Opinion ID: 169057
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Land-Use Regulations

Text: 2 In 2002 the Reinharts, who were interested in creating a subdivision of affordable one-acre lots in Lincoln County, Wyoming, attempted to develop property near Etna (a community within the County) but were unable to obtain approval from the town's water board. Sometime between 2002 and 2004 they notified Defendants of their intent to subdivide land near a subdivision that they had previously developed. The Reinharts assert that the County's comprehensive plan at the time would have permitted a subdivision with lots having an average size of one acre. It appears that the Reinharts did not intend to build homes on the lots in their proposed subdivision, but rather to sell individual lots. 3 On April 14, 2004, Lincoln County commissioners, allegedly aware of the Reinharts' plan for a subdivision, adopted an emergency moratorium on land-use permits in unincorporated portions of the County, purportedly because of unprecedented growth in the area. While the moratorium was in effect, Defendants developed a new comprehensive plan and land-use regulations. On January 4, 2005, they adopted the new plan, and on May 4 they adopted new regulations and lifted the moratorium. Amended versions of the plan and regulations were adopted on July 6, 2005. 4 According to the Reinharts, the new regulations divide most of north Lincoln County into (1) mixed-use zones, accounting for roughly 10% of the area, which permit high-density housing and commercial and industrial uses, and (2) rural zones, accounting for roughly 90% of the area, which permit residential development of five-acre lots. (Three other zoning categories used in the County—recreational zones, industrial zones, and public zones— are not at issue in this litigation.) The Reinharts contend that neither the mixed-use nor the rural zones are suitable for affordable housing. The as-yet undeveloped areas in mixed-use zones, they say, are small and located near highways but far from services, which means that providing services would be too expensive for affordable housing. On the other hand, the rural zones are allegedly unsuitable because of the high minimum-lot-size requirement. In addition, they assert that affordable housing is further hampered by the requirements in the new regulations of costly developer improvements, such as enhanced septic systems—allegedly twice as expensive as those required by state and federal agencies—and paved roads. 5 Although the Reinharts repeatedly refer to their development plans as focused on develop[ing] affordable lots, Aplt. Br. at 6, for affordable housing, id. at 7, they do not contend that the lots they seek to sell, or the homes that would ultimately be built upon them, would qualify as affordable under regulations of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under these regulations, housing is affordable only if it is acquired by a family whose annual income does not exceed 80% of the median income for the area. See 24 C.F.R. §§ 92.2 (definition of low-income families), 92.252 (affordable housing for lease must be rented by low-income families), 92.254(a)(3) (affordable housing for sale must be purchased by low-income families). The Reinharts assert that the 2005 median family income for Lincoln County was $54,000, which means that affordable housing in the County would have to be acquired by a family with an income below $43,201.