This summary was computer-generated without any editorial revision. It is not official, has not been checked for accuracy, and is NOT citable.
Facts
The Plaintiff, a federally licensed amateur radio operator, sought to construct two 130-foot amateur radio towers on his residential property in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The zoning ordinance for the A-2 rural residential zone did not expressly prohibit such towers, and supplementary regulations exempted amateur radio towers from height restrictions. The Plaintiff obtained a building permit and began construction. However, after neighbors complained, the County reversed its position, issued stop work notices, and argued that the towers were not permissible under the zoning ordinance (paras 1-7).
Procedural History
- District Court: Denied the Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and upheld the County's decision to halt construction, finding that the towers were unreasonably tall for the A-2 zone and not customarily incidental to residential use (paras 14-15).
- Court of Appeals, 2004-NMCA-001: Held that the 1999 amendments to the zoning ordinance did not remove amateur radio towers as a permissive use in the A-2 zone but affirmed the district court's decision, allowing the County to bar the towers based on their "unreasonable" height (paras 15-16).
Parties' Submissions
- Plaintiff: Argued that the zoning ordinance expressly exempted amateur radio towers from height restrictions and that the County's reversal of its prior interpretation was arbitrary and lacked ascertainable standards. The Plaintiff contended that the County's actions violated principles of fairness and predictability in land use regulation (paras 16-17).
- Defendant (County): Asserted that the 1999 amendments to the zoning ordinance eliminated amateur radio towers as a permissive use in the A-2 zone and that the towers' height was unreasonable for the zone's purpose of preserving natural and scenic values (paras 13-14).
Legal Issues
- Whether the County could retroactively determine that the Plaintiff's amateur radio towers were "unreasonable" and not customarily incidental to residential use after previously granting a building permit (para 17).
- Whether the zoning ordinance's exemption of amateur radio towers from height restrictions precluded the County from imposing height-based limitations (paras 19-20).
Disposition
- The Supreme Court of New Mexico reversed the Court of Appeals' decision and held that the Plaintiff's building permit was valid and the County's stop work notices were invalid (para 38).
Reasons
Per Bosson CJ (Serna, Maes, Chávez JJ., and Vigil J. concurring):
- The Court found that the plain language of the zoning ordinance exempted amateur radio towers from height restrictions, and the County's attempt to impose a reasonableness standard was unsupported by the ordinance's text (paras 19-23).
- The County had previously interpreted the ordinance to allow amateur radio towers as customarily incidental to residential use, and the Plaintiff reasonably relied on this interpretation when obtaining the permit. The County's reversal of its position constituted an improper, ad hoc policy change (paras 27-32).
- The Court rejected the argument that the general purpose of the A-2 zone to preserve scenic values provided an adequate standard for determining reasonableness, noting that the County could have adopted specific height restrictions but failed to do so (paras 34-36).
- The Court emphasized the importance of predictability and fairness in land use regulation, holding that the County's actions undermined these principles and unfairly penalized the Plaintiff, who had complied with all applicable rules (paras 33, 37).