Court Opinion

ID: 9580040
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:01:18.89262+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:35:59.693704
License: Public Domain

Dore, J.
(dissenting)—The separation of powers doctrine is a cornerstone of American jurisprudence. That which has been left to the Legislature should not be usurped by the judiciary. Unfortunately, the majority opinion, by rezoning the parcel of land owned by Valley View from agricultural to light industry use, does precisely that. Rezoning large parcels of property has always been a legislative, rather than a judicial function, and the majority's refusal to follow this time-honored tradition is incorrect and unconstitutional.
I would hold that Valley View has vested rights in the five buildings for which it has filed building permits, because of the unwarranted interference of the Redmond planning officials in processing such permits. However, Valley View admittedly did not file building permits for the other seven buildings in the site review plan, as it had failed to locate tenants which were essential to obtain financing to justify the preparation and filing of seven additional building permit applications. As the City of Redmond cannot interfere or obstruct the processing of building permits which were never completed or filed, Valley View cannot under our present case law obtain vested rights for these structures. The majority by allowing construction of the seven buildings, which Valley View has yet to file building permits for, overrules the following cases that have previously held that vesting rights can only be established by filing for building permits. State ex rel. Ogden v. Bellevue, 45 Wn.2d 492, 275 P.2d 899 (1954); Hull v. Hunt, 53 Wn.2d 125, 331 P.2d 856 (1958); Parkridge v. Seattle, 89 Wn.2d 454, 573 P.2d 359 (1978); Mercer Enters. v. Bremerton, 93 Wn.2d 624, 611 P.2d 1237 (1980); Norco Constr., Inc. v. King Cy., 97 Wn.2d 680, 649 P.2d 103 *655(1982). I therefore dissent.
Vesting of the First Five Building Permits
The State of Washington presently has one of the most liberal vested rights doctrines in the nation. The requirements of the Washington doctrine are that (1) the applicant file a building permit application (2) which complies with the existing zoning ordinance and building codes and (3) is filed during the effective period of the zoning ordinances under which the applicant seeks to develop, and (4) is sufficiently complete. West Main Assocs. v. Bellevue, 106 Wn.2d 47, 50-51, 720 P.2d 782 (1986). The doctrine in Washington thus provides that an applicant for a building permit has a vested right to have the application processed under the zoning regulations in effect at the time the building permit application is filed.
In contrast to the Washington rule, the majority of jurisdictions hold that even the issuance of a building permit is insufficient to establish a vested right entitling the applicant to a nonconforming use. The applicant, in addition to obtaining a building permit, also must establish a substantial expenditure or change in position in reliance on the issued building permit to effectuate a vested right. See 1 R. Anderson, Zoning §§ 6.24, 6.25 (2d ed. 1976); Comment, Washington's Zoning Vested Rights Doctrine, 57 Wash. L. Rev. 139 (1981).
An applicant in Washington on the other hand need not show a "change in position"; the applicant need only file a sufficiently complete building permit application to vest his right to have his application processed under the existing zoning regulations. Allenbach v. Tukwila, 101 Wn.2d 193, 676 P.2d 473 (1984). The rationale for Washington's "date of application" vested rights rule is best enunciated in Hull v. Hunt, 53 Wn.2d 125, 130, 331 P.2d 856 (1958) as follows:
Notwithstanding the weight of authority, we prefer to have a date certain upon which the right vests to construct in accordance with the building permit. We prefer not to adopt a rule which forces the court to search through (to quote from State ex rel. Ogden v. Bellevue, *656supra,) "the moves and countermoves of . . . parties . . . by way of passing ordinances and bringing actions for injunctions"—to which may be added the stalling or acceleration of administrative action in the issuance of permits—to find that date upon which the substantial change of position is made which finally vests the right. The more practical rule to administer, we feel, is that the right vests when the party, property owner or not, applies for his building permit, if that permit is thereafter issued. This rule, of course, assumes that the permit applied for and granted be consistent with the zoning ordinances and building codes in force at the time of application for the permit.
The court concluded that the extensive expense incurred in securing building permits justifies a presumption that developers will not speculate in the enhanced values of land for which building permits have been hurriedly obtained prior to a zoning change. Hull, at 130. Thus, Washington's bright line vesting rule presumes the developer has acted in good faith by incurring the substantial costs of filing a complete building permit.
The right to have a complete building permit processed under the zoning ordinances in effect at the time of application is chiefly derived from the doctrine of equitable estoppel and due process concerns of fundamental fairness. Although the court will not scrutinize the moves and coun-termoves of the parties nor inquire into the extent of expenditure of moneys, the doctrine prohibits a municipality from repudiating its prior conduct when a developer has expended the necessary funds to complete a building permit application. At this stage in the development process, notions of fundamental fairness require that the rules which govern the development be "fixed" and not subject to the "fluctuating policy" of the Legislature. West Main Assocs., at 51.
Filing a complete building permit application is the operative act that converts the developer's mere expectation of no zoning change into the vested right to have the application considered under the existing zoning, despite a *657subsequent effective zoning change.
[T]he right vests when the party, property owner or not, applies for his building permit, if that permit is thereafter issued. This rule, of course, assumes that the permit applied for and granted be consistent with the zoning ordinances and building codes in force at the time of application for the permit.
Hull, at 130. See also Mayer Built Homes, Inc. v. Steila-coom, 17 Wn. App. 558, 564 P.2d 1170, review denied, 89 Wn.2d 1009 (1977). However, the holder of vested rights is not thereby entitled to a building permit or to develop the proposed project, but to have the building permit decision made on the basis of regulations in effect at the time of application. West Main Assocs., at 53.
The requirement that a building permit be sufficiently complete serves two purposes. First, the completed application enables a court to determine whether the building permit application complies with the zoning and building ordinances. Mercer Enters. v. Bremerton, 93 Wn.2d 624, 631, 633-34, 611 P.2d 1237 (1980) (Utter, C.J., dissenting). If a building permit application is not substantially complete, the municipality must reject the application and no vested right accrues until the omissions or irregularities are rectified. Second, the completeness requirement ensures that the developer has proceeded in good faith, i.e., incurred an investment sufficient enough to deter speculation. Hull, at 130. The provisions of the Uniform Building Code and related standards, 1976 edition, published by the International Conference of Building Officials generally set the requirements a building permit application must conform to in order to obtain a permit approval. See former RCW 19.27.030. The nature of a complete building permit application necessarily requires the expenditure of substantial sums of money. See, e.g., Allenbach v. Tukwila, 101 Wn.2d 193, 195, 676 P.2d 473 (1984).
Applying the Washington vested rights doctrine, both the majority and I find that (1) Valley View filed five building permit applications (2) which complied with the light *658industrial zoning ordinance and building code and (3) were filed during the effective period of the light industrial zoning ordinance under which Valley View sought to construct the five buildings.
The City contends that the fourth element (completeness) is lacking due to the need for additional information in the applications prior to processing. Any incompleteness as to these five building permit applications is governed by the rule of Parkridge v. Seattle, 89 Wn.2d 454, 573 P.2d 359 (1978). In Parkridge, this court created a limited exception to the requirement of completeness of building permit application. The issue there was whether a right to develop land could vest despite an incomplete building permit application when the developer's diligent attempts to complete the application prior to the zoning change had been obstructed by the local government. This court held that the development right had vested, notwithstanding the incompleteness of the application, because of the municipality's attempts to frustrate the project and the developer's good faith conduct merited recognition of the vested right. See also Mercer Enters. v. Bremerton, 93 Wn.2d 624, 611 P.2d 1237 (1980).
Valley View took numerous steps to comply with the City's requests for more information. It modified its plans to conform to city officials' ideas, and showed a willingness to meet necessary shortcomings in the applications. The City, on the other hand, continually made new demands on Valley View. If more detailed building plan information was necessary, the building officer had the power under the ordinance to request it. The trial judge found strict compliance with zoning ordinances. That finding need not be disturbed. Valley View has the right to have its five building permits processed.
The Additional Seven Building Permits
At this juncture, both the majority and I agree that Valley View has the right to have its five building permits processed under the ordinances in effect prior to the date that *659the City of Redmond rezoned its land. At this point, however, the majority ignores clear precedent, and formulates new law without any authority. By rezoning the land as light industrial, the majority violates the doctrine of separation of powers and acts as a legislative body. This should not be allowed, and the City of Redmond undoubtedly will seek relief in the United States Supreme Court.
The majority is correct when it states that a rezone must bear a substantial relationship to the general welfare of the affected community. Majority, at 640; Save a Neighborhood Env't v. Seattle, 101 Wn.2d 280, 286, 676 P.2d 1006 (1984); Save Our Rural Env't v. Snohomish Cy., 99 Wn.2d 363, 662 P.2d 816 (1983). The majority, however, for no apparent reason, holds that the Redmond City Council possesses the power and authority to rezone thousands of acres of land from light industrial to agricultural—which of course is correct—but does not have the authority to decide whether to end the rezone at the north end of Valley View's property or at the south end. The majority for some incomprehensible reason holds that the city council's legislative decision where to end a rezone (which they decided to end at a 250-foot power line right of way and not at the point the majority countenances approximately 350 feet north of the power line) bears no substantial relationship to the general welfare of the affected public. Not possessing the majority's omniscient powers of what the general welfare of the affected public is, I would defer to the city council's determination.
The majority creates this situation by looking at Valley View's property as a separate tract of land from the rest of the rezone, and then assuming that the five buildings have been built for which Valley View has filed building permits. Specifically, the majority states: " [w]hen viewed in light of the five buildings to be built on the property, the City's rezoning decision bears no relationship to the public interest it seeks to serve ..." Majority, at 640. I note that the majority has cited no authority that requires a legislative body, when considering a rezone, to adjust its action to the *660possible developments which may or may not occur on the property. This is because no such authority exists.
To the contrary, although the construction of a number of industrial buildings on the parcel may inhibit any agricultural use of the remaining property, it does not follow that the agricultural zoning is invalid. Securing vested rights under a prior zoning classification does not invalidate the subsequently enacted zoning ordinance; the holder of vested rights is merely entitled to a nonconforming use to the extent of the vested rights. 7 P. Rohan, Zoning § 52.08[4] (1986); 1 R. Anderson, Zoning §§ 6.24, 6.25 (2d ed. 1976); R. Settle, Washington Land Use § 2.7(c)(vi) (1983). The remaining land in the parcel is not considered separate from the nonconforming use in a determination as to whether there is a possibility for profitable use of the property.
The logic for this result is apparent. In this case, for example, neither this court nor the Redmond City Council (nor anyone else for that matter) has any idea whether or not Valley View will eventually construct the five buildings for which it has filed permits. The permit applications may be invalid, Valley View may decide to abandon one or more of the buildings, or any number of other events could prevent the construction of those buildings. This is especially true as a building permit does not give the developer a vested right in perpetuity to build, but only a right to build for a limited time period which in the City of Redmond does not exceed 12 months.
The majority's solution to this case does not account for the truly speculative nature of the construction of these buildings. It assumes they have been built, and then makes this legislative decision as an excuse to rezone large tracts of land. Furthermore, it creates the following anomalous situation. Had Valley View proceeded without hindrance from the City of Redmond, and had it found tenants for the other 7 buildings it may have filed and received building permits for all 12 buildings. These would have contained time restrictions and Valley View's vested right to *661construct buildings would not have lasted in perpetuity. Instead, because of the delays, Valley View will be given the right to develop its site with no time restrictions and the City will never be able to rezone the land. This makes no sense, yet it is the result the majority opinion provides.
In the subject case, Valley View did not spend any money at all to prepare building permits for the last seven structures. The majority, however, has created a new standard which allows a developer, by filing a few building permits, to prohibit legislative bodies from rezoning adjacent land. This usurps the local legislative power to rezone land according to its beliefs as to the public welfare, and should not be allowed. I would only allow Valley View to have vested rights in the five buildings for which it has filed building permits.
Conclusion
I believe the majority opinion commits a flagrant violation of the separation of powers doctrine. Article 2 of the Washington State Constitution and article 1 of the United States Constitution confine the legislative power to the legislatures of the municipal, state and federal governments, and not to the judiciary. Rezoning land thus has always been a legislative act prior to this date, and the majority advances no theory to justify our unilateral decision to change this situation. I believe that the City of Redmond possessed and still possesses the power to rezone the subject tract of land which includes Valley View's property, and that any analysis of what rights Valley View has at this point should be based on our prior decisions concerning vested rights, rather than a wholesale denial of the inherent power of a city to zone land within its own legislative boundaries.
I would
(1) Set aside the trial court's judgment;
(2) Grant Valley View vested rights to five building permit applications, and order the City of Redmond to process such applications in accordance with the zoning *662of the City of Redmond in effect at the time the permits were filed;
(3) Valley View, of course, is free to apply to the Redmond City Council for a rezone of the land to permit construction of the additional seven buildings.
Goodloe, J., concurs with Dore, J.