Opinion ID: 168501
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Land Use Ordinance (complaint 22; 24-30; 49; 51; 54-61; 66)

Text: 50 Plaintiffs contend that defendants illegally passed an unconstitutional land use ordinance (LUO) to restrict their use and enjoyment of their properties, and enforced the ordinance in an arbitrary and capricious manner. Specifically, plaintiffs complain that the LUO, adopted May 29, 1998, designates their properties (containing existing commercial development) as residential areas, restricted to single family houses. They claim that the LUO does not permit them to obtain a conditional use permit for commercial use, does not allow any variances, and contains no provision for appeal. Finally, they assert that there is no actual, designated commercial zone in the town of Boulder to which they can relocate their businesses. 51 Plaintiffs also assert that the May 1998 LUO was defective (among other reasons) because it was not accompanied by a map. They complain that the Boulder Planning Commission made changes to the LUO, without proper notice to plaintiffs or to the public. They further complain that they were not permitted to appeal to the Board of Adjustment from decisions made at two November 1998 Town Council hearings that modified the LUO. Finally, plaintiffs contend that on March 8, 2000, the Town adopted a new LUO, which states that no actual Commercial zone physically exists, Aplt.App. at 35, and that any commercial development would require a conditional use permit. They claim that this effectively foreclosed their ability to develop their properties, because no conditional use permits are permitted in their zone for commercial use, and because non-conforming uses are no longer permitted under the LUO. 52 A major portion of this claim is precluded by plaintiffs' prior state court action. Plaintiffs should have raised their existing zoning issues with Boulder at the same time as they raised their complaints about the issuance of conditional use permits. Their complaint about the permits in 1999 rested on the same types of assertions of illegalities by the Town that they complain of now. The only exception appears to involve the Town's actions in March 2000, concerning the revised LUO, which could not have been raised in the prior action. 53