Opinion ID: 1436844
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Highest and Best Use of the Property

Text: On appeal, Ocean Road Partners claimed that the trial justice had erred in accepting a valuation on the basis of the state's plan for a subdivision rather than on the subdivision proposed by Garofalo. The partnership argued that, like its own plan, the state's plan also would require special approval by the town in order to build on certain lots. The state, in response, maintained that the relief needed for the Garofalo plan would have been much more difficult to secure than the relief required by the state's plan and that even if built, the Garofalo plan would not generate more revenue because of increased holding costs, the smaller size of some lots, and their proximity to the street and a nearby right-of-way. This Court's precedents in land-condemnation cases are well settled: In reviewing a judgment rendered by a trial justice sitting without a jury in a land-condemnation proceeding, we accord the justice's findings of fact and conclusions of law great weight, and consequently this Court will not disturb such a judgment unless the trial justice misconceived or overlooked material evidence or was otherwise clearly wrong. Capital Properties, Inc. v. State, 636 A.2d 319, 323 (R.I. 1994) (citing Gorham v. Public Building Authority, 612 A.2d 708, 712 (R.I. 1992); Fuller v. Rahill, 120 R.I. 832, 838-39, 391 A.2d 103, 106 (1978)). In the previous litigation on the valuation of Black Point, we reaffirmed the principle that condemned land must be assessed according to its fair-market value in light of existing zoning restrictions and not on the basis of an unlawful use. Ocean Road Partners, 612 A.2d at 1110. This is not an inflexible rule, however, and if a claimant presents sufficient evidence to establish a reasonable probability that a proscribed use will be made allowable in the near future, the trial justice may consider that use in determining fair-market value. Palazzi v. State, 113 R.I. 218, 222-23, 319 A.2d 658, 661-62 (1974). In the instant matter, we are of the opinion that Ocean Road Partners did not meet its burden of establishing such a probability, and therefore the trial justice acted appropriately in refusing to accept the Garofalo plan. 4 Nichols' The Law of Eminent Domain § 12C.03[2] at 83 (3d rev. ed. Sackman 1995). The trial justice determined that the Garofalo plan would be met    with resistance in the community because of the general anti-development sentiments in the town and the history of controversy over the Black Point property. The trial justice took note of the fact that the town had adopted a comprehensive building moratorium and that Black Point was rezoned more restrictively as part of a comprehensive zoning ordinance adopted on November 16, 1987. After considering these events, the trial justice concluded that by the time the comprehensive enactment of November, 1987 was enacted,    the probability of a rezoning to permit greater density at Black Point was little or nil. Ocean Road Partners' appraiser, Coyle, opined that approval of a special exception to the 200-foot buffer-zone requirement was likely at the time of condemnation. Coyle formed this opinion because Ocean Road Partners obtained in 1986 a special exception for its original plan to develop condominia. This Court concurs with the trial justice's assessment that the 1986 rezoning of the property and the granting of a special exception in the same year have little, if any, bearing on what action the Town's zoning board would have taken at the time of condemnation in 1989, particularly in light of the trend toward more restrictive land use regulation, not more permissive. The trial justice was under an obligation to valuate Black Point in light of then-existing zoning restrictions, and he acted properly in dismissing the Coyle plan that proposed a then-unlawful use of the property. Ocean Road Partners, 612 A.2d at 1110. Moreover, we reject Ocean Road Partners' argument that the state's plan would be as problematic as the Garofalo plan. Although the state's plan would require special approval for four lots within high-water-table zones, one of which was located entirely within a special flood hazard zone, Clarke stated that such nondiscretionary approval could be obtained by meeting objective engineering and design standards in constructing houses on these lots. The trial justice found that a potential buyer of the site who was seeking to avoid controversy would opt for the state's plan in developing the property and that the state's plan would allow development in the shortest time and with the least contact with zoning authorities. Ocean Road Partners failed to present reliable evidence that relief from the 200-foot coastal-buffer-zone requirement was probable, and therefore, the trial justice did not err in rejecting the Garofalo plan.