Opinion ID: 2361192
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Missing Documents

Text: The second complaint, which is pursued in this Court by only one of the petitionersMr. Senecalis that the District Council should have remanded the two matters to the Zoning Hearing Examiner because two documentsthe Basic Plan and Northpeak's Traffic Studywere not in the Examiner's file during the 30-day period preceding the hearing before the Examiner. We shall recite the relevant facts underlying the argument but, in the end, conclude that, in this case, it is essentially a tempest in a teapot. As we indicated, § 27-187 of the county zoning law requires that (1) at least 30 days prior to the public hearing before the Zoning Hearing Examiner, the Planning Board send the original copy of the application, plans, maps, specifications, Technical Staff Report, and all other data, materials, and record evidence pertaining to the proposed zoning map amendment to the District Council, and (2) at least 30 days before the hearing the original map amendment application file be available for public examination in the office of the Zoning Hearing Examiner and a copy of the file be available for public examination in the office of the Planning Board. As noted, the hearing before the Zoning Hearing Examiner was scheduled for, and actually commenced on, March 2, 1994. The Planning Board had not yet held its hearing and, apparently, did not send to the District Council (or the Zoning Hearing Examiner) the two documents in question, as the ordinance requires. The problem surfaced initially at the March 2 hearing when, through various witnesses, a number of documents, including the Basic Plan map, were identified and offered into evidence. The Examiner asked whether Northpeak had any amendments to its Basic Plan, to which counsel indicated that it had one. He offered the original and the amended Basic Plan but said that he had only one copy of the amended plan. The Examiner directed Northpeak's attorney to give one copy of the plan to Mr. Dernoga, which apparently he did, and another copy to the representative of the City of Bowie. The gentleman from Bowie said that a copy of the Basic Plan map, showing everything but a minor change, was attached to a memorandum from the Bowie City Manager, which had just been admitted as Exhibit J-4(c). The hearing then adjourned until March 17, the Examiner informing everyone that they could come to his office any time during business hours and look at the files. When the hearing resumed on March 17, the Planning Board Resolutions were admitted into evidence. As Northpeak's attorney began to examine the witness who prepared the Basic Plan, the Zoning Hearing Examiner noted that a copy of the plan text was not then in his file. [7] Some members of the audience indicated that they had copies of the plan, although others apparently did not. Mr. Dernoga noted that the absence of the plan from the Zoning Hearing Examiner's file might be a violation of the ordinance and said that he intended, during a recess, to check the ordinance as to whether that's a problem. If it were, he said, he might then maybe raise the point a little more strenuously at that point. He had no objection to proceeding, however, and, accordingly, copies of the Basic Plan text and the Basic Plan map were admitted into evidence. In fact, Mr. Dernoga raised the issue twice more. The first time, he objected to inclusion of the Basic Plan, which was already in evidence, on the ground that it was not in the record properly.... That objection was overruled. The second time, when the Traffic Study was offered, his complaint went to both the Basic Plan and the Traffic Study, which, he correctly noted, were supposed to be in the Examiner's file at least 30 days before the hearing. Though regarding his objection as a technical one, he nonetheless complained that neither document was in the file until that day. Counsel for Northpeak responded that sufficient copies of both documents had been supplied to the Planning Boardthat [t]hrough some oversight, they may not have gotten into your file, but the applicant submitted them and they were certainly available to the public ... through the Park and Planning Commission at all times as defined in this application. Mrs. Senecal, the wife of one of the petitioners, then informed the Examiner that her husband had called the County about the Basic Plan and was told that it was not in the file for either No. A-9900 or A-9901. The Examiner said that he would allow testimony on that point later. In fact, Mr. Senecal testified at the March 21 hearing that he had called the Zoning Hearing Examiner's Office on March 10, spoken with a woman whose name he could not recall, and was told that she had the file in front of her [and] didn't see anything that she thought would really show me the plan of development for this property. Mr. Senecal conceded that he did not come himself to the Examiner's office to examine the file; he was not asked and did not volunteer whether he made any other attempt to see or obtain the plan or whether or how he was prejudiced by its omission from the Examiner's file. He presented his objections to the plan, as other protestants had done, and then said nothing more. To put this issue in its proper perspective, we accept the unchallenged statements made before the circuit court and in the parties' respective briefs that (1) the original copy of the Basic Plan text was not in the Zoning Hearing Examiner's file prior to March 17, as required by § 27-187; (2) it, along with all other relevant documents, was in the Planning Board's file and could have been accessed there; (3) Northpeak did everything required of it; (4) the problem arose from the Planning Board's failure to comply with its obligation to forward the Basic Plan and the Traffic Study to the District Council within the time specifieda problem that may have resulted from the fact that the Planning Board did not hold its hearing until March 10, 1994; (5) petitioner Colao was given a copy of the Basic Plan text on or about February 25, 1994, and he gave it to Mr. Dernoga, who had it by March 2; (6) at that time, Mr. Senecal was not being represented by Mr. Dernoga; and (7) Mr. Senecal is the only petitioner now challenging the improper procedure. From all of this, the issue, now being raised only by Mr. Senecal, is whether, on this record, the circuit court erred in summarily concluding that the District Council was not required to remand the two matters to the Examiner for some further proceeding because the original copy of the Basic Plan and Traffic Study was not sent to the District Council at least 30 days prior to March 21, 1994 and were not available for public examination in the Zoning Hearing Examiner's file during that 30-day period. The Court of Special Appeals found no error on the ground that there was utterly no prejudice to Mr. Senecal from the violation of the ordinance, and we shall affirm on that basis. Apart from the fact that § 27-187 also requires that copies of the documents be made available by the Planning Board and they were, in fact, available at the Planning Board, a copy of the revised Basic Plan map was apparently in the Zoning Hearing Examiner's file by March 10, when Mr. Senecal called. It had been placed into evidence as part of the Bowie City Manager's memorandum. Mr. Dernoga had been in possession of the Basic Plan text since late February, and, although he points out now that Mr. Senecal cannot be charged with that fact because he was not then being represented by Mr. Dernoga, we note that, at no time during the hearings before the Zoning Hearing Examiner did Mr. Senecal object to proceeding because of any missing documents. If, in his unrepresented status, Mr. Senecal cannot be charged with Mr. Dernoga's possession of the plan, neither can he claim the benefit of Mr. Dernoga's objections. We do not condone the manner in which these proceedings were conducted. In order to meet the arbitrary deadline set by the County Council, the orderly process envisioned by the County Code was virtually ignored, and all of the participants, including the Zoning Hearing Examiner, were put under a great deal of pressure. Had the March 2 hearing not been cut short by bad weather, thereby forcing additional hearings on March 17 and 21, some very serious procedural problems would have arisen. That said, however, it is clear that the omission complained of was of no consequence and certainly did not prejudice Mr. Senecal. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS AFFIRMED; PETITIONERS TO PAY THE COSTS.