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Clint C. BLACKMAN, Jr., E. B. Yale and Thrifty-Man No. 4, Ltd., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. The CITY OF BIG SANDY, TEXAS, and Steve Prociw, et al., etc., Defendants-Appellees

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit1975-02-07No. No. 74-3021
507 F.2d 935

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint, holding that the city's zoning ordinance prohibiting alcoholic beverage sales in the residential district had a reasonable basis and was not arbitrary, capricious, or confiscatory.

After Big Sandy, Texas legalized beer sales in 1971, appellants purchased land near U.S. Highway 80 and built a gasoline station intending to obtain a beer license. When the station's initial location fell within 300 feet of a church—an area prohibited by city ordinance—appellants physically moved the building outside that restricted zone. Before they could obtain a permit, the city enacted a comprehensive zoning ordinance designating the area as a class B residential district where alcoholic beverage sales were prohibited. This new ordinance grandfathered existing commercial uses but prevented any new liquor sales in the zone.

Appellants challenged the zoning ordinance as unconstitutional, claiming it was arbitrary, discriminatory, and confiscatory, and that it deprived them of anticipated monthly profits. The court applied the limited standard of review applicable to zoning challenges, examining only whether the city's action was arbitrary and capricious or lacked substantial relation to the general welfare. The court found the ordinance reasonable given the proximity of churches, a school, and residences to the proposed location, and noted that protecting family and youth values through zoning is a permissible exercise of municipal police power. The court rejected the discriminatory argument, observing that treating different locations differently for zoning purposes is permissible when the classification is fairly debatable.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether a municipal zoning ordinance prohibiting beer sales in a residential district is constitutional when applied to a specific business location
  • Whether the ordinance constitutes an arbitrary and capricious exercise of municipal authority
  • Whether the ordinance effects an unconstitutional taking or confiscation of property

Procedural posture

Appellants appealed from a lower court's dismissal of their constitutional challenge to a city zoning ordinance.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

AINSWORTH, Circuit Judge:

On June 1, 1971, Big Sandy, Texas went “wet,” as the voters of the City chose to legalize the sale of beer and alcoholic beverages within the corporate limits of the City. Two of the appellants purchased land along U. S. Highway 80, and constructed a small self-service gasoline station, which they subsequently leased to a third appellant. Apparently one of the purposes in constructing the station was to acquire a license to sell beer at the location, and soon after completing construction, appellants applied for a permit to sell beer.

The service station was directly across the street from a church, however, and a license could not be secured as the City had passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages within 300 feet of any church. See Vernon’s Texas Code Ann., Penal Code Art. 666-25a. Appellants then arranged to have their building winched backwards away from the street and the church, until it came to rest a few feet outside the zone of prohibition. Before a permit was issued, the City then passed a comprehensive zoning ordinance classifying a portion of the City as a class “B” residential district in which the sale of intoxicating beverages was prohibited. This ordinance was passed under the authority of Vernon’s Texas Code Ann., Penal Code Art. 667 — IOV2, which provides that “cities and towns may also designate certain zones in the residential section or sections of said cities and towns where such sales [of beer] may be prohibited.” No business establishment, including appellants’, was retroactively affected. The ordinance did not affect the preexisting commercial uses in the area so zoned, except that no business will be permitted to sell intoxicating beverages. Appellants contend that this action denies them an expected $500 a month profit, and note that other businesses in other areas are not so affected. Contending the City’s action is arbitrary, discriminatory and confiscatory, appellants assert the zoning ordinance is unconstitutional as applied.

This Court has noted previously that our review of zoning decisions is limited, and that in cases challenging the propriety of property classifications “[t]he only question which federal district courts may consider is whether the action ... is arbitrary and capricious, having no substantial relation to the general welfare.” South Gwinnett Venture v. Pruitt, 5 Cir., 1974, 491 F.2d 5, 7 (en banc); see also Higginbotham v. Barrett, 5 Cir., 1973, 473 F.2d 745, 747. The facts clearly establish a reasonable basis for the City’s decision. Not only is one church directly across the street from the location where appellants propose to sell beer, but three other churches and a school, as well as a number of residences, are located nearby. The City might be legitimately concerned about the presence of a liquor establishment and its accompanying traffic in the midst of homes, churches and a school. The Supreme Court has recently made clear that zoning decisions “addressed to family needs” are permissible ones.

The police power is not confined to elimination of filth, stench, and unhealthy places. It is ample to lay out zones where family values, youth values, and the blessings of quiet seclusion, and clean air make the area a sanctuary for people. Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas, 416 U.S. 1, 9, 94 S.Ct. 1536, 1541, 39 L.Ed.2d 797 (1974).

The City did not take from appellants something they previously had, nor limit or preclude a preexisting use. There thus is presented no element of confiscation. The contention that the ordinance is discriminatory because establishments elsewhere, including one located only two blocks from appellants’ station, are permitted to sell liquor is easily answered. “A nuisance may be merely the right thing in the wrong place, like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard. If the validity of the legislative classification for zoning purposes be fairly debatable, the legislative judgment must be allowed to control.” Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, 388, 47 S.Ct. 114, 118, 71 L.Ed. 303 (1926).

The decision of the lower court dismissing the complaint for want of a substantial federal question is Affirmed.