State ex rel. Kmart Corp. v. City of Westlake Planning Commission

624 N.E.2d 714, 68 Ohio St. 3d 151
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 12, 1994
DocketNo. 93-1350
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 624 N.E.2d 714 (State ex rel. Kmart Corp. v. City of Westlake Planning Commission) 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
State ex rel. Kmart Corp. v. City of Westlake Planning Commission, 624 N.E.2d 714, 68 Ohio St. 3d 151 (Ohio 1994).

Opinions

Per Curiam.

This cause presents four issues. First, does Parry have a clear duty to immediately review Kmart’s development plan and place it on the planning commission’s agenda? Second, does the planning commission have a clear legal duty to immediately review and act on Kmart’s development plan? Third, does Kmart have an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law? Fourth, is this case moot?

For the reasons that follow, we hold that Parry owes the duty alleged, but that he complied by arranging for commission review on March 15. We further hold that (1) the planning commission had a duty under Section 1220.07 of the Westlake Zoning Code to approve or reject Kmart’s development plan within sixty days after the March 15 meeting, (2) Kmart consented to an extension of this period until March 29, (3) the commission was then required to complete review within the next sixty days, and (4) the commission is now in default of its duty to approve or reject Kmart’s plan. Finally, we hold that no adequate remedy existed and that the recently effective legislation did not extinguish Kmart’s right to approval or rejection of its development plan.

The Duties of Parry and the Planning Commission

Kmart argues that Parry has a duty to review and submit its development plan to the planning commission “as soon as practicable” under Section 1220.05 of the Westlake Zoning Code. Section 1220.05 provides, in part:

“After submittal of complete plans and review by the Planning Department for compliance to the Zoning Code pursuant to Section 1220.04, the Director of Planning shall place the development plan application on the Planning Commis[154]*154sion agenda as soon as practicable. The Planning Commission shall review the plans taking into account the spirit and intent of the Zoning Code, the location of the proposa,!, the effect on the surrounding properties and the relationship of the proposal to the Guide Plan.
“The Commission, in reviewing the proposed development plans for conformity to the provisions of the Zoning Code, may make adjustments to certain yards, area and other dimensioned requirements based on the performance standards of Section 1220.06. * * * If modifications made by either the Planning Commission or applicant are subsequently approved by the Commission the modifications shall be made a part of the development plans and indicated on revised plans submitted by the applicant or such modifications shall be affixed to the development plans approved and signed by the applicant and chairman of the Commission. * * *”

Kmart further contends that it has submitted final plans and undergone the requisite review process up to the point where submission of its plan to and action by the planning commission must come next. The penultimate step before placement on the commission agenda is described in Section 1220.04, which states:

“After the preparation of preliminary and final plans pursuant to Sections 1220.01 through 1220.03, fourteen complete sets of the final development plans shall be submitted to the Department of Planning accompanied by an application form, application fee and a letter describing the proposal. The Director of Planning or his assignees shall review the plans for completeness to [sic, compliance with] the Zoning Code requirements. Within thirty days of submittal, the Director shall notify the applicant if the submitted plans are complete and accepted by the Department for Planning Commission review and action. Acceptance of the plan does not waive the right of the Planning Department or Planning Commission to request additional documentation, information or detail during their review. Development plans shall be distributed to applicable departments as determined by the Director for review and comment. Upon completion of Department review, the applicant shall be requested to attend a post submission of department heads as he deems necessary. The Director of Planning shall notify the applicant of deficiencies in the submitted plan, compliance to the Zoning Code or other codes of the City, other department concerns and make recommendations which would improve the development plan. Recommendations by the Director of Planning are not exclusive or final. The Planning Commission may make additional recommendations or modifications as provided in Section 1220.05. After department review, the applicant may submit revised or amended plans to the Department for submission to the Planning Commission.”
[155]*155Westlake responds that Kmart has yet to comply with the requirements listed in Parry’s April 16 letter and that review of Kmart’s development plan is therefore still in the early correction and resubmittal stage described in Section 1220.02. This section provides that the director of planning shall, within thirty days after “seven preliminary copies of the development plans” are submitted, review such plans for “general conformance” to the requirements of Section 1220.03. Also during this period, the director of planning is to arrange a “presubmission conference” to discuss the application. Thereafter, the applicant shall make all necessary “corrections, amendments or revisions and resubmit the complete development plans * * * according to Section 1220.04.”

Kmart’s application for development plan approval, however, has progressed well beyond the review afforded by Section 1220.02. Final development plans, which are apparently preliminary plans that contain all the materials listed in Section 1220.03,1 are to be submitted to the planning department in fourteen [156]*156complete sets. Section 1220.04. Kmart did this last February, and the plans were circulated for comment, as provided by Section 1220.04. The plans were also returned by all departments, apparently in preparation for the planning commission meeting on March 15. The plan was acceptable enough at that time for Parry to put it on the commission agenda pursuant to Section 1220.05.

Section 1220.07 requires the planning commission to approve a submitted development plan, to approve a modification of the plan, or to reject the plan “[wjithin sixty days from the date of the Commission meeting at which all required plans and data were first considered by the Planning Commission, * * * unless the applicant shall consent to an extension of the time limitation.” The section next states:

“In the event the applicant chooses to withdraw the application, the time limitations of this section shall only apply if such application is later presented to the Planning Commission as required herein.”

Citing this section, Westlake also argues that Kmart withdrew its plan from the review process entirely during the meeting on March 15 and, therefore, the sixty-day deadline applied only if Kmart’s plan was presented a second time to the planning commission, presumably after reapplication.2 We disagree.

Consent to an extension of the sixty-day deadline is not the same under Section 1220.07 as withdrawing an application for development plan approval, and in our view, Kmart merely agreed to extend the commission’s review period. We draw this conclusion first from the minutes of the March 15 meeting, which state that Kmart’s plan was being “withdrawn from the [commission’s] Agenda” and that the plan is “to be discussed at the March 29, 1993 Work Session.” A letter accompanying Kmart’s resubmission of its application on April 8 corroborates this, stating:

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Bluebook (online)
624 N.E.2d 714, 68 Ohio St. 3d 151, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-kmart-corp-v-city-of-westlake-planning-commission-ohio-1994.