Opinion ID: 2286324
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Standing of the Commission

Text: HRM's objection to the standing of the Commission in the Circuit Court stems from this Court's pronouncements in McKinney, supra, a case, as we shall see, that has a dual significance in this appeal. In McKinney, the Baltimore City Board of Zoning Appeals denied an application for a permit to build a service station because the station would be located within 300 feet of a building or structure used as a church, which the zoning law prohibited. The church in question was located in the front room of a building that also contained a number of residential apartments. After the board made its decision, but before written confirmation of it was mailed to the parties, the applicant leased the building in which the church was located and evicted the church. He then asked the board to reconsider its denial of the application, asserting that the impediment no longer existed. In fact, the impediment remained, as the church rented space in a loft across the street and was still within 300 feet of the proposed service station. The board, with new members, nonetheless, did reconsider its action and, reversing its earlier view, concluded that neither building was a building or structure used as a church, within the meaning of the zoning ordinance, and therefore entered an order approving the application. The pastor of the church, McKinney, sought judicial review, naming as defendants the board and the building engineer. The applicant was permitted to intervene. After an evidentiary hearing, which was permitted under the then-current statute, the court reversed the board's decision, holding (1) that the buildings did constitute buildings used as a church, in that the religious use was not required to be an exclusive one, and (2) that the board had no authority to reopen the matter after having finally decided the issue. The board, which, as noted, was a named party in the Circuit Court, noted an appeal to this Court. McKinney moved to dismiss that appeal on the ground that the statute allowed only a party aggrieved by the court's judgment to appeal and that the board could not be aggrieved by the reversal of its decision. The only person aggrieved, he argued, was the applicant, who had not joined the appeal. This Court found merit in that motion and dismissed the appeal. Although noting that the board exercised both quasijudicial and legislative functions, we concluded that its principal duties were to hear and decide appeals from decisions of the building engineer and determine whether to grant special exceptions and variances. After examining the laws governing its jurisdiction and operation, we concluded that the board has no executive duties, it formulates no policies, its function is merely to find facts, to apply to those facts rules of law prescribed by the Legislature, and to announce the result, and that, accordingly, [i]t has no interest, personal or official, in the matters which come before it other than to decide them according to the law and the proved fact, and it is in no sense a party to such proceedings. McKinney, supra, 174 Md. at 560-61, 199 A. at 544. We observed that there were some administrative agencies, such as the Public Service Commission and the former State Tax Commission, the functions of which are so identified with the execution of some definite public policy as the representative of the State, that their participation in litigation affecting their decisions is regarded by the Legislature as essential to the adequate protection of the State's interests, but that, in those instances, the Legislature, by clear and unmistakable language, had conferred on them the right and duty to take part in such litigation. Id. at 561, 199 A. at 545. The zoning board, we held, was not such an agency, as no provision existed in the legislation authorizing it to defend its own decisions on appeal or to take part in litigation concerning them. Id. at 561-62, 199 A. at 545. It had no more right to appeal than a justice of the peace or Worker's Compensation Commission would have to appeal from the reversal of one of its decisions. The holding in McKinney, and its conceptual underpinning, held sway in this Court for more than 40 years, being confirmed in numerous cases. See, for example, Roeder v. Brown, 192 Md. 639, 65 A.2d 333 (1949); Md. Pharmacy Board v. Peco, 234 Md. 200, 198 A.2d 273 (1964); Subsequent Injury Fund v. Pack, 250 Md. 306, 242 A.2d 506 (1968); Bd. of Ex. of Landscape, Arch. v. McWilliams, 270 Md. 383, 311 A.2d 792 (1973); Maryland Board v. Armacost, 286 Md. 353, 407 A.2d 1148 (1979); see also Insurance Comm'r v. Allstate Ins., 268 Md. 428, 302 A.2d 200 (1973); Real Estate Comm'n v. Tyler, 268 Md. 641, 303 A.2d 778 (1973). In more recent times, however, both this Court and the General Assembly have significantly constrained that doctrine. As we pointed out in Consumer Protection v. Consumer Pub., 304 Md. 731, 743, 501 A.2d 48, 54 (1985), the McKinney doctrine had never been applied to governing bodies or constitutional officers in the Executive Branch of the State Government, and, in that case, we declined to apply it to the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office, notwithstanding the lack of any specific statutory authority for the Division to appeal from a reversal or modification of its decision by a trial court. We concluded, in that regard, that the Consumer Protection Division, though clearly exercising quasi-judicial, adjudicative functions, was not the kind of nonadversarial, quasi-judicial agency contemplated by McKinney, Peco and their progeny. Consumer Protection, 304 Md. at 744, 501 A.2d at 55. The Division, we said, exercised a broad range of functions that were closely identified with the execution of public policy, and [w]ith its many different functions, its mandate to protect consumers and its role as a representative of the interests of the State, the Division is not the type of agency to which the rationale of McKinney applies. Id. at 746, 501 A.2d at 56. It had a strong interest in the outcome of its case and was therefore aggrieved by the reversal of its order. The criterion enunciated in Consumer Protection, though not conceptually different from that stated in McKinney, clearly constituted a refocusing on how the McKinney doctrine would be applied. In McKinney, we noted that the zoning board did have quasi-legislative functions and was charged with studying the zoning laws and municipal development in Baltimore City and making recommendations for changes in the laws. Our view was that those broader functions were essentially subservient to the board's principal function of deciding appeals, special exceptions, and variances, which we treated as more or less exclusively quasi-judicial. The Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General's Office also performed quasi-judicial functions, and, indeed, the order at issue was entered after a contested case hearing and had a quasi-judicial quality to it. We looked, however, at the broader mission of the agency as one of implementing legislative public policy and regarded that as more important than whether the implementation happened to be in the form of a quasi-judicial determination. As noted, our holding was not based on any specific statutory authority to appeal, as alluded to in McKinney, but rather that, with the various policy functions performed by the Division, it was not the type of agency to which the rationale of McKinney applies. Consumer Protection, 304 Md. at 746, 501 A.2d at 56. That shift in focus is now well-established. In Department v. Bo Peep, 317 Md. 573, 565 A.2d 1015 (1989), cert. denied, Cassilly v. Maryland Dep't of Human Resources, 494 U.S. 1067, 110 S.Ct. 1784, 108 L.Ed.2d 786 (1990), we applied the reasoning of Consumer Protection to the child care licensing function of the State Department of Human Resources and found standing on the Department's part to appeal the vacation of its decision to revoke Bo Peep's day care license. The role of the Department in that regard, we held, was not a passive one of quasi-judicial adjudication, but is an active one of policy formulation and protection of children. Id. at 586, 565 A.2d at 1021. In Real Estate Comm'n v. Johnson, 320 Md. 91, 576 A.2d 760 (1990), we held that the State Real Estate Commission had standing under the Consumer Protection analysis to appeal the reversal of its decision denying claims against the Real Estate Guaranty Fund. We confirmed that, absent statutory authority, zoning boards have no interest in the outcome of their decisions but held that the Real Estate Commission, charged with administering the Guaranty Fund, is aggrieved by a reversal of its decision on claims against the Fund. We noted as well the rule-making authority of the Commission and its authority to investigate complaints and punish its licensees. In Board v. Haberlin, 320 Md. 399, 404, 578 A.2d 215, 217 (1990), involving an appeal by a county liquor license board from the reversal of its decision to grant an application for the transfer of a beer and wine license, we questioned whether cases strictly applying the McKinney doctrine remain viable in light of our recent cases, although, because there was another party to the appeal with clear standing, we did not need to decide that issue. In Maryland Racing Com'n v. Castrenze, 335 Md. 284, 643 A.2d 412 (1994), the Racing Commission disqualified a winning horse on the ground that the trainer was ineligible, because of a suspension in Delaware, to enter the horse. Applying broadly the principles stated in Consumer Protection, we found standing on the part of the Commission to appeal from a judgment reversing that ruling. After iterating that the McKinney doctrine does not apply to all agencies or to all adjudicative administrative proceedings, we confirmed again that under the general statutory authorizations for appeal, agencies are entitled to appeal from adverse circuit court judgments where the functions of the agencies `are so identified with the execution of some definite public policy as the representative of the State, that their participation in litigation affecting their decisions is regarded by the Legislature as essential to the adequate protection of the State's interests.' Id. at 294, 643 A.2d at 416 (quoting Consumer Protection v. Consumer Pub., supra, 304 Md. at 743, 501 A.2d at 54). That approach was followed as well in Board of Liquor v. Hollywood, 344 Md. 2, 684 A.2d 837 (1996), where we overruled Liquor License Board v. Leone, 249 Md. 263, 239 A.2d 82 (1968) (holding that a county liquor license board had no standing to appeal the reversal of its decision) and found standing to appeal. We could have based our decision in Hollywood solely on a change in the statute dealing with appeals from Circuit Court judgments in liquor board cases ( id. at 7-8, 684 A.2d at 840), but we noted as well that the common law underpinnings of Leone and McKinney had evolved and were now of more limited application. Id. at 8, 684 A.2d 837, 684 A.2d at 840. Under the current approach, we said, we consider characteristics such as the authority to adopt rules, investigate complaints, prosecute violators, and issue orders in furtherance of the public interest in determining whether the McKinney limitation on the right to appeal is applicable to an agency. Id. See also Carroll County v. Lennon, 119 Md.App. 49, 703 A.2d 1338 (1998) (county ethics commission had standing to appeal trial court decision reversing ruling that appellee violated county ethics ordinance). This more recent case law recognizes that the principal function of many administrative agencies goes beyond merely resolving disputes in which they have no independent interest and that their contested case adjudicatory function is but one mechanism for carrying out their general responsibility to implement broader legislative policy. The decision in a contested case can often have a significant impact on the ability of the agency to implement that legislative policy and, indeed, on the substance of the policy itself. Although the fundamental precept of McKinney has never been expressly overruled, the point of the recent case law is that, when the agency's decision does or can have significance in terms of the agency's broader responsibilities, the confining limitations of McKinney are not applicable. In such a case, the agency must be free to intervene in judicial review actions and contest in the appellate courts judgments that may hamper it from effectively implementing the policies ordained by the Legislature. [1] With this backdrop, we look to the functions of the Calvert County Planning Commission which, as noted, was created pursuant to Article 66B of the Maryland Code and has the powers and duties set forth therein. Section 3.05 of Art. 66B makes it the function and duty of the Commission to develop an overall plan to serve as a guide to the development of public and private property. The plan is to contain a statement of goals and policies for the development and economic and social wellbeing of the county as well as specific land use, transportation, community facilities, and mineral resource plans. The Commission is to recommend as well zoning boundary lines. Section 3.06 provides that the plan shall be made for the general purpose of guiding coordinated and harmonious development that will best promote health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and efficiency, including, among other things, provisions for traffic, public safety, light and air, conservation of natural resources, prevention of environmental pollution, and public utilities. [2] Apart from their planning responsibilities, planning commissions are given substantial control over the subdivision of land within the county. Section 5.03 directs planning commissions to recommend to the local legislative body regulations governing the subdivision of land within the county. Those proposed regulations are to include provisions for shore erosion control, sediment control, arrangement of streets, placement of public school sites and open spaces for traffic, utilities, fire-fighting apparatus, and recreation, light and air, avoidance of population congestion, and minimum lot widths and areas. Section 5.02 of Article 66B provides that, if the county has adopted and certified the transportation element of the commission's plan, a plat of subdivision may not be filed or recorded until the commission, or its authorized designee, approves the plat. Approval of a subdivision plat constitutes an amendment to and part of the plan. § 5.04. It is evident from these provisions that planning commissions do far more than act as neutral arbiters of disputes in which they have no independent interest. They have been charged by the General Assembly and by their respective local legislative bodies with implementing important public policywith guiding the economic development and public welfare of the county. The approval of subdivision plats is a significant part of that responsibility and involves much more than a dispute between neighboring landowners. In deciding whether to approve a proposed subdivision, the commission must consider whether it conforms to the overall plan and meets both the substantive and procedural requirements established by law. That is unquestionably a function that is so identified with the execution of some definite public policy as the representative of the State, that their participation in litigation affecting their decision is regarded by the Legislature as essential to the adequate protection of the State's interests. Consumer Protection, supra, 304 Md. at 743, 501 A.2d at 54 (quoting McKinney, 174 Md. at 561, 199 A. at 545). For this reason, we agree with the Court of Special Appeals that the Commission had proper standing in the Circuit Court. The Commission concluded that the resubdivision of Recreation Area B was not in conformance with the substantive and procedural requirements of the law; if a court were to overturn that decision, the Commission's ability to perform its legislatively-mandated role could be adversely impacted.