Tag: Nebraska Supreme Court

Exemption to zoning overlay district did not constitute special legislation

Gary Taylor

by Andrea Vaage

Dowd Grain Co. v. Sarpy County
Nebraska Supreme Court, August 14, 2015

In March 2004, Sarpy County enacted a zoning overlay ordinance that imposed design guidelines and other regulations along a specified road corridor. In 2007, this ordinance was amended to exempt land that was platted before the enactment of the ordinance in 2004. Dowd Grain Company owned land subject to the overlay ordinance but did not qualify for the exemption. Dowd Grain filed a declaratory judgement action against the County. It claimed that the exemption was unconstitutional because the ordinance was special legislation. It argued that its property was similarly situated to the exempted land and that the exemption proffered special privileges on the exempted land.

As with other challenges to municipal ordinances, the burden falls to the challenger to prove a zoning provision is unconstitutional. The ordinance must be shown to be unreasonable, arbitrary, or discriminatory and that the provisions bear no relation to the purpose of the ordinance. Special legislation cases are determined to fulfill these requirements if the legislation creates a permanently closed class or an arbitrary and unreasonable method of classification. The district court ruled in favor of the County on all counts, whereupon Dowd Grain appealed.

The first question under review was whether the overlay ordinance created a closed class. A closed class is one that cannot expand in number due to future growth or development. Dowd Grain argued that its property cannot be added to the exempted class and no property beyond the geographical limits of the overlay district can be added. However, Nebraska case law has established that property owners in a geographic area cannot create a closed class because real property is alienable and subject to constant change, including division. The number of parcels could change and new members could join the class by a change in ownership of property.  Dowd thus failed to prove the ordinance created a closed class.

The second issue was whether the class created by the ordinance was arbitrarily selected and served no real public interest. Those exempt from the ordinance were property owners who had submitted a plat application before March 2004. Submission of a plat application requires considerable expense and planning. It was not unreasonable to exempt property owners who had submitted a plat before the implementation of the design guidelines in the overlay district because these owners expended time and money to develop their property based on previous guidelines. The submittal of a plat application was a reasonable distinction between those property owners exempted from the ordinance and those subject to it. The ordinance, therefore, did not create a special class.

The district court ruling in favor of the county was affirmed.

 

 

 

 

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Classification of land as “urban,” “suburban,” or “rural” for annexation purposes is question of law

Gary Taylor

by Gary Taylor

SID No. 196 of Douglas County v. City of Valley
Nebraska Supreme Court, February 6, 2015

Valley, Nebraska is a city of the second class located between Omaha and Fremont. Cities of the second class are permitted by state law to annex contiguous or adjacent lands that are urban or suburban in character and not agricultural lands that are rural in character.

In November 2010 the Valley City Council passed three ordinances to annex three different areas near Valley. The subject of this litigation was Ordinance No. 611, which annexed six different areas near the city. One of these areas, commonly known as Ginger Cove subdivision, contained Sanitary Improvement District (SID) 196. The area is almost completely developed, with 155 residential homes surrounding a sandpit lake. At the time Ordinance 611 was adopted it did not share any common borders with Valley, but did share borders with two other areas being annexed under Ordinance 611. The other areas subject to Ordinance 611 contained residential developments, and operating and exhausted sand and gravel mines (owned by Lyman-Richey (L-R)), and were developed to varying degrees.

In 2006 SID 196 and L-R entered into an agreement with Valley, agreeing to pay the city for the cost to construct a lift station and force main to route wastewater from the properties to the regional pumping station in the city. SID 196 and L-R reserved the capacity for 233 residential lots to use the wastewater system, in contemplation of the development of a residential community. Valley took out $4.5 million in bonds to finance regional pumping stations and the force main to move wastewater to the treatment facility in Fremont, and charges the subdivision residences a fee for use of the sewer system.

Prior to Ordinance 611, the area to be annexed was served by fire and paramedic services from Valley. The Douglas County Sheriff provided police services with Valley Police Department as secondary responder. Snow removal was conducted by Douglas County. Valley would assume all provision of services after the annexation.

SID 196 challenged Ordinance 611, alleging that (1) some land within the subdivision (where SID 196 operates) is not urban or suburban in character; (2) it fails to meet the contiguous or adjacent requirement, and (3) the area was annexed for an improper purpose.

Character of area. In the trial court, the experts for the two sides agreed on the physical nature of the land, how it is being used, the number of residences, and all other facts regarding the area; however, they came to different conclusions about how the land should be classified under the statute. The Nebraska Supreme Court noted that the issue of how the land should be classified is a question of law. The question of law is one for the court to decide. The fact that the experts came to two different legal conclusions based on the same set of facts does not create “a material issue of fact” which would be required to defeat summary judgment.

SID 196’s expert determined that the property was not urban or suburban because the property was being used for mining operations, and because the property was zoned transitional agriculture. The Court disagreed. Mining has traditionally never been considered an agricultural use of property. L-R’s actions prior to Ordinance 611 indicated that the properties would eventually be used for residential development. Furthermore, zoning does not dictate the ability to annex. The Court found no merit to the claim that the land in question was agricultural and rural in character.

Contiguous or adjacent. Generally, a municipality may annex several tracts as long as one tract is substantially adjacent to the municipality and the other tracts are substantially adjacent to each other. SID 196 argued that the present circumstance was a case of “strip annexation” – annexing a strip of land in order to reach a larger parcel – which the Nebraska courts have disfavored. The focus of strip annexation court cases is on the extent to which the city shared a border with the land to be annexed; it is not solely on the shape of the tract to be annexed.

SID 196 argued that the annexation of a large, largely undeveloped parcel, to connect a large, developed parcel was strip annexation, but the Supreme Court found no authority to impose a “community of interest” requirement on an annexation. The annexation as a whole – looking at all parcels together – met the contiguous or adjacent requirement of the statute.

Purpose of annexation. Case law in Nebraska is clear that it is improper for an annexation to be solely motivated by an increase in tax revenue. SID 196 argued that Valley was motivated by SID 196’s extremely low debt, and pointed out that another SID was not chosen because it had a much higher level of debt. The Supreme Court said that debt level has no relation to raising tax revenues. Valley was motivated, at least in part, to equalize the burden among city residents and SID 196 in financing the recent sewer system improvements. It would be “fiscally irresponsible” for the city not to at least take debt levels into consideration before annexing territory.

 

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Interpretation of ‘gap and extend’ law properly allowed extension of pavement to unpaved intersection

Gary Taylor

by Gary Taylor

Johnson v. City of Fremont
(Nebraska Supreme Court, April 18, 2014)

[Note:  The court includes a map of the area in question!  I wish the courts would include maps in their published opinions more often.  They make land use cases much easier to understand. I urge you to follow the link to the case to see the map.]

Neb. Rev. Stat. 18-2001 provides

Any city or village may, without petition or creating a street improvement district…pave any portion of a street otherwise paved so as to make one continuous paved street, but the portion to be so improved shall not exceed two blocks, including intersections, or thirteen hundred and twenty-five feet, whichever is the lesser  Such city or village may also pave any unpaved street or alley which intersects a paved street for a distance of not to exceed one block on either side of such paved street.

Known as the gap and extend law, the City of Fremont used the statute to pave one block of Donna Street and assess the costs to abutting landowners, including the plaintiffs in this case, Roland and Karen Johnson. The pavement extended the paved portion of Donna Street one block to the west, but stopped at the intersection of Howard Street, which is unpaved.

The City argued that the action “was the paving of an extension of Donna Street for one block from where it intersects Jean Drive, a paved street,” and was a proper application of the gap and extend law.  The Johnsons argued a narrower interpretation of the statute; specifically that the phrase “so as to make one continuous paved street” in the first sentence limits the statute’s application in all instances to circumstances where the pavement closes an unpaved gap between two paved streets.

The Nebraska Supreme Court sided with the City.  Concluding that the terms of the law are clear and unambiguous, the Court found that the statute’s second sentence clearly applied to the City’s extension of Donna Street.  “The first sentence [which included the language ‘so as to make one continuous paved street’] provides the power to fill a gap….The section sentence, empowers a city to make a single-block extension of paving from an intersecting street.  The Legislature used the word ‘also’ to make it clear that the second sentence provided an additional power beyond that granted by the first sentence….The [Johnson’s] interpretation would effectively eliminate the second sentence of section 18-2001.”

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Owner of fourplex forfeited right to continue as nonconforming use when two apartments remained unoccupied for more than one year

by Rachel Greifenkamp and Gary Taylor

Rodehorst Brothers v. City of Norfolk Board of Adjustment

(Nebraska Supreme Court, March 28, 2014)

The City of Norfolk, Nebraska zoning code includes the following provision with regard to nonconforming uses:

In the event that a nonconforming use is discontinued, or its normal operation stopped, for a period of one year, the use of the same shall thereafter conform to the uses permitted in the district in which it is located.

The Rodehorst Brothers partnerships owns a fourplex in Norfolk an area zoned R-2 for one and two family use. The fourplex is a legal, nonconforming use. In 2010 and 2011 Rodehorst applied for building permits to replace a roof, fix some electrical issues, and remodel the apartments in the building. The first two were granted by the building inspector but the third (apartment remodels) was denied because the inspector concluded that Rodehorst had forfeited its right to continue its nonconforming use of a fourplex because several of the apartments in the building had been unoccupied for more than one year.

Rodehorst appealed the denial of the permit to the City of Norfolk Board of Adjustment (Board), and also requested that they grant a use variance to allow the building to continue operating as a fourplex. Rodehorst argued that simply failing to rent out the apartments did not cause a forfeiture of the right to operate as a fourplex, and that it had been trying to “fix up” the building for years.  Rodehorst also argued that it would suffer an undue hardship without the use variance.  The City argued that the right to operate the building as a fourplex was forfeited because the apartments were unoccupied for more than one year.  The City further argued that the Board did not have authority to grant a use variance because the zoning code defines “variance” as “relief from or variation of the provisions of [the zoning code], other than use regulations, as applied to a specific piece of property, as distinct from rezoning.” The Board agreed with the City on both arguments, and Rodehorst appealed the decision to the district court.

At the district court Rodehorst employed the same arguments but went on to say that the Board’s ruling was an unconstitutional taking. The district court, however, affirmed the Board’s ruling in all respects.

Rodehorst appealed the decision of the District Court to the Nebraska State Supreme Court using the same three arguments as when it appealed to the District Court.

Right to continue nonconforming use.  Nebraska Revised Statutes provides that, with regard to nonconforming uses for cities of the first class, “if a nonconforming use is in fact discontinued for a period of twelve months, such right to the nonconforming use shall be forfeited and any future use of the building and premises shall conform to the regulation.”  The Supreme Court first noted that the choice of the word “discontinued,” as opposed to “abandoned,” is important.  Abandonment requires not only a cessation of the nonconforming use, but also an intent by the user to abandon the nonconforming use.  Where a legislature or other zoning authority has used the word “discontinued”…instead of “abandoned” their purpose is ‘to do away with the need to proved intent to abandon.'”  This squares with the plain, ordinary meaning of the term “discontinue,”  and is consistent with the notion that nonconforming uses are disfavored because they reduce the effectiveness of the zoning ordinance, depress property values, and contribute to the growth of urban blight.

Rodehorst argued that the nature and characteristics of the building control; in other words, that the building is and always was divided into four separate living units.  The Court disagreed. After reviewing cases from several other jurisdictions, the Court concluded that

The degree of occupancy is the critical factor in determining whether a multifamily dwelling nonconforming use remains in effect, while the existing characteristics of the building (such as separate units and features) generally go to whether the user intended to abandon the nonconforming use.  As noted earlier, intent to abandon is not relevant because [Nebraska] zoning laws speak in terms of discontinuance….Thus, the degree of occupancy of the building is the central inquiry.

Noting that “this is not a situation where the discontinuance was involuntary” but rather that no effort had been made to rent the apartments for a number of years, the Court ruled that “a discontinuance period will run where the landlord did not really try to rent the premises.” Thus, the Court affirmed the district court on this argument.

Authority to grant use variance.  Citing the relevant provision of Nebraska Revised Statutes, which allows for the grant of a variance “when by reason of exceptional narrowness, shallowness, or shape of a specific piece of property…or exceptional topographic conditions” the Court denied Rodehorst’s argument for a use variance because the request was based on its desire to continue using its building as a fourplex, not because of any physical characteristic of its property.

Taking.  While acknowledging that discontinuance provisions may work a taking in some cases, the Court denied that such a claim could be sustained in this case.  Using the three-factor test from Penn Central, the Court concluded that (1) even assuming a 50 percent diminution of value, that level of loss generally does not equate to a regulatory taking; (2) Rodehorst bought the property when it was already a nonconforming use, and thus his reasonable investment-backed expectations should have been that he could continue it as a fourplex only so long as its use as such was not discontinued for a period of one year; and (3) the character of the governmental action – to gradually eliminate nonconforming uses over time – is a recognized good.

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LaVista (NE) annexation not purely for revenue raising

Gary Taylor

by Gary Taylor

US Cold Storage, Inc. v. City of LaVista
(Nebraska Supreme Court, March 29, 2013)

In 1969, the owner of a 210-acre parcel in Sarpy County petitioned the Sarpy County Board of Commissioners to designate the tract as an industrial area and the board complied. Under Nebraska law an industrial area is land “used or reserved for the location of industry.” At the time of the designation, La Vista’s zoning jurisdiction did not reach any part of the parcel; therefore the city’s approval was not required. US Cold Storage acquired four lots in the industrial area in 1971 and has operated its business there since that time. Sanitary and Improvement District (SID) 59 was created in 1971 to provide utilities and services to the industrial area. The area of SID 59 is greater than, but includes, the entire industrial area.  In October 2009 La Vista resolved to annex SID 59. It sent written notices to the property owners within SID 59 of an October 22 city planning commission public hearing on the proposed annexation. On November 3, La Vista sent written notice to the property owners within SID 59 of a November 17 city council hearing also regarding the annexation of SID 59. On December 1, after conducting the public hearings, La Vista approved an ordinance purporting to annex SID 59 in its entirety.

On December 16, 2009, Cold Storage filed a class action complaint against La Vista and SID 59 challenging the validity of ordinance 1107. The complaint alleged that ordinance 1107 was invalid because (1) La Vista failed to comply with statutory notice requirements when adopting it, (2) the annexation was for revenue purposes only, and (3) state law prohibited the annexation of the industrial area in SID 59.

On January 18, 2011, while Cold Storage’s challenge to the validity of ordinance 1107 was pending in district court, La Vista directed its planning commission to consider the annexation of only a portion of SID 59; specifically, that portion that did not include the industrial area. On April 19, after giving proper statutory notice of this proposed annexation, La Vista adopted an ordinance (ordinance 1142) purporting to annex the portion of SID 59 that did not include the industrial area.  SID 59 filed a cross claim in the initial action, and asserted that ordinance 1142 was invalid.  The district court found in favor of La Vista on all claims, and Cold Storage and SID 59 appealed.

Statutory notice claim.  It was undisputed that the notices did not strictly comply with Neb. Rev. Stat. 19-5001 (one was 3 days late, another was 2 days early, along with  minor errors).  It was also undisputed that SID 59 had actual notice of the annexation proceedings.  In siding with La Vista, the court relied on Neb. Rev. Stat. 19-5001(5), which only voids annexation decisions on notice grounds if the errors are “willful or deliberate.”

Annexation for revenue purposes.  Caselaw in Nebraska proscribes annexation for revenue purposes only.  The court rejected the notion that because the SID was completely built out the city would be incurring no liabilities.  The court referred to La Vista’s required annexation plan, which identified the street and sewer improvements the city would become responsible for in the event of annexation, and the the additional police staff needed to patrol the area.  The city’s finance manager testified that the city would also assume all debts and obligations of SID 59, including approximately $2.1 million in net bonded debt.  The court concluded that although revenue was a factor, but other factors included the indebtedness which the city would assume, the city’s objective of orderly growth, and the perception that annexation of SID 59, which was already surrounded by the city, would improve the provision of services by eliminating jurisdictional issues.

Prohibition against annexation of industrial area.  Prior to 1991, Neb. Rev. Stat. 13-1115 only permitted the annexation of an industrial area under two circumstances (neither of which applied in this case); however, in 1991 the law was amended to allow annexation if the industrial area “is located in a county with a population in excess of 100,000 persons and the city did not approve the original designation of the tract as an industrial area.”  The court found that both conditions were met in this case.  Cold Storage contended that because La Vista could not have annexed the area prior to 1991, a vested right existed to continue the operation of SID 59 without annexation.  The court noted that the true nature of the vested right claimed by Cold Storage was the “benefit” of lower taxes accruing from not being subject to taxation by La Vista; however, the court cited numerous cases for the proposition that exemption from taxation is not a vested right.  “We find nothing in the language of the pre-1991 version of Neb. Rev. Stat. 13-1115 which would constitute a pledge by the Legislature that the circumstances under which property in an industrial area could be annexed would never be altered by an amendment to the statute.”

The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the district court on all issues.

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Owner of purchase option has standing to apply for variance in Nebraska

Gary Taylor

by Gary Taylor

Field Club Home Owners League v. Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Omaha
(Nebraska Supreme Court, May 11, 2012)

Volunteers of America (VOA) proposed to build an apartment-style building for veterans in Omaha.  To construct the building as planned, VOA applied to the Omaha Zoning Board of Appeals (Board) for variances from area and use restrictions. The appellants, Field Club Home Owners League and Thornburg Place Neighborhood Association (Field Club) opposed the application. The Board granted the variances, concluding that the 1987 Code created an unnecessary hardship because it did not contemplate a project like VOA’s. The district court affirmed the Board’s decision, and Field Club appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Field Club argued that VOA lacked standing to request variances from the Board because VOA had not obtained a certificate of authority pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. 21-20,169(1), which provides that “[a] foreign corporation transacting business in this state without a certificate of authority may not maintain a proceeding in any court in this state until it obtains a certificate of authority.”  The Nebraska Supreme Court found the provision inapplicable because, although VOA is a foreign corporation, VOA was not “maintaining” a court proceeding. It was Field Club that petitioned the district court and named VOA as a defendant.

Field Club also contended that because the owner of the property was Kiewit Construction Company, and not VOA, that VOA lacked standing because it had no legally cognizable interest in the property. The Supreme Court noted that the majority of courts that have considered the issue hold that a prospective purchaser under a purchase agreement subject to the grant of a variance or rezoning has standing to seek the change. Similarly, courts have held that the holder of an option to purchase property has standing to apply for a variance when the holder is bound to purchase the property if the variance is obtained or when the property owner anticipated that the option holder would seek the variance to complete the sale.  The Supreme Court agreed with these other jurisdictions, and further noted that the principles hold true in administrative proceedings as well as judicial proceedings.

However, the Supreme Court noted that Field Club did not raise the issue of standing until the case reached the Supreme Court.  Partly as a result of this, the record did not contain evidence addressing VOA’s interest in the property.  Therefore, the Supreme Court remanded the case to district court to receive additional evidence and determine whether VOA had sufficient interest in the property to seek the variances.

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No property interest exists, when no building permit application has been filed

Gary Taylor

by Victoria Heldt

American Central City, Inc., v. Joint Antelope Valley Authority
(Nebraska Supreme Court, June 17, 2011)

Edward Patterson, the owner and sole shareholder of American Central City, Inc. (ACC), owned three properties and claimed a compensable property interest in properties owned by Edward and Dorothy Schwartzkopf, which are located in the same neighborhood.  Patterson based his claim of interest on an option to purchase the Schwartzkopf’s property on the condition that he obtain a building permit.  He planned to construct a building that would sit both on his property and on theirs.  All of these properties were condemned as a part of the Antelope Valley project, which was designed to provide Lincoln with flood control, transportation improvements, and community revitalization.   Patterson claimed he was not properly compensated after the condemnation of the properties and that his substantive due process rights were affected during the trial process.

Patterson argued that he had a compensable property interest in a building permit he wanted to obtain because he spent considerable time and money planning and designing the building.  He claimed that city officials falsely informed him that it would not be possible to build underground parking or place underground telecommunications on the property, and that this information prevented him from going forward with this plans and affected his substantive due process rights.  The Court noted that the granting of a building permit does not give a property owner the right to build or a property interest in the permit.  The Court further recognized that Patterson never actually filed for the permit.  In light of this, it concluded that that the law does not recognize a property interest in a permit that was  never filed.

Patterson also claimed an interest in the Schwartzkopf properties because of the 1995 option to purchase.  Once Patterson failed to obtain a permit, both parties signed a release agreement excusing them from performance.  Then in 2004, the property was sold to JAVA.  Patterson claimed he still had an oral agreement to buy the property even after the release was signed in 1995.  The Court found that he had no compensable interest in the property because the oral agreement would not stand up in court.  The sale of land is subject to the statute of frauds and must be in writing.  Patterson further argued that his case falls under one of the exceptions to the statute of frauds (partial performance) since he incurred expenses and invested time in the planning and designing of the building.  The Court found that any oral agreement Patterson had was with the Schwartzkopf’s, and cannot be enforced against JAVA.

Patterson further argued that the government engaged in inverse condemnation, which means that the government took property without proper compensation or proper condemnation proceedings.  He claimed the government prevented him from putting his property to the “highest and best use” by preventing him from obtaining a building permit and that this qualified as inverse condemnation.  Without the building permit, he could not purchase the Schwartzkopf properties in order to develop his properties as planned.  The Court noted that this claim rested partially on the belief that he had a property interest in the building permit and the Schwartzkopf properties, but as stated earlier he did not.  Additionally, it found that Patterson did not submit sufficient facts to establish that the government acted to prevent him from developing the land.

The Court dismissed all of Patterson’s claims and affirmed the decision of the district court.

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Nebraska Supreme Court addresses standing to challenge annexation, and Open Meetings Act issues

by Melanie Thwing

Schauer v. Grooms
(Nebraska Supreme Court, August 6, 2010)

Curt and Susan Schauer live just outside of Ord in Valley County, Nebraska. In 2005 the City decided to recruit a developer to build and operate an ethanol plant on undeveloped land. Eventually, Redevelopment Area #3 (located 4 miles outside of the City’s border, and 1/8th of a mile from the Schauer’s farm) was chosen as a potential plant site.  Redevelopment Area #3 was declared blighted, then the city annexed the land to make TIF financing available for the project. 

After Val-E Ethanol was selected to construct and operate the plant numerous city council meetings were held. These meetings spanned from February to November 2005, from the time the land was blighted, a plan adopted, a financing agreement was decided and the land annexed.  These meetings were publicly noticed, consistent with Nebraska’s Open Meetings Act; however, on June 1, 2005 a dinner and tour of a similar ethanol facility were hosted by the Valley County Economic Development Board hosted without public notice.  Invitations were sent to numerous county residents including Schauers (who did not attend). Three of five city council members, and the mayor, were in attendance. (The city council consists of five people, overseen by the mayor who provides the deciding vote if there is a tie). The council members and the mayor were split into separate groups to tour – one group watched a video explaining the ethanol-making process while the other toured the plant. At the dinner the members of the council and the mayor discussed no information relating to the proposal.

Four months after the city council approved the annexation, the Schauers filed an action to void the annexation and to claim a violation of Nebraska’s Open Meetings Act. Summary judgment for the City was granted, and the Schauers appealed. 

The Nebraska Supreme Court first investigated whether the Schauers had standing to challenge the annexation.  The Court reviewed previous caselaw on the rights of landowners to challenge municipal annexations.  “This Court has never held that a neighboring landowner, who neither owns a property interest in the annexed territory nor will be subjected to new zoning regulations as a result of annexation has standing to challenge the annexation of someone else’s land….” Further, the Court noted that standing has never been conferred in an annexation challenge “simply because of proximity.”  The Court concluded that the Schauers did not have standing to challenge the annexation.

The Court did find the Schauers, as citizens of Valley County, had standing to bring a claim for violation of the Open Meetings Act.  The Schaurs first argued that because the City described Redevelopment Area #3 as “within the City” in various documents prior to annexation of the land it was misleading to the public. The Court disagreed, finding the contents of the notice reasonable.  The notices described the exact location of the property and included a map of the vicinity.

Next, the Schauers contended that the minutes of the city council meetings failed to identify an established method of notice, which they claim violated the Open Meeting Act. The Court also dismissed this claim.  It had been the long standing history to post agendas at the township library, the County courthouse, and city hall, as well as being made available at the city clerk’s office. The Open Meetings Act simply requires the public body to choose a method of notice, and that the method chosen be recorded in the minutes. In this case, the city clerk was able to establish through testimony that a consistent method of notification had been utilized.

The Schauers finally alleged that the tour and dinner on June 1, 2005 constituted a meeting, that public notice of the meeting was not provided, and it therefore violated the Open Meetings Act.  The Court again disagreed.  Under §84-1410 of the Open Meetings Act no informal meetings can be used for the purpose of circumventing meeting requirements. This however, does not apply to any chance meetings, or travel of members of the public body where no action is taken on matters they supervise.  The Court found that no policy decisions were made or discussed during the tour and dinner.  The separation of city council members into smaller groups was not done to circumvent the Open Meetings Act; rather, the small groups were acquiring information that was later commented on by the public in an officially-recognized meeting of the council. The Court stated that the Open Meetings Act, “does not require policymakers to remain ignorant of the issues they must decide until the moment the public is invited to comment on a proposed policy.” One purpose of the Open Meetings Act is to balance the public’s right to be heard and the public’s “need for information to conduct business.”

The Court then observed that there were never more than two city council members together at the same time during the evening.  The Court noted that the presence of the mayor was immaterial, as the mayor is not a member of the city council.  “The fact that a statute gives a certain official the right to cast the deciding vote in case of a tie…does not, of itself, make that official a member of that body for the purposes of ascertaining a quorum or majority….”  

The decision of the district court was affirmed.

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Legislation moving Nebraska State Fair to Grand Island was not unconstitutional special legislation

Gary Taylor

NOTE:  With the start of fall classes the BLUZ welcomes its newest student contributor, Melanie Thwing.  Melanie’s bio appears under “contributors.”  My hazing ritual required her to write a case brief for a case involving my alma mater.  Her sucessful result follows:

by Melanie Thwing

Yant v. City of Grand Island
(Nebraska Supreme Court, May 28, 2010)

The location of the Nebraska State Fair has been set by statute since 1901. Until 2009, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 2-101(3) provided in part**:

“The state fair shall be held at or near the city of Lincoln, in Lancaster County, under the direction and supervision of the Nebraska State Fair Board, upon the site and tract of land selected and now owned by the state for that purpose and known as the Nebraska State Fairgrounds.”

In 2003 at the annual meeting the State Fair Board it was announced that the state fair and the location that housed it were in a financial crisis. The Nebraska State Legislature ordered two studies to determine if any new models for conducting the state fair would help alleviate the problem. One of the options discussed in these studies was relocating the state fair completely. Then, in 2008, L.B. 1116 was brought to the Nebraska Legislature.  It proposed moving the state fair to Fonner Park in Grand Island.  L.B. 1116 was debated at public hearings of the Agriculture Committee, where individuals were allowed to present testimony both for and against the bill.  The bill was also debated on the floor of the legislature.

L.B. 1116 passed.  It permanently moved the state fair grounds to Grand Island, allotted preparation tasks of the site to Hall County Livestock Improvement Association (HCLIA), directed the State Fair Board and the Nebraska Board of Regents to cooperate in turning the current State Fair grounds over to the University of Nebraska.

In 2008 Roger Yant, Brian Von Seggem, and Jerry Christensen filed suit in Lancaster County District Court for declaratory judgment on the basis that L.B. 1116 was unconstitutional because it (1) created special legislation in violation of Nebraska Constitution, Article III, §18, and it (2) it created an improper delegation of authority to spend public tax dollars to HCLIA and the State Fair Board. The District Court denied the request, and the petitioners appealed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Article III, § 18, provides that the Legislature cannot pass any special laws that would grant privileges to specific corporations or associations. The Nebraska Supreme Court struck down petitioners’ claim because legislative classification can be valid if it is “…based upon some reason of public policy, some substantial difference of situation or circumstance….” The Nebraska Supreme Court pointed out that the site of the state fair had been in statute since 1901, the State Fair is something of interest to the entire state, and incidental benefits to HCLIA and the University of Nebraska of the relocation do not automatically qualify that statute unconstitutional if it is enacted for public purpose.

The Nebraska Supreme Court also dismissed petitioners’ claims with regard to the improper delegation of authority.  “It is a well-established principle that the Legislature may delegate to an administrative agency the power to make rules and regulations to implement the policy of a statute, and in particular, we have said that delegation of legislative power is most commonly indicated where the relations to be regulated are highly technical or where regulation requires a course of continuous decision.  The Court found the grant of authority under L.B. 1116 to be sufficiently specific in addressing expenditures for carrying out the move and improving the facilities at Fonner Park.  The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the District Court.

**Neb. Rev. Stat. 2-101, as amended by L.B. 1116 can be found here.

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