Opinion ID: 1855387
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Conditional Use Application

Text: ¶ 41. The circuit court based its invalidation of the conditional use permit in part on its determination that Payne & Dolan's permit application was incomplete. Because both parties focus their arguments on the notice provisions of § 4.10, our analysis of the adequacy of the application will also center on that section of the ordinance. Section 4.10 provides in part: Application. Applications for a conditional use permit for a mineral extraction operation. . .shall be accompanied by [: . . .] a detailed description of all aspects of the proposed extraction operation; a list of equipment, machinery and structures which may be used; the source, quantity, and disposition of water to be used, if any; a legal description of the proposed site; a topographic map of the site and the area abutting the site, to the nearest public road right-of-way or a minimum distance of 300 feet on all sides of the site drawn at a minimum vertical contour interval of five (5) feet and showing all existing and proposed private access roads and the depth of all existing and proposed excavations; and a restoration plan. ¶ 42. The plaintiffs assert that Payne & Dolan's application was incomplete because it omitted the following: 1) a detailed description of all aspects of the operation; 2) the quantity of water to be used in the operation; 3) a topographic map showing the depth of existing and proposed excavations; and 4) a restoration plan. Payne & Dolan contends that its application described the operation with sufficient particularity, but does not dispute that at the time of submission, the application omitted the quantity of water to be used, a topographic map with proposed depths, and a restoration plan. [13] ¶ 43. Initially, we conclude that unless a zoning ordinance provides to the contrary, a court should measure the sufficiency of a conditional use application at the time that notice of the final public hearing is first given. [11] Such a rule ensures that interested individuals will have a meaningful opportunity to express informed opinions at the public hearings. Indeed, a contrary rule would create a damaging incentive for a conditional use permit seeker to withhold all controversial information from its application until during or after the public hearing. Such a perverse incentive would be diminished only slightly by requiring a complete application at the time of the public hearing, for even our ablest citizens would be hard pressed to digest and discuss in a single public hearing all of the debatable proposals in a given conditional use application. Requiring a complete application at the time that the last public hearing is noticed places no significant burden on conditional use applicants, and provides ample opportunity for interested citizens to inform themselves in preparation for the hearing. [12] [14] ¶ 44. Payne & Dolan's application describes with sufficient particularity those components of the quarrying operation which were actually set forth in the application at the time that the Town gave notice of the February 11, 1992, public hearing. We also note that § 4.10 expressly authorizes conditional use applicants to submit a restoration plan prior to the issuance of a conditional use permit. Thus, the application's lack of a restoration plan at the time of notice of the public hearing cannot form a basis for determining that the application was incomplete. ¶ 45. At the time that notice of the public hearing was given, the application lacked a description of the quantity of water to be used in the operation of the quarry. There is no ordinance provision authorizing later inclusion of the water consumption information. The information may be important to those residents located in the vicinity of the proposed quarry site. For example, the quarry's proposed use of groundwater carries the potential for diminished availability of well water in the surrounding area, depending on the amount of water consumed by the quarry. Information on the quantity of water to be used might also be relevant to the feasibility of the quarry's proposed methods of controlling water runoff. ¶ 46. The application also lacks a topographic map describing the proposed depths of the quarry. This information could be useful to interested citizens for several reasons. First, it would provide a description of the height hazard presented by the quarry. Second, the proposed depth of the excavation could have a bearing on the quarry's life span. Third, the environmental impact of the quarry could vary with the excavation's depth. As with the water consumption information, there is no ordinance provision authorizing later submission of the topographic map. [15] ¶ 47. We have determined that an application must be complete at the time that notice is given of the last public hearing, unless an ordinance expressly permits a later submission of information. Here, the conditional use application was incomplete because it did not contain information regarding the quantity of water to be used in the quarrying operation or the proposed depth of the quarry. There being no ordinance provision authorizing subsequent submission of either type of information, we conclude that the application was insufficient. ¶ 48. In summary, we conclude that the Town's zoning ordinance permits blasting and crushing as part of a mineral extraction operation. Accordingly, we disagree with that portion of the court of appeals' decision holding to the contrary. In addition, Payne & Dolan's proposed quarry did not violate the 30 families rule. However, because the Town failed to substantially comply with the zoning ordinance's notice provisions, and because Payne & Dolan's conditional use application was incomplete at the time that notice of the public hearing was first given, we conclude that the Town improperly granted the conditional use permit. Accordingly, we affirm on other grounds the court of appeals' invalidation of the conditional use permit. By the Court. The decision of the court of appeals is affirmed.