Opinion ID: 1309720
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: does an applicant for a special exception have the burden of proof?

Text: The city of Tulsa (City) alleges that a presumption of validity attaches to the Board's decisions. We agree. In cases involving special exceptions as well as variances, a presumption of correctness exists in favor of the Board's rulings. See, e.g., Vinson v. Medley, Okl., 737 P.2d 932 (1987); Bailey v. Uhls, Okl., 503 P.2d 877 (1972). The Board's decision will be accorded great weight and will not be disturbed on appeal after it has been affirmed by a district court, unless it is clearly arbitrary or erroneous. Vinson, supra. Volunteers contend that this Court's distinction between an exception and variance in Appeal of Moreland, Okl., 497 P.2d at 1292, shifted the burden of proof from an applicant to the protestants of an exception. They argue that the Board, and the District Court, erred in placing the same burden on Volunteers as it would place on an applicant for a variance. Even though an exception and a variance are different, they are within the same species of zoning mechanism; both are requests for relief from zoning ordinances. The difference is that a variance is an excused violation, and an exception is a conditionally permitted use. Not only did Moreland establish this distinction, it also differentiated the conditions under which each is to be granted. A variance may be granted only pursuant to the terms of 11 O.S. 1981, § 44-107, [3] an exception will be granted in accordance with conditions set forth in the ordinance itself. 497 P.2d, at 1292. Prior to this holding, both an exception and variance were subject to the variance statutory requirements. Moreland did not, however, shift the burden of proof with this delineation. It is well established in Oklahoma that the applicant for a special exception has the burden of proving the conditions have been met. Brown v. Fraser, Okl., 467 P.2d 464, 467 (1970); Twist v. Kay, Okl., 434 P.2d 180, 184 (1967); Application of Shadid, 205 Okl. 462, 238 P.2d 794, 797 (1951); Thompson v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 194 Okl. 77, 147 P.2d 451, 452 (1944). Tulsa, Ok., Rev. Ordinances, Tit. 42, ch. 16, sec. 1680.3 prescribes the requirements for a special exception to be granted: ... the special exception will be in harmony with the spirit and intent of the code, and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare. The district court correctly placed the burden of proving these conditions on Volunteers.