Opinion ID: 2595544
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the board employed the proper standard of review when it considered the archibalds' appeal of the p & z's decision

Text: Jerome Cheese argues that Gooding County's zoning ordinance requires the Board to exercise an appellate-type review of the P & Z's decisions and, consequently, the Board should not have reviewed the Archibalds' appeal de novo. According to Jerome Cheese, the Board should have given more deference to the P & Z's decision, pointing to the language of the Ordinance which states that, [t]he Board shall consider such finding[s], reports, minutes of the Commission's meeting and hearing, comments and recommendations as are forwarded to them by the Commission.
This Court reviews agency determinations independently of a district court's intermediate appellate decision. Evans v. Teton County, 139 Idaho 71, 74, 73 P.3d 84, 87 (2003). An affected person may appeal a local land use decision pursuant to the judicial review provisions of Idaho's Administrative Procedure Act (IAPA). Idaho Code § 67-6521(1)(d) (2001). This Court must affirm a decision of the Board of Commissioners unless it determines that the Board's findings, inferences, conclusions or decisions: 1) violated constitutional or statutory provisions; 2) exceeded its statutory authority; 3) were made upon unlawful procedure; 4) were not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole; or 5) were arbitrary, capricious or an abuse of discretion. Idaho Code § 67-5279(3) (2001). There is a strong presumption that the actions of the Board of Commissioners, where it has interpreted and applied its own zoning ordinances, are valid. Evans, 139 Idaho at 74, 73 P.3d at 87. The Board interpreted its Ordinance to give it the authority to conduct a de novo review of the P & Z's decision. That interpretation is entitled to a presumption of validity.
Gooding County Zoning Ordinance, Article X, Section A discusses special uses, stating that: The allowance of a special use permit is discretionary with the Commission and may be granted only in the best interest of the general public. . . . The Commission may approve, conditionally approve or deny a special use permit under the conditions as herein specified and considering such additional safeguards as will uphold the intent of this Ordinance. Section K of the Ordinance discusses the process of appealing a P & Z decision to the Board. That Section states that: Fifteen (15) days after the appeal has been filed, the Board shall set a hearing date to consider the appeal. During the hearing, County staff may be available to present an application and answer questions. The Board shall consider such finding, reports, minutes of the Commission's meeting and hearing, comments and recommendations as are forwarded to them by the Commission. The Board may uphold, uphold with conditions, or overrule the Commission. The Board shall only overrule the Commission by a favorable vote of a majority of the full Board. The Board's review of a P & Z decision is confined to a review of the record created before the P & Z. However, record-review is not dispositive as to the level of deference the Board is required to give to the P & Z's decision. In South Fork Coalition v. Bd. of Comm'rs of Bonneville County, 117 Idaho 857, 860, 792 P.2d 882, 885 (1990), the Court stated that there is a strong presumption favoring the validity of the actions of zoning boards, and we have upheld the validity of their actions whenever they are free from capriciousness, arbitrariness or discrimination. Id. (citing Ready-to-Pour, Inc. v. McCoy, 95 Idaho 510, 511 P.2d 792 (1973)). Gooding County's zoning ordinance does not explicitly state the standard of review to be employed by the Board when it reviews P & Z decisions. The Board has interpreted its Ordinance as allowing it to engage in de novo review of an appeal from a P & Z decision. The Board's interpretation of the Ordinance is reasonable considering the manner in which the review process works. For example, the Ordinance permits the Board to uphold, uphold with conditions, or overrule the Commission. If the Board upholds a P & Z decision with additional conditions imposed on the permit, the Board is in fact granting a different special use permit than was approved by the P & Z. The Board's decision is not remanded to the P & Z for approval. The Board is the final issuer of the permit. Additionally, when the P & Z denies a permit, and the Board overrules the P & Z's denial, the permit is granted by the Board. The matter is not remanded to the P & Z for approval. The Board is the final issuer of the permit. The Board's de novo review of the Archibalds' appeal from the P & Z's decision was proper.