Opinion ID: 874121
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hawkins Has Standing to Petition for Judicial Review Under LLUPA

Text: There apparently was some confusion below about what is necessary to obtain standing to challenge a land-use decision in district court, and as a result, Hawkins devoted a considerable amount of his briefing to the issue. Standing is a preliminary question that the Court must resolve before reaching the case's merits. Capstar Radio Operating Co. v. Lawrence, 143 Idaho 704, 707, 152 P.3d 575, 578 (2007). We therefore shall address whether Hawkins had standing to petition for judicial review of the County's variance decision. To gain standing, LLUPA allows a person aggrieved by a final decision granting or denying a permit authorizing development to petition for judicial review pursuant to the IAPA after exhausting all available remedies. I.C. § 67-6521(1); Rollins v. Blaine Cnty., 147 Idaho 729, 731-32, 215 P.3d 449, 451-52 (2009). An affected person is one having an interest in real property which may be adversely affected by the issuance or denial of a permit authorizing the development. I.C. § 67-6521(1)(a). Since a variance is an appealable permit under LLUPA, the remaining dispute is whether Hawkins has an interest in real estate that may be adversely affected by the Board's decision. [1] Id. §§ 67-6516, -6521(1)(a). To have standing in a land-use case, the petitioner needs to allege, not prove, only that the development could potentially harm his or her real estate interests. Evans v. Teton Cnty., 139 Idaho 71, 76, 73 P.3d 84, 89 (2003). For instance in one case, this Court found that the petitioners had standing because it was possible that they might be able to smell a proposed wastewater treatment plant if it failed to comply with the conditions in a special-use permit. Davisco Foods Int'l, Inc. v. Gooding Cnty., 141 Idaho 784, 786-87, 118 P.3d 116, 118-19 (2005). The Court made this ruling even though the petitioners' home was over three miles away from the proposed site. Id. Hawkins has standing to file a petition for review. He fears that allowing the Meyers to construct new homes on their properties would cause the occupants to use the road on his land more frequently, potentially exceeding the scope of any preexisting easements and increasing the risk that someone could allow his livestock to escape through an open gate. He further fears that emergency vehicles might not be able to reach the Meyers' properties, potentially preventing them from combating a fire that could spread to Hawkins' land. The courts can therefore consider Hawkins' petition for judicial review.