Opinion ID: 3035542
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Board of Appeals vs. Board of Adjustment

Text: With this background in mind, we turn to the parties’ contentions. There is no dispute that when the Club filed its appeal no entity called the “Board of Building Appeals” existed in the Town. Nonetheless, after receiving the Club’s appeal, the Town informed it that “while the BOCA National Building Code refers to the Board of Building Appeals, the Town of Elsmere refers to its appellate body as the Board of Adjustment.” The Club contends that the Board of Adjustment did not have the authority to sit as the Board of Building Appeals for the condemnation action, and that therefore the Town failed to provide adequate means for it to challenge the year.” BOCA Nat’l Bldg. Code § 121.2. Thus, the effect of the amendment was to alter the way in which membership terms on the board were staggered. 7 Section 111.1 of the Property Maintenance Code refers to this body as the “Board of Building Appeals,” as did the Town and the Club in their correspondence. However, § 121 refers to the “board of appeals.” We assume that these terms both refer to the same, nonexistent, body, and, accordingly, use them interchangeably. 23 condemnations, despite directing it to the Board of Adjustment for its appeal. It appears, however, that the Board of Adjustment would have been able to hear the Club’s appeal. The Board of Adjustment is established as part of the Town’s Zoning Code. See Elsmere, Del., Code § 225.40 (providing for the authority of the Board). But the membership requirements for the Board of Adjustment are identical to the membership requirements of the Board of Building Appeals as outlined in the amended Code: both boards have five members, appointed by the Mayor in a staggered fashion, with members ultimately each serving three-year terms. See id. (explaining the membership requirements of the Board of Adjustment); BOCA Nat'l Bldg. Code § 121.2 (explaining the membership requirements of the board of appeals). This appears to have been intentional. That is, it appears that, when the Town amended the composition of the appeals board under both the BOCA National Property Maintenance Code and the BOCA National Building Code, it did so specifically in order that the Board of Adjustment could also act as the Board of Building Appeals. See Town's Br. 53 & n.24. It merely failed to change the name of the body referenced in the Code accordingly.8 8 Indeed, in 2003, the Town amended § 111 to change “board of appeals” to “Board of Adjustment of the Town of Elsmere” to make clear that the latter body is empowered to hear appeals of condemnation decisions. See Elsmere, Del., Ordinance 420 § 171-6(e). 24 This allows us to understand how the Town structured its administrative appeals system. One board would carry out the appellate function under each of the three codes: the Property Maintenance Code, the Building Code and the Zoning Code. See Elsmere, Del., Code § 225.40(1)(a) (giving the Board of Adjustment the authority “[t]o hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement decision or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement of appropriate laws and codes of the State of Delaware”). When acting as the appellate board under the Property Maintenance Code, the Board would carry out the appellate procedures outlined in § 111.0 of that Code (as amended). When acting as the appellate board under the Building Code, the Board would carry out the appellate procedures outlined in § 121.0 of that Code (as amended). Finally, when acting as the appellate board under the Zoning Code, it would carry out the appellate procedures outlined in Chapter 225.40 of that Code. Thus, there was an administrative body empowered to hear the Club’s appeal (the Board of Adjustment) and procedures (those outlined in § 111) specifically designed to address appeals of condemnation decisions. To be sure, the Town Code did initially point the Club to a body, the Board of Building Appeals, that did not exist. But the Town then took appropriate steps to direct the Club to the correct body, and, in fact, it was with the Board of Adjustment that the Club negotiated a stay of its appeal in exchange for a waiver of the Town’s right under its Code to issue a final decision on the 25 matter. We therefore conclude that the Town did provide the Club with adequate means of appealing the condemnations. 3. Elsmere Park Club’s Failure to Avail Itself of an Adequate Postdeprivation Remedy There was an adequate postdeprivation remedy in this case—that of administrative appeal—and the Club concedes that it failed to take such an appeal. Club’s Br. 13. We have held that “[i]n order to state a claim for failure to provide due process, a plaintiff must have taken advantage of the processes that are available to him or her, unless those processes are unavailable or patently inadequate.” Alvin, 227 F.3d at 116. Thus, the Club’s failure to take advantage of that process means that it cannot claim a constitutional injury. This requirement that a plaintiff avail itself of the processes available differs from the administrative exhaustion requirements that appear in other civil rights contexts. See id. Administrative exhaustion is not generally required in § 1983 suits. See McGreevy v. Stroup, 413 F.3d 359, 369 (3d Cir. 2005). However, as we explained in Alvin, “exhaustion . . . is analytically distinct from the requirement that the harm alleged has occurred. . . . [A] procedural due process violation cannot have occurred when the governmental actor provides apparently adequate procedural remedies and the plaintiff has not availed himself of those remedies.” Alvin, 227 F.3d at 116. Thus, it is not that the Club lost its claim because it failed to litigate it fully through local procedures before seeking federal relief. Rather, 26 because the constitutional injury alleged is the Town’s failure to provide adequate procedures to the Club, no such injury could have occurred where the Club has failed to take advantage of the procedures actually offered, at least not absent a showing that the process offered was “patently inadequate.” Id. Here, there is nothing in the record to suggest that the appeals process was inadequate, at least not once the confusion regarding to which administrative body the Club was supposed to appeal was resolved. Indeed, § 111 describes an appeals process in which the Board holds a prompt and open hearing, announces its resolution, and then provides for further appeal to the Mayor. The Club could have availed itself of this facially adequate postdeprivation process, presenting arguments about whether the condemnations were justified in light of the circumstances. But it did not. Instead, it abandoned its appeal and filed suit in the District Court. Having failed to take advantage of the available process, the Club has not demonstrated a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and thus cannot maintain a successful § 1983 action in federal court.