except possibly site 1." R. at 20, <j[ 15 Finding of Fact. Site 1 already had an existing camp on it and LURC allowed it to remain on the condition that it obtain a plumbing permit and certificate of inspection. R. at 20, Condition 3.

those sites. "The applicant shall relocate, with Commission approval, sites 3, 9, 13, and 14 to suitable soils." R. at 20, <JI 2 Terms and Conditions. Subsequent to LURe's approval of SP 5, Brown Company leased ten of the nineteen sites. During the next 31 years, until Bayroot purchased SP 5, none of the remaining nine sites was improved, developed, or leased.

Since 1972, LURC has adopted further regulations that apply to the subdivision.

LURC rezoned the shorefront (within 250 feet of the water) to a specially protected zone called the Great Pond Protection Sub-District (P-GP zone). Residential development without a special permit from LURC is prohibited in this zone. LURC has also adopted a provision that prohibits shorefront lots, regardless of the zone, from forming a contiguous strip longer than 1320 linear feet. Finally, LURC adopted a sunset provision providing for the expiration of permits for lots that had been neither "substantially started" nor "substantially completed" by October 1, 2004. 2 In 2004, Bayroot, as landowner and successor to SP 5, sought an advisory ruling from the Commission asking certain questions regarding its rights and duties regarding the nine lots that were undeveloped and that they proposed to relocate. In response, the Commission's staff issued Advisory Ruling AR-04-39 ("Advisory Ruling"). Bayroot, treating the Advisory Ruling as "Commission approval," thereupon relocated and leased the four lots that Condition 2 of SP 5 mandated, as well as applied for an amendment to authorize relocating five additional lots (to increase by four the number of lots on the shorefront of Lake Parmacheenee). On September 7, 2006, LURC

2 Bayroot disputes that Section 10.17 of the Commission's rules applies to subdivision permits. However, both the staff advisory opinion and the LURC decision "take the more conservative view that it applies to both [subdivision and development permits], and therefore the conditions and activities authorized by that permit had to be met by October 1, 2004." R. at 4, fn. 1. The court is satisfied that LURC's interpretation of this rule is reasonable and within its realm of expertise, therefore the court will defer to LURe's position.

approved Bayroot's application to relocate the five previously approved lots within the 31,000-acre project area subject to a number of conditions. On October 5, 2006, the petitioners filed a petition for review, asserting, among other arguments, that Bayroot failed to meet the October 2004 deadline for fulfilling the conditions affecting sites 3, 9, 13, and 14 in SP 5, therefore, the permit expired. Petitioners continue, arguing that without a valid permit, LURC could not subsequently authorize the relocation of five other lots within the subdivision pursuant to an amendment to the expired SP 5. 3 When the decision of an administrative agency is appealed pursuant to M.R. Civ.

P. 80C, this Court reviews the agency's decision directly for abuse of discretion, errors of law, or findings not supported by the evidence. Centamore v. Dep't of Human Services, 664 A.2d 369, 370 (Me. 1995). "An administrative decision will be sustained if, on the basis of the entire record before it, the agency could have fairly and reasonably found the facts as it did." Seider v. Board of Exam'r of Psychologists, 2000 ME 206 <JI 9, 762 A.2d 551, 555 (Me. 2000) (citing CWCO, Inc. v. Superintendent of Ins., 1997 ME 226, <JI 6, 703 A.2d 1258, 1261 (Me. 1997)). In reviewing the decisions of an administrative agency, the Court should "not attempt to second-guess the agency on matters falling within its

3 Bayroot argues that petitioners lack standing due to their failure to show they have suffered a "particularized injury" from the LURC decision that "adversely and directly affects [their] property, pecuniary or personal rights." Anderson v. Swanson, 534 A,2d 1286, 1288 (Me. 1987) (internal citations omitted). The court is satisfied that the petitioners, as leaseholders who own a residence in SP 5, have standing. Boiled down, this is what the essential dispute is between the parties. The petitioners, and others who leased property in SP 5, did so for a unique, rugged wilderness area where camps were spread out so as to keep the area in a more natural state. This is what LURC encouraged in 1972, when it followed a philosophy encouraging scattered development. Now however, LURC has changed its approach and believes that the impact on wilderness is better managed if done in a more concentrated area-more camps closer together puts the impact in just a few areas as opposed to 19 areas each with a little impact. This is a significant departure from what the agency followed in 1972 and the petitioner's expectations (and property value) of their wilderness camp are diminished if a large subdivision with a cluster of camps and its accompanying roads and construction is allowed to be built under a grandfathered amendment. While the petitioners may not be abutters in the traditional understanding of the word, the word can sometimes be "loosely used" in circumstances such as this. Sahl v. Town of York, 2000 ME 180, lJI 9, 760 A,2d 266,269. Further, the court believes that the petitioners, as property owners in the subdivision in question, have standing as abutters to question decisions regarding development of the subdivision that will impact their property.

realm of expertise" and the Court's review is limited to "determining whether the agency's conclusions are unreasonable, unjust or unlawful in light of the record." Imagineering v. Superintendent ofIns., 593 A.2d 1050, 1053 (Me. 1991).

The burden of proof rests with the party seeking to overturn the agency's decision, and that party must prove that no competent evidence supports the Board's decision. Seider, 762 A.2d 551. "[Petitioner] must prove that no competent evidence supports the Board's decision and that the record compels a contrary conclusion." Bischoffv. Board of Trustees, 661 A.2d 167, 170 (Me. 1995).

Petitioners present the following arguments:

(1) The Commission had no authority to review Bayroot's Application to Amend as Section 1.02(D) of its rules limits LURe's authority to amend subdivisions to no more than 10% of a subdivision development;

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Related

Sahl v. Town of York
2000 ME 180 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2000)
Anderson v. Swanson
534 A.2d 1286 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1987)
Centamore v. Department of Human Services
664 A.2d 369 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1995)
Bischoff v. Board of Trustees
661 A.2d 167 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1995)
Seider v. Board of Examiners of Psychologists
2000 ME 206 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2000)
CWCO, INC. v. Superintendent of Ins.
1997 ME 226 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1997)
Imagineering, Inc. v. Superintendent of Insurance
593 A.2d 1050 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1991)