Sevilla v. Sweat

450 P.2d 424, 9 Ariz. App. 183, 1969 Ariz. App. LEXIS 394
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedFebruary 17, 1969
Docket1 CA-CIV 593
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 450 P.2d 424 (Sevilla v. Sweat) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sevilla v. Sweat, 450 P.2d 424, 9 Ariz. App. 183, 1969 Ariz. App. LEXIS 394 (Ark. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

CAMERON, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Maricopa County Superior Court which set aside a decision of the Board of Adjustment II of the City of Phoenix allowing the appellant permission to sell package beer and wine in the operation of a grocery store. By “package beer and wine” we mean beer and wine sold in containers not for consumption on the premises. The grocery was operated as a non-conforming use under the zoning ordinance of the City of Phoenix.

We are called upon to determine:

1. Whether the writ of certiorari to the Superior Court from a ruling of the Board of Adjustment was proper.
2. Whether package beer and wine are included within the definition of the word “groceries”.

The facts necessary for a determination of this matter on appeal are as follows. Appellant, Sevilla, purchased the property at 534 North 8th Street in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1951. He applied for commercial zoning in that year which was approved and he has operated a small, neighborhood grocery store at that location since 1951. The changes in the zoning ordinance of the City of Phoenix in 1955 and 1962 zoned this area (R-4) and the operation of the grocery store became a “non-conforming use”. On 28 July 1966 Sevilla applied for a liquor license to sell package beer and wine at the said grocery store. The Building Inspector disapproved of the application and the appellant appealed to the Board of Adjustment II of the City of Phoenix. The statement on the appeal read as follows:

“This request is appealing the Building Inspector’s decision that adding beer sales to an existing nonconforming grocery store constitutes adding a new use to the grocery store use.
“The applicant filed for commercial zoning in 1951 and was approved. The ordinance changes of 1955 and 1962 zoned this area R-4 and created a new nonconforming grocery store.
“The staff recommends the building inspector’s decision be upheld and further, that to permit the addition of beer sales to this nonconforming use is an expansion of the nonconforming use which should not be permitted. Such expansion would tend to defeat the purpose of nonconforming uses, that purpose being to bring the use to conformance eventually. To allow such expansion encourages the nonconformance and lengthens rather than lessens the time of nonconformance.”

A hearing was held before the Board of Adjustment II and a petition requesting that Sevilla be allowed to sell package beer and wine in his grocery store was presented containing over 200 signatures. Petitions containing over 125 signatures were filed in opposition to the approval of the application.

The Board of Adjustment overruled the denial of the request by the Building Inspector and the Appellees, Otto J. Sweat and Thelma Sweat, filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Superior Court which was granted. After hearing the Superior Court ordered:

“That said Board of Adjustment abused its discretion and acted arbitrarily and in excess of its jurisdiction.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the Order of the Board of Adjustment II, overruling the decision of the building inspector, be and the same is hereby overruled and vacated.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND DECREED that the act of adding pack *185 age beer and wine sales to its existing nonconforming grocery store business constitutes a new use.”

From said order Ernest Sevilla brings this appeal.

WAS CERTIORARI PROPER?

Arizona Revised Statutes reads in part as follows:

* * *
“C. The board shall:
“1. Hear and decide appeals when there is error in an order, requirement or decision made by an administrative official in the enforcement of an ordinance adopted pursuant to this article.
* * * * * *
“4. Reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or modify the order or decision appealed from and make such order or decision as ■ought to be made, and to that end shall have the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken.
jfc
“E. A person aggrieved by a decision of the board, or a taxpayer, or a municipal officer may, at any time within thirty days after the filing of the decision in the office of the board, petition a writ of certiorari for review of the board’s decision. Allowance of the writ shall not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the court may, on application, on notice to the board and for good cause shown, grant a restraining order, and on final hearing may reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the decision reviewed.” § 9-465, subsecs. C & E, A.R.S.

It is the contention of Sevilla that the Board acted within its discretion and that therefore the writ of certiorari to the Superior Court was improper. We would not agree that the Board of Adjustment acted in abuse or in excess of its discretion in the instant case. The Board of Adjustment was doing exactly what it was authorized and directed to do, namely, hear appeals from the Building Inspector regarding zoning of the property in question. Under these circumstances normally a writ of certiorari would not lie. § 12-2001 A.R.S., State ex rel. Morrison v. Superior Court etc., 82 Ariz. 237,311 P.2d 835 (1957). However, in the instant case the authority of the Superior Court is much broader under the statute in question (A.R.S. § 9-465, subsection E) and we believe the Superior Court was not in error in granting a writ of certiorari to review the decision of the Board of Adjustment:

“Hansen and Lewis secured a writ of certiorari for a review by the Superior Court. It should be noted that the authority of the Superior Court is much broader under Section 9-465, subsec. E than is the grant of authority under general Arizona statutes relating to writs of certiorari * * * ”
Lewis v. Board Of Adjustments Of City Of Phoenix, 6 Ariz.App. 494, 496, 433 P.2d 811, 813 (1967).

EXTENSION OF THE NONCONFORMING USE

It is the contention of the appellees that by adding package beer and wine to the grocery store, the non-conforming use was extended thereby. Both the Building Inspector and the Judge of the Superior Court agreed with this contention. We agree with the appellant and the majority of the members of the Board of Adjustment of the City of Phoenix that this was not the case. Although the Superior Court, in a writ of certiorari, is limited when reviewing the decision of the Board of Adjustment to finding error on the part of the Board and may not substitute its opinion of the facts for that of the Board of Adjustment, Walker v. Dunham, 78 Ariz. 419, 281 P.2d 125

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
450 P.2d 424, 9 Ariz. App. 183, 1969 Ariz. App. LEXIS 394, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sevilla-v-sweat-arizctapp-1969.