Opinion ID: 1651662
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the City of Ridgeland violated its ordinance's Maximum Building Height dimensional requirement.

Text: ¶ 39. The Protestants argue that the October 10, 2007, Ordinance betrayed Ridgeland's residential residents and constituted arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable actions in violation of the ordinances and statutory and common law. The Protestants state that, at the time the City of Ridgeland was reviewing the Developers' petition, seventy-two of the seventy-three commercial or office buildings located on or adjacent to Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland city limits were four stories or less. The Protestants argue that the City allowed the subjective desire of the Developers/appellees to override the objective, established protective zoning ordinances that had heretofore allowed commercial uses and residential uses to peacefully coexist. ¶ 40. First, as explained above, the Developers' petition, as amended, sought a conditional use permit to build an office building within a C-4 district in excess of the usual height limitation of forty-eight feet or four stories set out in Ridgeland's Zoning Ordinance. As also explained above, Section 440.03 of Ridgeland's Ordinance specially allows conditional use permits for the construction of buildings in excess of forty-eight feet or four stories. Id. at 3. ¶ 41. Second, the record reveals that the petition was supported by evidence that the 200 Renaissance building would benefit the City and would not adversely affect adjacent landowners. At the hearings before both the Zoning Board and the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the Developers presented expert testimony regarding the building's architecture, the building's placement and its effect on homeowner privacy, the economic benefits the building would have on the City, the effect the building would have on residential property values, and the effect the building would have on traffic. The Developers also presented studies prepared by their experts and other supporting documents. At the hearing before the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, comments from residents both for and against the petition were heard, recommendations from City personnel responsible for interpreting and administering Ridgeland's Ordinance were heard, and arguments from both parties' lawyers, as well as the City's counsel, were heard. In addition, the Mayor and Board of Aldermen were informed that the owners of properties adjacent to the subject property supported the conditional use to allow construction of the 200 Renaissance building to a height of thirteen stories. As explained above, the Mayor then approved the October 10, 2007, Ordinance, which sets forth specific findings as to why the conditional use permit was warranted and appropriate. ¶ 42. Therefore, the City of Ridgeland's decision to approve the Developers' request for a conditional use permit regarding the height of the 200 Renaissance building was not arbitrary or capricious and was supported by substantial evidence. ¶ 43. As already noted, we will not address the Protestants' arguments alleging that the City acted arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably in granting the variance regarding the setback requirement, because the Protestants do not have standing to challenge the setback variance. Further, the Protestants are in error to the extent that they intermingle and confuse the zoning action of granting a conditional use permit (special exception) with the zoning action of granting a variance, as the requirements for the granting of these two separate zoning actions differ significantly.