Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/08/1999

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Page 6 w September 25, 1999 Z.B. feet, while Larry's deli had 4,000 square feet of dining area that could seat 310 patrons. The Denglers appealed to the city board of adjustment, which affirmed the inspector's decision. The Denglers appealed to court, claiming the board abused its discretion in affirming the building inspector's decision. They sought a court order prohibiting Larry's from violating the zoning ordinance. Larry's claimed the fact it had applied for and received a license to operate a "dance hall" under the city code didn't mean that its use of the property violated the zoning ordinance. .. The court awarded the city judgment without a trial, finding the board prop- erly affirmed the building inspector's decision. The Denglers appealed again. DECISION: Reversed and returned to the trial court. ~ The Denglers were right; the board abused its discretion. Larry's use violated the zoning ordinance because the ordinance didn't al- low public dancing in that district. Larry's permitted use was a restaurant, and the common definition of "restaurant" included the concept of meals and drinks, but not dance. The activity at Larry's felt within the definition of a "dance hall." The defi- nition stated a "dance hall" was "any room, place or space where dancing is permitted." Larry's had an area set aside for dancing and allowed its patrols to dance there. Larry's also had a city dance hall license, which revealed the na- ture of its business. Contrary to Larry's claim, the city Code prohibited the city from issuing a license unless the dance hail complied with all laws governing health, and safety, fire regulations, and zoning requirements. Because a dance hall license couldn't be issued unless the zoning requirements were satisfied, Larry's. use consti- tuted a dance hall and had to comply with the requirements. Citation: Dengler v. City of Groves, Court of Apt~ealx of Texas, 9th Dist., Beaumont, No. 09-98-476 (1999). see alxo: Board of Adjustment of City of Dallas v. Patel, 887S. W. 2d 90 (1994). see also: Board of Adjustmet~t of City of Corpus Christie v. Flores, 860 S. W. 2d 622 (1993). Taking -- Owner says board took his property by denying permission for mini-storage facility OHIO (8/12/99) -- Kotoch owned property in Highland Heights. The property used to be zoned residential, but the city had rezoned it to commercial/light manufacturing. Kotoch wanted to build a mini-storage facility and applied to the city's zoning commission for site plan approval. The commission denied Kotoch's request, finding it wasn't a permitted use under the zoning ordinance. The only storage allowed in the district was storage ancillary to manufacturing. The commission also found that leasing storage space would constitute retail sales,