Opinion ID: 2912047
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Effectiveness of the 1973 Variance

Text: [¶8] Campbell first contends that the Board erred in affirming the decision to issue the building permit because, she argues, the 1973 variance necessary for 5 Campbell’s Rule 80B appeal was based entirely on the record before the Board and arguments of law. Consequently, she did not raise any claims that would result in factual findings issued by the court. See M.R. Civ. P. 80B(d) (establishing the procedure for a trial of the facts as part of a Rule 80B appeal, which Campbell did not seek to invoke here). That part of Campbell’s motion that requested the court to issue findings of fact was therefore misplaced. 6 the Building Inspector to have authority to issue the permit is no longer effective. According to her argument, Loring’s lot must be treated as a lot with 4,703 square feet rather than one with 5,000 square feet as allowed under the 1973 variance, and the permit therefore may be issued only by the City’s Planning Board. As support for her argument that the variance expired before the building permit was issued in 2013, Campbell relies on section 27-302(b) of the City’s zoning ordinance, which governs variances from nonconforming uses, and provides, “A nonconforming use is terminated if the use ceases or is abandoned for any reason for a period of two (2) years or more.” South Portland, Me., Code § 27-302(b).6 Because neither Loring nor her predecessors in title actually built on the lot within two years of the issuance of the variance in 1973, Campbell argues that the variance expired and is no longer in effect, Loring’s lot reverted to one that is treated as having an area of 4,703 square feet, and the Building Inspector therefore was without authority to issue the permit. [¶9] The variance that Maietta sought and received in 1973, however, was based on the size of the lot and not its use. The provisions governing the variance 6 The version of the ordinance that was in effect when the variance was granted in 1973 provided that a grandfathered nonconforming use would expire if it was abandoned for more than one year, rather than the two-year limitation period now in effect. See South Portland, Me., Code § 27-77 (1973). We need not decide the nature of any interplay among these ordinances and the dimensional variance ordinances that were in effect in 1973 and 2013, because we conclude that for different reasons set out in the text, the vitality of the 1973 dimensional variance is not affected by any ordinances that terminate the lawfulness of non-conforming land uses. 7 therefore are not found in section 27-302, which applies to variances from nonconforming uses. Instead, at best for Campbell, see supra n.6, the 1973 variance is now controlled by section 27-304, which establishes dimensional requirements of minimum lot size and road frontage. Section 27-534 generally prescribes a minimum lot size of 12,500 square feet, although section 27-304 sets forth the 5,000 square foot requirement for certain qualifying lots. Maietta had obtained a variance so that the lot, for purposes of the ordinance, would be treated as a conforming 5,000 square foot lot. Cf. Sawyer Envtl. Recovery Facilities, Inc. v. Town of Hampden, 2000 ME 179, ¶ 19, 760 A.2d 257 (holding that “a use permitted by a variance becomes conforming under the ordinance that authorizes the issuance of the variance.”). That variance was therefore only as to the size of the lot.7 Because section 27-302 does not apply to a dimensional variance, the two-year expiration period created in that provision is inapplicable. [¶10] Unlike section 27-302, a dimensional variance granted under section 27-304 does not expire if a certain event, such as development, fails to occur within a specified period of time. Further, nothing in the enabling statute, 30-A M.R.S. § 4353(4-C) (2014), creates such an effect. Therefore, the local and 7 The difference between dimensional variances and land use variances is further illustrated in state law that authorizes municipalities to adopt ordinances that permit a local board to grant variances specifically from applicable dimensional standards. See 30-A M.R.S. § 4353(4-C) (2014). Section 27-304 falls within that statutory authorization extended to municipalities. 8 state legislation at issue here does not support Campbell’s contention that the 1973 variance expired. [¶11] Campbell goes on to argue, however, that as a matter of policy, variances should not be of unlimited duration. We have held to the contrary when an ordinance does not provide for the expiration of a variance. See DeSomma v. Town of Casco, 2000 ME 113, ¶ 13, 755 A.2d 485. Because Campbell has not identified any law that imposes a temporal limitation on a variance when the ordinance itself does not create such a limitation, Campbell’s argument instead raises a policy issue that can only be properly addressed and decided through local legislation. Although the temporal effect of the 1973 dimensional variance at issue here is open-ended, Loring must still comply with contemporary land use standards applicable to conforming lots that are 5,000 square feet in size because the 1973 variance allowed her lot to be treated as if it were a conforming lot of that size. In this way, the City retains ongoing regulatory control over the use of the lot. [¶12] Therefore, because the 1973 dimensional variance governed by section 27-304 of the City’s ordinance and 30-A M.R.S. § 4353(4-C) was not subject to a temporal limitation, it was still in force when the building permit was issued in 2013, and because Loring’s lot is still to be treated as a 5,000 square foot parcel, the Building Inspector was authorized to act on Loring’s permit application. 9