Title: Fallin v. Knox County Bd. of Com'rs
Citation: 656 S.W.2d 338
Docket Number: N/A
State: Tennessee
Issuer: Tennessee Supreme Court
Date: August 29, 1983

656 S.W.2d 338 (1983) William FALLIN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. KNOX COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS and Grace W. Joyner, Defendants-Appellees. Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Knoxville. August 29, 1983. *340 R. Thomas Stinnett, Knoxville, for plaintiff-appellant. Dale Workman, H.W. Asquith, Knoxville, for defendants-appellees. BROCK, Justice. The plaintiff, Fallin, brought this action seeking to invalidate a resolution enacted by the defendant Board of Commissioners on September 4, 1979, which purported to amend the comprehensive zoning ordinance controlling land use in that part of Knox County lying outside the Knoxville city limits. The effect of the amendment was to change the zoning of a 10.6 acre tract owned by defendant Joyner from the Agricultural classification to the Residential "B" classification, thereby permitting Joyner to build approximately 275 apartment units on the 10.6 acre tract. All the property adjacent and contiguous to the Joyner tract, including that of the plaintiff, Fallin, is zoned either Agricultural or Residential "A" which permit the construction of only one single family residence per acre. The plaintiff asserted that the amendatory resolution amounted to "spot zoning" in that it singled out a small parcel of land belonging to the defendant, Joyner, for a land use, i.e., the erection of multi-family apartment buildings, which is inconsistent with the established comprehensive zoning scheme and was accomplished for the private benefit of defendant Joyner to the detriment of the plaintiff and others residing in the vicinity of the Joyner property. Thus, plaintiff alleges: Plaintiff further alleges that the use sought to be permitted by this amendatory resolution would The relief prayed was: The complaint was in the form of a petition for a writ of certiorari; the writ was prayed for and granted. The defendants answered, admitting the enactment of the amendatory resolution and asserting its validity. The Chancellor conducted an oral hearing, reviewed the record certified to his court from the Board of Commissioners, and received the testimony of witnesses offered by the parties to support their contentions respecting the validity of the amendatory resolution. At the conclusion of this hearing, the Chancellor made his findings of fact and conclusions of law and held, under the authority of Grant v. McCullough, 196 Tenn. 671, 270 S.W.2d 317 (1954), that the amendatory resolution in question amounted to unconstitutional "spot zoning" and was, therefore, invalid. *341 On appeal, the Court of Appeals concluded that The decree of the chancellor was reversed and the suit dismissed. Before reaching the merits of this controversy, we deem it appropriate to consider the procedure available to litigants who seek review of zoning action taken by county or municipal authorities and the scope of review by the courts of factual determinations made by such zoning authorities. The case law of this State which has permitted court review of purely legislative action by means of the "common law" writ of certiorari, T.C.A., § 27-8-101, is highly unusual and probably is incorrect. Certainly, the general rule is to the contrary. See 14 Am.Jur.2d Certiorari §§ 19, 71 (1964); 14 C.J.S. Certiorari § 18b (1939) at 149; 4 Anderson American Law of Zoning, § 25.07 (2d ed. 1977); In Re Markham, 259 N.C. 566, 131 S.E.2d 329 (1963), cert. denied 375 U.S. 931, 84 S. Ct. 332, 11 L. Ed. 2d 263 (1963). Nevertheless, in cases too numerous to cite, this Court has permitted judicial review of the validity of zoning ordinances and resolutions by means of the "common law" writ of certiorari, T.C.A., § 27-8-101, and T.C.A., §§ 27-9-101 27-9-114. This has been done despite the fact that the plain language of these code provisions appear to restrict the remedy afforded thereby to a review of judicial determinations by lower tribunals or administrative agencies. Thus, T.C.A., § 27-8-101, provides: Likewise, T.C.A., § 27-9-101, provides: Other provisions of this statutory scheme plainly presuppose that a judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding is the subject of review and that a "record" of evidence, common in such proceedings, is available for certification to the reviewing court. See, T.C.A., §§ 27-9-102, 27-9-104, 27-9-106, 27-9-108, 27-9-109, 27-9-111. In Holdredge v. City of Cleveland, 218 Tenn. 239, 402 S.W.2d 709 (1966), the plaintiffs brought an action seeking to invalidate an ordinance which amended the comprehensive zoning ordinance of the City of Cleveland on the ground that the amendment amounted to spot zoning. The remedy employed was that of an action for declaratory judgment rather than a petition for certiorari and the defendants asserted that the declaratory judgment action could not be maintained and that certiorari was the exclusive remedy for challenging the validity of a zoning ordinance. In holding to the contrary, this Court, speaking through Mr. Justice Chattin, said: An action for declaratory judgment was also the remedy employed by the plaintiffs in Mobile Home City of Chattanooga v. Hamilton County, Tenn. App., 552 S.W.2d 86 (1977) to challenge the validity of a zoning regulation adopted by the legislative body of Hamilton County. It is our opinion that an action for declaratory judgment, as provided by T.C.A., §§ 29-14-101 XX-XX-XXX, rather than a petition for certiorari is the proper remedy to be employed by one who seeks to invalidate an ordinance, resolution or other legislative action of county, city or other municipal legislative authority enacting or amending zoning legislation. However, where, as here, the plaintiff mistakenly employs the remedy of certiorari the court may treat the action as one for declaratory judgment and proceed accordingly, rather than dismiss the action. It appears that this has been the procedure followed in other jurisdictions. Thus, in 4 Anderson, American Law of Zoning, § 25.07 (2d ed. 1977) it is observed that zoning regulations are most often reviewed by a declaratory judgment action and that: We wish to point out, however, that the remedy of certiorari provided by T.C.A., §§ 27-8-101, 27-9-101 27-9-113, will continue to be the proper remedy for one who seeks to overturn the determination of a Board of Zoning Appeals as provided by T.C.A., § 13-7-106 et seq. and T.C.A., § 13-7-205 et seq. This distinction in remedies is made because the determinations made by a Board of Zoning Appeals are administrative determinations, judicial or quasi-judicial in nature, and are accompanied by a record of the evidence produced and the proceedings had in a particular case, whereas, the enactment of ordinances or resolutions, creating or amending zoning regulations, is a legislative, rather than an administrative, action and is not ordinarily accompanied by a record of evidence, as in the case of an administrative hearing. See, Holdredge v. City of Cleveland, supra; Reddoch v. Smith, 214 Tenn. 213, 379 S.W.2d 641 (1964). We proceed to the merits of this case, treating it as one for declaratory judgment. Our county legislative bodies are vested with broad powers to enact and to amend zoning regulations governing the use of land. T.C.A., §§ 13-7-101 13-7-105. When a municipal governing body acts under its delegated police powers either to adopt or amend a zoning ordinance, it acts in a legislative capacity and the scope of judicial review of such action is quite restricted. Davidson County v. Rogers, 184 Tenn. 327, 198 S.W.2d 812 (1947); Mobile Home City of Chattanooga v. Hamilton County, supra; Barret v. Shelby County, Tenn. App., 619 S.W.2d 390 (1981). The restricted role of the courts in reviewing the validity of a zoning ordinance or regulation has been aptly stated as follows: In Grant v. McCullough, supra, this Court invalidated an ordinance which amended a general zoning ordinance to permit the owner of a single city lot to apply her property to commercial uses, whereas, the property surrounding it was restricted to residential uses, on the ground that it constituted "spot zoning" and, as such, violated Art. XI, Section 8, of the Constitution of Tennessee. The Court upheld the Chancellor's decision finding that the ordinance was enacted solely for the personal benefit of the owner of the subject lot and that the rezoning of that lot was inconsistent with the general ordinance on the subject and gave to the owner a privilege withheld by the general law from others in a similar situation. This Court concluded: In reaching this conclusion, the Court cited as authority and quoted from Rodgers v. Village of Tarrytown, 302 N.Y. 115, 96 N.E.2d 731 (1951), as follows: A more comprehensive definition of "spot zoning" is found in 2 Yokley, Zoning Law and Practice, §§ 13-3 (4th ed. 1978) at 207 as follows: We consider, now, whether any possible reason can be conceived to justify the instant ordinance; that is, whether its legislative classification for zoning purposes is fairly debatable or whether it is "spot zoning," as above defined and as held by the Chancellor. The new zoning of the Joyner property would not represent a change in the kind of use permitted. It would still be used for residential dwelling, but the intensity of such use would be greatly increased: 27 dwelling units per acre would be permitted under the new zoning, whereas, 2 1/2 to 3 units per acre were permitted under the old zoning. The property being rezoned is not a single city lot, as in Grant v. McCullough, supra, but is a 10.6 acre tract surrounded by land which is, for the most part, zoned for agricultural and residential use. There are in the immediate area of the property being rezoned two Commercial "A" zones as well as some zoning which permits multiple dwellings. There is evidence that a need exists in the particular area here involved for additional apartments. On the other hand, the proof does indicate that, if the rezoning is carried out and 250 apartment units are constructed as planned, the traffic on Concord Road would heavily increase to the point that that road would become inadequate and hazardous. All of these factors are proper for consideration of the legislative zoning authority. We are unable to conclude that the legislative classification represented by the amendatory resolution of the Knox County Board of Commissioners is without any rational basis; we consider that the issue is *344 fairly debatable and, therefore, that we must permit it to stand as valid legislation. The decree of the Court of Appeals reversing the decree of the Chancellor and dismissing plaintiff's action is affirmed. Costs are taxed against plaintiff and surety. FONES, C.J., and COOPER, HARBISON and DROWOTA, JJ., concur.