Landowners and land-use organization brought action challenging county board of supervisors’ approval of nonprofit entity’s application for zoning status change which rezoned parcel from agricultural to neighborhood commercial.
The District Court granted board’s motion to dismiss. Landowners and organization appealed.
The Supreme Court held that:
- Municipal Tort Claims Act’s heightened pleading standard, along with Act’s penalty of dismissal with prejudice for insufficient pleading, applies only to claims seeking monetary damages;
- As a matter of apparent first impression, landowners resided sufficiently near to property so as to be capable of having standing even though landowners’ properties were not adjacent to the rezoned property;
- Landowners alleged they were “aggrieved” by rezoning decision, as required for standing;
- Organization failed to allege that it was “aggrieved” by rezoning decision, as would be required for organizational standing; and
- Organization’s stated mission of preventing poorly-planned land use decisions and encouraging land use planning that protected farmland and natural areas was not a specific personal or legal interest that could confer private party standing on organization.