Opinion ID: 2362071
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Evidence of Hardship

Text: The petitioners first argued that the zoning board did not have before it any legally competent evidence that the applicants had no reasonable alternative to the enjoyment of the permitted use of lot Nos. 5 and 8 absent the relief sought, a condition required by § 45-24-41(d)(2) and § 706 E.2 of the zoning ordinance. The petitioners proposed that one reasonable alternative to the requested relief would be building an entire new house on lot No. 8, rather than expanding the existing unit 2 on a reconfigured lot No. 5. The applicants contended that given the close proximity of existing structures, the combined area of lot No. 5 and lot No. 8, the location of the stone walls, and the proximity of swamps and wetlands, the [applicants] would have no reasonable alternative to enjoy the legally permitted use of the two lots, to wit, to accommodate two single family dwelling units, without the relief requested. Both parties cited numerous cases of dimensional and use variances in support of their positions. All of those cases, however, were decided prior to the 1991 amendment (P.L.1991, ch. 307, § 1)to the zoning enabling legislation. The 1991 legislation established a new statutory requirement for obtaining a dimensional variance that effectively sounded the death knell for the old Viti doctrine that had allowed a property owner to obtain a dimensional variance simply by demonstrating an adverse impact amounting to more than a mere inconvenience. Sciacca v. Caruso, 769 A.2d 578, 583 (R.I.2001). Therefore, the cases cited by the parties as they relate to the burden of proof required to authorize the granting of a demensional variance, have been superseded now by the 1991 amendment. Id. The requirements for obtaining a dimensional variance are listed in § 45-24-41(c) and (d) and the analogous provisions of the zoning ordinance, § 706 D. E. Most pertinent in this case is § 45-24-41 (d)(2), which contains one of the requirements for obtaining a demensional variance and which has substantially the same language as § 706 E.2 of the zoning ordinance. Section 45-24-41(d)(2) provides in relevant part: The zoning board of review shall, in addition to the above standards [enumerated in subsection (c)], require that evidence is entered into the record of the proceedings showing that:    (2) in granting a dimensional variance, that the hardship suffered by the owner of the subject property if the dimensional variance is not granted amounts to more than a mere inconvenience, which means that there is no other reasonable alternative to enjoy a legally permitted beneficial use of one's property. The fact that a use may be more profitable or that a structure may be more valuable after the relief is granted is not grounds for relief. [9] Therefore, an applicant seeking a dimensional variance has the burden before the zoning board of showing that a factual basis appears in the record to support the proposition that there is no other reasonable alternative that would allow the applicant to enjoy a legally permitted beneficial use of the property. In the case at bar, there is no evidence in the record that a hardship existed or that the applicants had no reasonable alternative. For example, there is no evidence that the applicants could not have moved the existing structure onto lot No. 8 or built an entirely new house on lot No. 8 without a variance. Although the applicants' proposal was one that offered advantages over other possible plans, that fact alone did not establish that no reasonable alternative existed by which they could enjoy the legally permitted beneficial use of their property. In fact, the record failed to disclose any substantial evidence to support a finding of hardship by the zoning board. Therefore, in affirming the zoning board's grant of relief, the trial justice misapplied the law and made findings that were clearly wrong. For us to hold otherwise would be to allow zoning boards and applicants to evade the threshold showing of hardship that is required to obtain relief. Sciacca, 769 A.2d at 585.