Quiland, Inc. v. Public Utilities Commission

2007 ME 45, 917 A.2d 697, 2007 Me. LEXIS 44
CourtSupreme Judicial Court of Maine
DecidedMarch 22, 2007
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2007 ME 45 (Quiland, Inc. v. Public Utilities Commission) 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
Quiland, Inc. v. Public Utilities Commission, 2007 ME 45, 917 A.2d 697, 2007 Me. LEXIS 44 (Me. 2007).

Opinion

ALEXANDER, J.

[¶ 1] This matter is before us on appeal by Quiland, Inc., from an order of the Public Utilities Commission that: (1) upheld an individual metering requirement [698]*698applied to Quiland’s seasonal home development by the Kennebunk, Kennebunk-port, and Wells Water District (the District); and (2) ordered the District to modify the methodology by which it calculates and assesses its System Development Charge (SDC), 35-A M.R.S. § 6107 (2006), as applied to Quiland “so that the charge more accurately reflects the expected usage characteristics of its customers.” A proceeding addressing that modification of the SDC is ongoing before the Commission.

[¶ 2] Quiland has appealed only the Commission’s approval of the individual metering requirement, arguing that: (1) the Commission erred in not requiring the District to establish that the individual metering requirement is cost-effective; (2) the Commission’s order was not supported by sufficient findings; and (3) the order was not supported by substantial evidence in the record. Because the economic issues central to Quiland’s challenge to the individual metering requirement cannot be determined without resolution of the SDC issue, Quiland’s appeal is premature. In addition, the findings on the economic issues are insufficiently related to statutory criteria. Accordingly, we dismiss and remand for final determination of all issues by the Commission after the SDC proceeding is completed.

I. CASE HISTORY

[¶ 3] Quiland is a real estate development corporation. It is currently constructing a 247-unit complex of stick-built, one-and-two-bedroom seasonal cottages that are being sold as individual condominiums. The cottage complex, called “Summer Village,” is located in Wells.

[¶ 4] This development has already been before us to address assessment of sewerage charges. In Quiland, Inc. v. Wells Sanitary District, 2006 ME 113, 905 A.2d 806 (Quiland I), Quiland appealed a Superior Court decision affirming the Wells Sanitary District’s determination that the cottages would be deemed residences for purposes of assessing usage and impact fees, and that the cottages could be billed individually, rather than as a group. Id. ¶ 1, 905 A.2d at 807. Quiland argued, inter alia, that the Sanitary District abused its discretion and violated Quiland’s constitutional equal protection rights by imposing the fees and the individual billing requirement, because the Village should have been assessed and billed as if it were made up of park model trailers. Id. ¶¶ 17, 19, 24, 905 A.2d at 810-12.

[¶ 5] In affirming the Superior Court’s decision, we determined that the Sanitary District did not err by categorizing the cottages as residences because the cottages were more akin to stick-built residences than mobile trailers. Id. ¶ 21, 905 A.2d at 811. We also held that the Sanitary District did not err in billing the cottages individually, rather than as one unit. Id. ¶25, 905 A.2d at 812-13. We noted that Quiland was marketing the cottages as condominiums, which require separate treatment pursuant to the Maine Condominium Act, 33 M.R.S. § 1601-105 (2006). Id. ¶ 25 & n. 4, 905 A.2d at 812-13.

[¶ 6] This proceeding, relating to water service, is subject to laws that are distinct from those governing the sewerage service addressed in Quiland I. In 2004, prior to construction, Quiland applied to the District for water service for Summer Village. Quiland and the District negotiated for several months over whether Quiland could install a single, master water meter for the entire Village, rather than individual meters for each cottage. In December 2004, the District informed Quiland that it would have to install individual meters for the Village’s 247 cottages in accordance [699]*699with its 1990 meter policy and that each cottage would be assessed a $1818 SDC.

[¶ 7] In February 2005, Quiland filed a complaint with the Consumer Assistance Division (the CAD) of the Commission, challenging the District’s decision to require the installation of individual meters rather than a single, master meter. The CAD affirmed the District’s application of the meter policy. Quiland then appealed the CAD’s decision to the full Commission.

[¶ 8] A hearing examiner presided at the Commission hearing on Quiland’s appeal. After the hearing, the hearing examiner filed a report and proposed decision. The hearing examiner determined that the District had engaged in “an unreasonable act and practice when it required individual metering for each cottage” and that the District should “modify the methodology by which it calculates and assesses” its SDC.

[¶ 9] In its order on the appeal, the Commission disagreed with the hearing examiner and found that the District had not acted unreasonably in requiring the individual metering for each cottage. The Commission held that the meter policy could be applied to seasonal cottage complexes, where each unit is individually owned. The Commission found that the meter policy promotes conservation because it encourages owners to decrease water usage and to install water-efficient devices, and that the District had attempted to consistently apply the meter policy where the incentive to conserve existed, despite a few mistakes in the past.

[¶ 10] The Commission also held that the District was not required to perform a cost-benefit analysis with respect to individual developments because imposing such a requirement would not be practical, and because the Commission gives considerable discretion to the District’s decision to implement its policies. The Commission noted that it may invalidate an individual metering requirement if the costs clearly outweigh the benefits, but that it did not find those factors present in this case.

[¶ 11] The Commission supported its decision by finding that it was reasonable for the District to require individual meters for the seasonal cottages, where the cottages would be used during the District’s peak water-demand period, mainly the summer months. The District’s water demand is 2,000,000 gallons-per-day in the off-season, increasing up to 6,900,000 gallons-per-day in mid-summer. Finally, the Commission stated, “even though seasonal use brings with it the added cost of annually removing and installing the meters, the evidence in this case does not suggest that cost to be so great that the practice of individually metering individually owned premises should not be extended to seasonal dwellings.”

[¶ 12] Turning to the SDC, the Commission found that there was a significant and unreasonable disparity between the SDC that would be assessed against the Village if individual meters were installed, and the SDC that would be assessed if a single meter were installed.1 Therefore, the Commission ordered the District to recalculate the SDC assessment, gave the District thirty days to address the issue, and decided to open a separate investigation as to whether the new assessment would be just and reasonable. The revised SDC will apply retroactively to Quiland. Because the Commission’s investigation is ongoing, a new SDC has not been calculated.

[700]*700[¶ 18] Subsequent to the Commission’s order, Quiland filed a motion for reconsideration, rearguing its essential points and requesting findings concerning the cost-effectiveness of individual metering at seasonal multi-unit complexes. The Commission took no action, and the motion was deemed denied.

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Bluebook (online)
2007 ME 45, 917 A.2d 697, 2007 Me. LEXIS 44, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/quiland-inc-v-public-utilities-commission-me-2007.