Nearby landowners filed petition for writ of certiorari and motion for restraining order, seeking reversal of decision of county board of zoning appeals which upheld county planning department’s grant of landowner’s application for zoning certification allowing property to be used as farm winery.
In separate complaint, nearby landowners sought declaratory judgment that ordinance under which zoning certification was issued was invalid and an injunction to prevent applicant landowner from taking any action in furtherance of the approved farm winery.
Following a hearing on both the petition for writ of certiorari and on applicant landowner and board’s demurrers to declaratory judgment action, the Circuit Court sustained demurrers and dismissed petition for writ of certiorari. Nearby landowners appealed.
The Court of Appeals held that:
- Period of 30 days in which nearby landowners, as persons aggrieved by zoning administrator decision, were required to appeal to board of zoning appeals in order to have exhausted administrative remedies, so as to avoid decision becoming a “thing decided” not subject to court challenge, ran from date that decision was sent to landowner rather than date that nearby landowners became aware of decision;
- Repeal of county ordinance’s enabling statute, which had contained a definition of “farm winery” for zoning purposes, did not nullify ordinance’s definition of “farm winery” or any right to establish farm wineries thereunder, even though ordinance defined “farm winery” as, inter alia, an establishment “licensed as a farm winery under [repealed statute]”; and
- Provision of Alcoholic Beverage Control Act granting Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (ABC) Board the authority to control the “possession, sale, transportation and delivery of alcoholic beverages” did not render the possession of an ABC license by landowner a prerequisite for zoning certification of landowner’s property for use as farm winery.