Griswold v. City of Homer

34 P.3d 1280 (Alaska 2001) · Supreme Court of Alaska · November 16, 2001

Summary

The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment upholding Homer's zoning ordinance permitting automobile-related uses in part of the central business district. The court held that the ordinance was controlled by the precedent in Griswold I, that a fencing amendment did not require resubmission to the planning commission, and that the alleged interests of council member Al Waddell did not constitute a disqualifying conflict of interest.

Holdings

  1. Griswold failed to show a material difference between Ordinance 98-9(A) and the ordinance upheld in Griswold I; therefore, Griswold I's controlling legal rule foreclosed the spot-zoning challenge, and summary judgment for the city was proper.
  2. The city council was not required to resubmit Ordinance 98-9(A) to the planning commission after adding the fencing and screening requirement because the amendment was minor, narrowing, and did not materially change the ordinance's subject matter, affected land, or permitted-use classification.
  3. Waddell did not have a disqualifying conflict of interest because his alleged financial connections to the ordinance were too attenuated and speculative to constitute a substantial financial interest in its subject matter.

Questions Presented

  1. Whether Griswold's spot-zoning claims were foreclosed by the controlling legal rule announced in Griswold I despite differences between the earlier ordinance and Ordinance 98-9(A).
  2. Whether adding the fencing and screening requirement materially changed the proposed zoning ordinance so that it had to be resubmitted to the planning commission.
  3. Whether council member Al Waddell had a disqualifying substantial financial interest in Ordinance 98-9(A).

Disposition

affirmed

Cases Cited (15)

  • Griswold v. City of Homer, 925 P.2d 1015 (Alaska 1996)(followed)
  • Chilton-Wren v. Olds, 1 P.3d 693, 696 (Alaska 2000)(followed)
  • DeNardo v. GCI Communication Corp., 983 P.2d 1288, 1289-1290 (Alaska 1999)(followed)
  • Baxley v. State, 958 P.2d 422, 428 (Alaska 1998)(followed)
  • Campion v. State, 876 P.2d 1096, 1098 (Alaska 1994)(followed)
  • Parklane Hosiery Co. v. Shore, 439 U.S. 322, 326 (1979)(followed)
  • Concerned Citizens of S. Kenai Peninsula v. Kenai Peninsula Borough, 527 P.2d 447, 452 (Alaska 1974)(followed)
  • Burke v. Village of Glenview, 628 N.E.2d 465, 469 (Ill. App. Ct. 1993)(followed)
  • Liberati v. Bristol Bay Borough, 584 P.2d 1115, 1119 (Alaska 1978)(followed)
  • Jefferson v. City of Anchorage, 513 P.2d 1099, 1100, 1102 (Alaska 1973)(followed)

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