Opinion ID: 876966
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: helena's duty to act:

Text: The District Court mandated that the conditional-use permit be issued to Diehl forthwith. It added some prohibitions regarding further actions on the permit by Helena, but in essence, the mandamus, prohibition, and declaratory judgment of the District Court are all in the order of mandamus directing Helena to issue the permit without further ado. In this the District Court erred, because in any event, the City Commission of Helena has the discretion under its ordinances to take one of three actions on the permit application: approve, deny or change. There is no power in our courts to control the discretion of a municipal body or officer by mandamus. Barnes v. Town of Belgrade (1974), 164 Mont. 467, 470, 524 P.2d 1112, and cases cited therein. An abuse of discretion by such a body or officer can be reviewed in proper cases in a proceedings for writ of review or certiorari. For example, Bryant, supra. Here the City Commission never got around to exercising its discretion regarding the conditional-use permit. Until that discretion is exercised, the right to act remains lodged in the City Commission, and no court may usurp the discretionary right of the City Commission to make one of the decisions provided by the ordinance on the Diehl application. We can however, compel the City Commission to act on the application, where a delay in the exercise of discretion appears to be arbitrary and capricious. Barnard v. McInerney (1973), 162 Mont. 309, 316, 511 P.2d 330, 343, and cases cited therein. The City Commission can be compelled to perform an act it is legally bound to perform. Erie v. State Highway Commission (1969), 154 Mont. 150, 153, 461 P.2d 207, 209. While the adoption of the moratorium and the processing of this appeal might be indications of the attitude of the City Commission with respect to the Diehl application, we cannot completely say on the record that if the City Commission exercises discretion, it would not grant the conditional-use permit, or that it would deny or change the recommendation of the Zoning Commission without explaining its reasons. The record shows all of the requisite hearings have been held, the proceedings before the Zoning Commission are concluded, and all that remains for final action on the Diehl application is the decision of the City Commission. It may be necessary for the Commission to have one additional hearing before taking final action, but it is certainly within our power to compel the City Commission to proceed with all reasonable dispatch to a decision on the Diehl application. Barnes, supra. Nothing we say here should be taken to indicate that we abrogate or relinquish in the slightest the role of judicial review and authority in matters such as the case under consideration. See the opinion and dissenting opinion in Lowe v. City of Missoula (1974), 165 Mont. 38, 525 P.2d 551.