by Melanie Thwing
Bettendorf v. St. Croix County
(Federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, January 20, 2011)
John Bettendorf owns property in St. Croix County, WI. Although the property was originally zoned agricultural-residential in 1972 he began to run a carpet business out of his basement. Then in 1974 he began to run an excavating company from the property. In 1984 Bettendorf applied to the County to re-zone a portion of his land to commercial. The the application was approved with the stipulation that the rezoning was not transferable to any subsequent landowner, and upon such a transfer, or Bettendorf’s death, the zoning classification of the property will revert to agricultural-residential. Bettendorf used the property in a commercial manner after the ordinance was enacted, but fully knowing that the language of the permit would not allow him to regain any commercial investment when he went to sell the property Bettendorf petitioned to make the re-zoning permanent. In 2004, Bettendorf filed an action in the Circuit Court for St. Croix County seeking a declaratory judgment that the conditional language was void and should be stricken from the ordinance. The circuit court found in favor of Bettendorf, but on appeal the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held the ordinance void in its entirety. In July 2007, the circuit court entered a revised judgment and order rescinding the commercial zoning of the disputed parcel in accordance with the Court of Appeals’ decision. The County complied with the order by rescinding the commercial zoning designation. Bettendorf then sued in federal court.
Bettendorf argued that the County’s rescission of the commercial zoning designation following the court’s decision constituted a taking. He also argued that he was not given appropriate substantive and procedural due process protections. The Federal 7th Circuit observes that to prove a regulatory taking the government action must deprive the landowner of “all or substantially all practical uses of the property.” Bettendorf argued that the court did not adequately consider his anticipated and distinct investment opportunities. The court disagreed, stating that Bettendorf made improvements to his property with full knowledge that the commercial zoning classification was not going to be permanent. When he began litigation he fully assumed the risk that the scope of the ordinance could be reinterpreted. Bettendorf still maintains full use of his property for agricultural and residential purposes, which simply restores the land to its original use.
Bettendorf argued he was “denied the protection of the substantive legal standards that would have been applied to a change in zoning….” The court found this argument to be without merit. The County’s decision to remove the commercial zoning designation was simply in accordance with the Court of Appeals decision. Therefore it could not be “conscious-shocking or arbitrary,” the showing needed to prove a substantive due process claim.
As for Bettendorf’s procedural due process claim, Bettendorf was afforded the the opportunity to avail himself of due process protections through the state court system, yet he chose to bypass the state court appeals process. This seriously “undermines his argument that the state court process was deficient.” The Seventh Circuit ruled for the County on all claims.
