Case Title: Corwine v. Crow Wing County

Citation: 244 N.W.2d 482

Docket Number: 

State: minnesota

Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Date: 1976-07-16T00:00:00Z

Document:
244 N.W.2d 482 (1976) Robert G. CORWINE, Respondent, v. CROW WING COUNTY, Defendant, Robert Nader, et al., intervenors, Appellants. No. 46151. Supreme Court of Minnesota. July 16, 1976. *483 Borden, Steinbauer, Borden & Rathke, Charles P. Steinbauer and Stephen C. Rathke, Brainerd, for defendant-appellant. Will Hartfeldt, St. Paul, for intervenors-appellants. Larson, Mannikko & Swenson, Robert P. Larson, and Joseph L. Mannikko, Wayzata, for respondent. Heard before KELLY, MacLAUGHLIN, and SCOTT, JJ., and considered and decided by the court en banc. KELLY, Justice. The county and intervenors separately appeal from summary judgment ordering the issuance of a special-permitted-use permit and a planned-unit-development permit to plaintiff for a campground.[1] We reverse and remand. Plaintiff is the owner of a 106-acre farm, adjacent to Nokay Lake, in Nokay Lake Township, Crow Wing County. The record discloses that plaintiff had expended some time and money in the development of his property as a campground before the adoption of the Crow Wing County Interim Zoning Ordinance in 1970. Plaintiff's applications for conditional-use permits and planned-unit-development permits to allow him to operate his campground under the interim zoning ordinance were twice denied by the Crow Wing County Planning Commission, once in 1970 and once in 1971. On January 4, 1972, Crow Wing County adopted the permanent zoning ordinance involved in this case. On June 8 of that year plaintiff again applied to the planning commission for special-permitted-use and planned-unit-development permits for his campground. The planning commission held several public hearings on plaintiff's application, approving it on October 4, 1972, subject to certain conditions, including conditions relating to the total number of campsites, noise regulation, screening between the lake and campground, and sanitary system. Certain parties, property owners of lakefront cottages on Nokay Lake and certain others, intervened in the proceedings in the planning commission and appealed the commission's decision to the county board of adjustment in accordance with procedures set forth in the county zoning ordinance. On January 4, 1973, the board of adjustment upheld the decision to issue the permits, subject to additional conditions relating to expansion of a buffer zone and to an access road. The intervening property owners appealed to the county board, which revoked the permits on June 5, 1973. Plaintiff petitioned the district court for a writ of mandamus and injunction ordering the issuance of the required permits for his campground. Zoning Ordinance, § 14.2. He moved for summary judgment in that *484 action, including as a part of his motion his affidavit and depositions of a few of the county commissioners and property owners. The county responded with an affidavit in support of a motion by certain property owners to intervene. The district court found that there were no issues of material fact and that plaintiff was entitled to the permits as a matter of law. The district court then ordered issuance of the permits, deleting some of the conditions previously imposed and modifying others. The county and property owners moved to vacate summary judgment, attaching an additional affidavit. The court denied this motion. Further facts revealed by the affidavits and depositions will be stated later in this opinion. Two issues are presented on appeal: (1) Did the court err in holding the county board's revocation of the permits arbitrary as a matter of law for failure to attach findings of fact or reasons for the revocation? (2) Were the reasons for revocation given by the county board legally insufficient? County Board's Alleged Failure to Attach Findings or Reasons for Revocation In granting summary judgment reversing the county board's decision to revoke the permits, the district court relied heavily on previous decisions of this court in concluding that the board's revocation of the permits was "arbitrary as a matter of law, due to the failure of the County to state any reasons and facts showing a need to revoke." The district court relied chiefly on this court's decision in Zylka v. City of Crystal, 283 Minn. 192, 167 N.W.2d 45 (1969). In Zylka this court upheld the lower court's conclusion that the city had been arbitrary and unreasonable in denying a landowner a special-use permit to construct a filling station in a commercially zoned area. Neither the city council nor the planning commission which had reviewed the landowner's application had given any reason for denial. Moreover, the city had made no showing at trial that a filling station was incompatible with the area or that operation of a filling station there would in any substantial way interfere with the public health, safety, or general welfare of the community. In articulating the basis for its decision in Zylka, this court made two important statements regarding special-use permits. First, it established a rule whereby arbitrariness could be found by a reviewing court when a municipal ordinance contained no specific standards for granting or denying special-use permits: Second, the court held that a prima facie case of arbitrariness was made out when a decision-making body failed to record legally sufficient reasons for its decision: After making this statement, however, the court proceeded to consider evidence presented by the city which allegedly rebutted the prima facie showing. The court found this rebuttal insufficient. The second statement in Zylka has been reaffirmed and expanded in subsequent cases.[2] In Inland Construction Co. v. City of Bloomington, 292 Minn. 374, 195 N.W.2d 558 (1972), this court held that a trial court erred in sustaining the city council's denial of a conditional-use permit for a shopping center where the court had based its findings on reasons not articulated by the city council. In Metro 500, Inc. v. City of Brooklyn Park, 297 Minn. 294, 211 N.W.2d 358 (1973), this court refused to rely on reasons for denial which apparently had some basis in the record, but were not formally articulated by the city council as reasons for denial. We stated: In Board of Benton Township v. Carver County Board, Minn., 225 N.W.2d 815, 818 (1975), however, we indicated in the following statement that the prima facie showing of arbitrariness may be rebutted in some cases, and that the burden may be different when the permit is approved rather than denied: When a use permit is approved, the decision-making body is always implicitly giving the same reasonall requirements for the issuance of the permit have been met. Under these circumstances, that body should not have to find negatively that alleged failures to meet requirements are without merit. The burden is fairly on those who would challenge that body's decision to establish the alleged failures and show an abuse of discretion. When a decision-making body denies or revokes a permit, however, we think the above cases and fundamental fairness to petitioning property owners demand a stricter standard of review in the district court. Since the court is reviewing the decision of another body, it should, of course, confine itself at all times to the facts and circumstances developed before that body. If the decision-making body does not state reasons contemporaneously with its action, its decision will be prima facie arbitrary, and it will bear the burden of persuading the reviewing court that the facts and circumstances before it gave rise to legally sufficient reasons for denial or revocation. If the decision-making body does state reasons, review will be limited to the legal sufficiency and factual basis for those reasons. When reasons are given, the party seeking review must bear the burden of persuading the reviewing court that those reasons are legally insufficient. Applying the above to the instant case, we hold that the trial court erred in holding that the county board's decision was arbitrary as a matter of law. The trial court found the following as fact: The board obviously gave reasons within the meaning of Zylka, two of them: (1) Ordinance, § 5.4-3-15; and (2) adverse effect on Nokay Lake. While the reasons should be more precise and specific, they are not so general as to compel an inference that the board was evading its responsibility to give reasons. Therefore, the district court should have accepted the reasons at face value and confined its review to their legal sufficiency. While this error might itself constitute sufficient grounds for reversal, we will proceed to further review the district court's evaluation of the reasons in order to maximize efficiency and minimize confusion in the further proceedings which must be had below. Crow Wing County has specifically adopted standards relating to campgrounds. Section 5.4-3-15 of those standards provides: Adjacent property is defined in Ordinance, § 2.1-2, as: The district court found that plaintiff's land was within 1/8 mile of a rural residential district composed of 6 lakeshore lots, but that only one of these lots was "adjacent" to plaintiff's proposed campground. The court also found, relying on plaintiff's uncontradicted affidavit, that the lot was of no great value. These findings are challenged on appeal. While the county board had before it statements of four realtors and a banker regarding adverse impact on value of property around the lake, this property was not "adjacent" within the meaning of the ordinance. Therefore, the district court was correct in holding the first reason given by the board to be legally insufficient. The major problem in this case arises from the fact that the county and intervenors made no effort to introduce anything more than a single conclusionary affidavit in opposition to the motion for summary judgment. This affidavit, which was a part of a motion to intervene, standing alone, does little more than identify the moving parties and their status as landowners at Nokay Lake. It was not until the motion to vacate summary judgment that the court formally had before it a verified pleading in intervention and depositions of certain county commissioners and property owners which reveal the facts in greater depth. In denying the motion to vacate, however, the court noted that it had considered the depositions prior to granting summary judgment and found no issues of fact therein. Therefore, these materials must be examined, at least to determine whether the district court abused its discretion in refusing to vacate summary judgment when confronted with the whole record. Three of the county commissioners who voted in favor of the revocation of the permits were deposed. Commissioner Schalow, who had abstained when the matter was before the planning commission because he wanted to avoid a possible tie vote, testified as follows regarding the board's discussion of the permits: He also testified to his own doubts as to general environmental impact, relying specifically *488 on the verified pleading of the intervenors which had been filed with the board. Commissioner Rau, who had voted to revoke the permits, testified as follows: He also testified that the lake was small and over-populated. Commissioner Murphy testified as follows: The verified pleading of the intervenors, which was relied on by the commissioners and was made a part of the record on the motion to vacate in the district court, contains the following allegations: This record raises a multitude of facts from which the county board could have concluded that the proposed campground would have had an adverse effect on Nokay Lake. Plaintiff is asking for approval of a campground which could hold 400 people, *490 many of whom will be using 700-acre Nokay Lake. This cannot help but have substantial impact on the lake. Coupled with plaintiff's allegations of arbitrary action and denial of these facts, the record presents genuine issues of material fact which should be resolved at trial on the merits, not by summary judgment. Rule 56.03, Rules of Civil Procedure. The issue of adverse impact on Nokay Lake is clearly material in the action below because of § 116B.09 of the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. That section provides: Under subd. 3, the district court had a duty to fully examine on review the verified allegations of the intervenors herein which set forth specific facts relating to the potential impairment of Nokay Lake. The district court attempts to circumvent the statute by attacking the allegations in the verified pleading on the ground that they are not sufficient as affidavits to meet the requirements of Rule 56.05, Rules of Civil Procedure. Neither the language of that rule nor any decision of this court supports such an attack. The verified pleading is clearly made on the personal knowledge of the property owners; it sets forth facts concerning the number of families now using the lake, present noise levels, present uses of the lake, that are relevant and admissible in evidence; it shows that they are competent to testify to these matters; and it presents specific facts regarding the environmental impact of the proposed campground on Nokay Lake.[3] The summary judgment rule does not require that the intervenors specifically allege *491 competency and personal knowledge at every step in their pleadingtheir status as property owners and inhabitants of the area is sufficient to establish competency and personal knowledge as to many of the facts alleged. From the depositions and the pleading of the intervenors it is clear that the county board had before it facts which tended to show an adverse impact on Nokay Lake through overcrowding, improper and inadequate sanitation, an inadequate access road, and many other factors. These facts clearly revealed genuine issues for trial, and should not have been so lightly dismissed by the district court. Summary judgment is not a trial of issues of fact. It is a proceeding designed to determine if issues of fact exist. Vieths v. Thorp Finance Co., Minn., 232 N.W.2d 776 (1975); Ahlm v. Rooney, 274 Minn. 259, 143 N.W.2d 65 (1966); Abdallah, Inc. v. Martin, 242 Minn. 416, 65 N.W.2d 641 (1954); Willmore v. Willmore, 273 Minn. 537, 143 N.W.2d 630, certiorari denied, 385 U.S. 898, 87 S. Ct. 202, 17 L. Ed. 2d 130 (1966). Substantial issues of fact obviously exist here. Whether we review the district court's decision as one granting summary judgment or as one refusing to vacate summary judgment, we think it was in error. The judgment is reversed and the case remanded for a trial limited to the issue of adverse environmental impact on Nokay Lake, because this was the only legally sufficient reason for revocation given by the county board at the time of revocation. Reversed and remanded. [1] Plaintiff moved at oral argument to dismiss the appeal of the county for failure to file the county's notice of appeal as required by Rule 103.01(1), Rules of Civil Appellate Procedure. The motion is denied. The record reveals that the notice was timely filed in the district court but for some unexplained reason had not reached this court at the time of oral argument. The defect, if any, in the procedure is neither jurisdictional nor prejudicial. [2] The first statement has likewise become an accepted part of Minnesota law. See, e. g., Hay v. Township of Grow, 296 Minn. 1, 206 N.W.2d 19 (1973); Enright v. City of Bloomington, 295 Minn. 186, 203 N.W.2d 396 (1973); Twin City Red Barn, Inc. v. City of St. Paul, 291 Minn. 548, 192 N.W.2d 189 (1971). [3] These facts are sufficient under this court's decision in County of Freeborn v. Bryson, 297 Minn. 218, 210 N.W.2d 290 (1973), to make a prima facie case that the campground would materially and adversely affect the environment. A lake is a protectable natural resource. Alleged overcrowding and inadequate sanitary facilities could pollute or impair this resource. 297 Minn. 228, 210 N.W.2d 297.