The never-ending saga of Okoboji Barz (non-conforming use)

by Gary Taylor

City of Okoboji v. Leo Parks and Okoboji Barz, Inc.
(Iowa Supreme Court, April 26, 2013)

If you have attended one of my workshops you know that this ongoing dispute is one of my favorite discussion topics.  This is another case in the the efforts of the City of Okoboji to enforce zoning restrictions on properties owned by Okoboji Barz (Okoboji Boat Works, The Fish House Lounge, and Clucker’s Broasted Chicken), all located on the shore of West Lake Okoboji. The lakefront property is zoned residential, but has been historically operated as a marina pursuant to special-use permits allowing the preexisting nonconforming uses. In a series of previous cases (City of Okoboji v. Okoboji Barz, Inc., 717 N.W.2d 310, 315–16 (Iowa 2006);  City of Okoboji v. Iowa District Court, 744 N.W.2d 327, 332 (Iowa 2008)) the Iowa Supreme Court has held that while the use of the property as a marina is lawful under the special-use permits, the permits do not allow an expansion of the use to include on-premises consumption of alcohol with live entertainment, karaoke, hog roasts, and full-moon parties.

“Undeterred” (in the words of the Supreme Court), “the owner of the property sought to operate a bar on a structure called the Fish House Lounge, which, while generally moored to the marina’s ‘seawall,’ is capable of getting underway on the lake.” The Fish House Lounge has a class “D” liquor license obtained from the state, and not the City, based upon the state’s control of the lake bed. The City objected to the operation of the Fish House Lounge as contrary to the holdings of the Supreme in the previously-cited cases and sought declaratory and injunctive relief. The district court found that the Fish House Lounge cannot cruise the lake during winter months, has no regular cruise schedule, and is rarely seen cruising the lake. Patrons are asked to use the restroom facilities on the marina property. It offers live and recorded entertainment, hosts theme parties, karaoke, and other activities as late as midnight.  The district court concluded that the activities at the Fish House Lounge were the very activities prohibited by the Supreme Court in the previous cases, and entered an injunction prohibiting use of the marina property to “provide parking, access to or from, and supporting services, including bathroom facilities, to patrons of a boat, vessel, or structure on which alcohol is served or upon which entertainment, music, karaoke, abandon-ship parties, or howl-at-the-moon parties are provided.’ The injunction further prohibited the selling or serving of alcohol, wine, and beer on any boat or structure moored to or attached to the marina and on or from any boat or structure attached to a dock extending from the premises.  The property owner appealed.

The broad question before the Supreme Court was “whether our prior rulings can be avoided by moving the locus of prohibited activity onto a floating pontoon structure that is located above the state-owned lake bed and outside the geographic boundaries of the City, but which utilizes the upland marina property for ingress, egress, parking, and restroom facilities.” The property owner argued several points.  First, that the City cannot exercise its zoning authority over the Fish House Lounge because the Lounge is floating over the lake bed when it is moored to the marina’s seawall, and that this could only lead to one of two results: (1) The state owns the lake bed in its sovereign capacity, and under various statutes other state agencies – and not the City – are responsible for lake bed activities, or (2) the boundary line of the City is the mean high water mark of the lake, which the Fish House Lounge sits below when moored to the marina. Second, that the Fish House Lounge activities were merely accessory to the permitted use of operating a marina.

The Supreme Court dispensed with all of these arguments.  Contrary to the owner’s arguments, the City did not claim the authority to zone over the lake bed; rather, it was asserting jurisdiction only over the upland real property, and the use of the real property for ingress and egress to the Fish House Lounge, to provide parking for patrons of the Fish House Lounge, and to provide restroom facilities for patrons of the Fish House Lounge is inconsistent with the preexisting nonconforming use of the property for marina operations.  In the 2006 case the Court held that activities similar to those conducted at the Fish House Lounge could not be considered “merely an accessory use to the operation of the marina.”

Prior to 1972 [when zoning was enacted], the property was used for operating marinas. The marinas were open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., with the gas dock occasionally staffed until 8:00 p.m. As the district court noted, there was no evidence that, prior to 1972 when the City enacted its zoning ordinance, the property was used to provide nearly permanent mooring for a liquor establishment, to provide restroom facilities for patrons of such an establishment, or to provide parking for such use. Since 2008, however, the marina property has been providing access to a floating bar that stays open at night…. While it is true that the main platform upon which liquor is sold and loud activities occur is above the lake bed, it is obvious the activities of the Fish House Lounge are inextricably intertwined with the use of the real property subject to the City’s zoning restrictions. The use of the property for ingress and egress, for restroom facilities, and for parking to a floating bar moored at the marina are not accessory uses to the valid, nonconforming use of the marina. These uses of the upland real estate are also in violation of section 2(B)(2) of article VII of the City’s zoning ordinance, which prohibits such lakeshore lots from being used for access to commercial activities.

The Supreme Court agreed that an injunction was appropriate to prevent the use of the marina to support the activities of the Fish House Lounge.  Providing access, parking, and restroom facilities has had an adverse impact on the residential character of the waterfront.  The Supreme Court refused to enjoin the the provision of or sale of liquor on boats when moored at the docks (versus those moored directly to the shoreline); noting, however, that “this distinction makes little difference as the City has shown entitlement to an injunction that prohibits using the upland to provide ingress, egress, parking, or restroom facilities to patrons of boats or similar vessels selling alcohol or engaging in bar-type activities while docked at the marina.”

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe

Archives

Categories

Tags

Admin Menu