Opinion ID: 2107895
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: The Parking Area

Text: The board found that the proposed revised parking area, for which development plan review was obtained, was in the southwest corner of the parcel, the same general area where the board, in 1999, had decided that the hotel had accommodated parking since 1945. Therefore, the board concluded that locating parking in the southwest area of the property would not be a change of use. The trial justice found that the board erred because Cliff Walk's parking lot renovations violated § 17.72.030. We disagree. Shufelt testified that he wished to decrease the total number of spaces from 150 to 50, eliminate parking in the front of the building, and restrict parking to the southwest corner of the land. In his testimony before the board on Cohen's appeal, the zoning officer said that he believed that locating the parking in the southwest corner was proper based on what had been presented to him and based on the board's 1999 decision that found that the entire lawn area had been used for off-street parking. The board's 1999 decision concluded that that entire section of the parcel had been used for parking since 1945. Furthermore, even Cohen testified that the southwest area was paved and had been used for parking vehicles. Shufelt also testified that under the hotel's previous management, room guests and dining guests used the area for parking, and the facility also rented spaces to members of the public for beach parking during the summer months. Shufelt likewise testified that part of the area previously was paved. Based on the above testimony and previous facts found by the board in 1999, it is clear that the board's findings of fact were not clearly erroneous or affected by any error of law. There was ample evidence before the board for it to have concluded that Cliff Walk did not move, extend, or change the use of the parking area. Indeed, the fact that Cliff Walk decreased the available parking spaces and the number of hotel rooms supports the conclusion that Cliff Walk did not extend the use. Moreover, the fact that the southwest corner had been used historically for hotel and function parking since 1945 and was at least partially paved substantially buttresses the illation that the parking was not moved or extended to an area not previously designated for such use at the time it became nonconforming. See § 17.72.030B. Furthermore, the board did not err when it decided that Cliff Walk's relocation of the parking lot did not amount to a change of use under § 17.72.030C. In other words, it cannot be said that the previous use of the southwest corner of the parcel was substantially different from the proposed use. See Harmel Corp., 603 A.2d at 305-06. The record reveals that that area contained both lawn areas and partially paved areas where the hotel permitted guests and visitors to park their vehicles. Although the area was described as overflow and commercial parking, it nevertheless was used for parking, and it retained the same purpose and character as a parking area, and thus has remained a protected use. See Building Inspector of Seekonk v. Amaral, 9 Mass.App.Ct. 869, 401 N.E.2d 158, 159 (1980) (holding volume of cars in junkyard was not limited to volume existing when use became nonconforming, the increase being only a change in degree of use, but not in nature, purpose, or effect on the neighborhood). Furthermore, although Cliff Walk eliminated the fee-based parking spaces used by beachgoers, this did not amount to a change in use. In Harmel, this Court considered whether a change of use occurred when the defendant renovated a building that was formerly a private club and restaurant/banquet facility. Harmel Corp., 603 A.2d at 307. This Court held that the new business that eliminated the private club but continued to operate a restaurant/banquet facility was not substantially different from the former use; therefore, there was no change of use. Id. As in Harmel, Cliff Walk eliminated some aspect of its former operation, but it continued the principal use, transitioning from a private parking area with an additional public use during the summer to a solely private parking area. Because the private use was preexisting, Cliff Walk's elimination of the three-month beach parking is not a substantial difference that could rightly be characterized as a change of use. With respect to the layout of the parking area, including such details as the lighting, paving, and planting aspects, there has been no showing that these amenities violated the ordinance. [16] The fact that improved and more efficient or different instrumentalities are used in the operation of the use does not change the use when the nature and purpose of the use remains the same and the instrumentalities merely make the use available to the owners. New London v. Leskiewicz, 110 N.H. 462, 272 A.2d 856, 860 (1970) (remanding case for consideration whether renting camping spaces to trailers enlarged or changed the use of picnic and camping park); see also People v. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 261 A.D. 402, 404-05, 25 N.Y.S.2d 605 (1941) (removal of building formerly storing automobiles and subsequent clearing of land for parking automobiles is not a change in use). Adding new paving, providing for runoff, and installing lights and walkways are all related to Newport's safety and maintenance concerns as set forth in the ordinances pertaining to development plan review procedure. See § 17.88.010 (the intent [of development plan review] is to minimize traffic hazards and congestion; to provide a more healthful and esthetically pleasing environment; to guarantee the adequate provision of water, sewerage, police, fire and other public services, and to promote the overall public health, safety, and general welfare); § 17.88.040 (Improvements of the following type may be required by the city in the course of development plan review    A. Right-of-way improvements to include pavement widening, curb, gutter, sidewalks and street lights and F. Plantings    [to] protect public safety.). It seems clear to us that the city, through the zoning officer/review agent, required and approved the lights, pavement, and other details of the parking scheme as part of the development plan review procedure in order to maintain the parking area in a safe condition consistent with current standards imposed by the city. These improvements did not change the nature or purpose of the use, but rather made the parking area available to Cliff Walk to conform to current city standards; therefore, we do not believe these improvements changed the use or otherwise violated subsections B. and C. of § 17.72.030 of the ordinance. [17]