Opinion ID: 731244
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Alternative Rationales for the Decision

Text: 126 In summary, I believe that the evidence relied on by the district court is sufficient to support a finding that discrimination was a motivating factor in the decision not to rezone or otherwise accommodate Mortenview. Therefore, the burden shifts to the city to show that it would have reached the same decision absent any discriminatory motive. 127 The reasons provided by Taylor are entirely unconvincing. First, Taylor abandoned its argument that it was simply following the dictates of its ordinances, and admitted that it would have denied the petition even if Mortenview were non-profit and complied with the zoning ordinances. Second, Taylor relies on its concerns about density. However, as noted above, the city's density concerns are equally implicated by any large group of people living together. There is nothing especially dense about an AFC facility. Yet, Taylor would not have made the same decision if a group of non-disabled people had decided to live together. Thus, density would not have led the city to the same decision absent discrimination. 128 The majority argues that the city would have made the same decision due to its concerns about spot zoning. It is true that the city was reluctant to spot zone any property because it feared losing control over future uses of the property. Taylor II, 872 F.Supp. at 441. Thus, the district court concluded that rezoning was not a reasonable accommodation. Id. However, the city's concerns about spot zoning fail to explain the city's failure to accommodate Mortenview in other ways. As the majority recognizes, the city had many ways to accommodate Mortenview without spot zoning. For example, the city could have simply amended its zoning ordinance to create an exception for AFC facilities. In this way, the city could have accommodated Mortenview without losing control over the property. 2 129 Because I believe that the evidence supports the district court's conclusion that a discriminatory animus was a motivating factor in the city's decision not to rezone or otherwise accommodate Mortenview, and that the evidence does not support the conclusion that the city would have reached the same conclusion absent that discriminatory animus, I would affirm the finding of the district court as to intentional discrimination.