Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/05/2013

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Zoning Bulletin July 10, 2013 Volume 7 1 Issue 13 Cigarrilhas for the purpose of inducing the Cigarrilhas to act or fail to act in reliance thereon; and (2) that such representation or conduct in fact did induce the Cigarrilhas to act or fail to act to their injury. Here, the court found no evidence in the record that the City acted or made any representation which induced the Cigarrilhas to act. The tax as- sessments alone did not show any conduct on behalf of the City that would lead to reliance that injured the Cigarrilhas. Moreover, reliance on the taxes assessed did not result in the equities being balanced in the Cigarrilhas' favor. The Cigarrilhas had benefited from additional rental income, thus negating the injury requirement of equitable estoppel, concluded the court. The Cigarrilhas had also contended that the equitable doctrine of laches applied to shield them from the City's efforts at enforcement of its ordinances. Here, for the doctrine of laches to apply, the court explained, the Cigarrilhas would have had to prove: (1) there had been negligence that led to "a delay in the prosecution of the case"; and (2) that delay had prejudiced the Cigarrilhas. The Cigarrilhas had argued that the City had negligently sat on its rights for over 70 years —in taxing the Cigarrilhas as a three-family dwelling unit and not enforcing the ordinance's use restrictions. "To hold [the Cigarrilhas] responsible to try to prove something that occurred more than 70 years ago while the City refused to enforce its own rights, whatever they might be, demand[ed] the use of the concept of laches," argued the Cigarrilhas. The court disagreed. It held that the trial justice was not "clearly wrong" when it found that the City had not "acted negligently" due to the fact that the City took the appropriate steps against the Property in taxing its actual use and in promptly enforcing its codes once it learned of the violations. _ See also: Lichtenstein v. Parness, 81 R.I. 135, 99 A.2d 3 (1953). See also: School Committee of City of Cranston v. Bergin -Andrews, 984 A.2d 629, 251 Ed. Law Rep. 829 (R.I. 2009). Comprehensive Plan City approves planned unit development Development opponents contend proposal is irreconcilable with City's comprehensive plan Citation: Durant v. District of Columbia Zoning Com'n, 2013 WL 2102501 (D.C. 2013) DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (05/16/13)—This case addressed the is- © 2013 Thomson Reuters 7