Court Opinion

ID: 9733524
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 17:09:54.147764+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:42.143838
License: Public Domain

HAYDEN, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. Although it is true that zoning ordinances are presumed to be valid and the burden of proof falls on the party attacking its validity, it is also the case that the power to zone must be strictly construed. Business Ventures, Inc. v. Iowa City, 234 N.W.2d 376, 381 (Iowa 1975). In order to be upheld each zoning restriction must be analyzed to see whether the means employed have a real and substantial relation to the public health, comfort, safety, and welfare. F.H. Uelner Precision Tools & Dies, Inc. v. City of Dubuque, 190 N.W.2d 465, 468 (Iowa 1971).
I do not doubt that the stated purpose of the zoning classifications, namely to preserve the city’s downtown business area, is a legitimate one. However, the means employed in this case are overly restrictive and unreasonable. The effect of the regulations is not only to keep businesses incompatible with the downtown area out, but also to force certain businesses to remain downtown if they wish to operate. Retail furniture stores are one of the businesses that can only be operated downtown. Other businesses such as restaurants, taverns, cocktail lounges, and printing shops are allowed to exist in both the downtown and highway commercial zones. Furthermore, plaintiffs could operate their furniture store in the highway area if they auctioned the furniture rather than selling it in the normal retail fashion. The evidence also showed that there were no available buildings in the downtown area for plaintiffs to purchase or rent in order to move their business to comply with the law. I would reverse the trial court because the city’s zoning regulations are unreasonable as applied to plaintiff.