State ex rel. Stoyanoff v. Berkeley

Supreme Court of Missouri · 1970 · Property

PropertyZoningPolice PowerAesthetic RegulationDelegationarchitectural boardbuilding permitzoning

Facts

Respondents applied for a permit to build a single-family residence in the City of Ladue and submitted plans for an unusual house design. The building commissioner refused the permit because the city's Architectural Board did not approve the plans under Ordinances 131 and 281. Affidavits and photographs in the record showed that the surrounding neighborhood consisted primarily of expensive homes in conventional Colonial, French Provincial, and English Tudor styles, while respondents' proposed house was pyramid-shaped and described by the city as grotesque and nonconforming. The city presented evidence that such a structure would substantially and adversely affect neighboring property values.

Issue

May a city, under Missouri's zoning enabling statutes, require architectural-board approval of building plans based on conformity with surrounding structures and protection of neighborhood property values? If so, are Ladue's architectural-review ordinances invalid as arbitrary, aesthetic-only regulations or as an unconstitutional delegation of legislative power?

Rule

Under §§ 89.020 and 89.040, a municipality's zoning power in furtherance of the general welfare includes consideration of district character, suitability for particular uses, and conservation of building values, and may therefore support architectural review aimed at preventing structures that are unsightly, grotesque, unsuitable, or detrimental to surrounding property values and community welfare. Such an ordinance is valid if its standards, though general, are sufficiently tied to factual determinations about neighborhood character, general welfare, and preservation of property values, and if procedural safeguards such as notice, hearings, and appeal prevent arbitrary and uncontrolled discretion.

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The City of Clayton, Missouri adopts an ordinance requiring design-review approval before any new house may be built in a residential district. The ordinance states that the board must consider the character of the district, whether the proposed home is suitable for that area, and whether it would undermine surrounding property values; it also provides notice, a public hearing, and appeal to the city council. Nora Patel seeks a permit for a steel-and-concrete house unlike nearby brick Tudor and Colonial homes, and local appraisers submit evidence that the project would depress nearby sale prices.

If Nora challenges the ordinance as beyond the city’s zoning authority because architectural appearance is not expressly listed in the enabling statute, what is the best answer?

Explanation. The majority held that municipal zoning authority aimed at the general welfare may include architectural review when tied to the character of the district, suitability for particular uses, and conservation of building values. The ordinance need not rely on a statute expressly naming an architectural board. Because the review here is linked to neighborhood character and preservation of property values, it falls within the zoning power recognized by the case.