Preview:

Michigan Supreme Court Lansing, Michigan

Opinion
SUPREME COURT SHEPHERD MONTESSORI CENTER MILAN, a Michigan not for profit corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v ANN ARBOR CHARTER TOWNSHIP, ANN ARBOR CHARTER TOWNSHIP ZONING OFFICIAL, and ANN ARBOR CHARTER TOWNSHIP ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, Defendants-Appellants.

Chief Justice:

Justices:

Marilyn Kelly

Michael F. Cavanagh Elizabeth A. Weaver Maura D. Corrigan Robert P. Young, Jr. Stephen J. Markman Diane M. Hathaway

FILED JUNE 18, 2010 STATE OF MICHIGAN

No. 137443

BEFORE THE ENTIRE BENCH HATHAWAY, J. At issue is whether defendants violated plaintiff's right to equal protection by denying a request for a zoning variance. We hold that defendants' denial of plaintiff's variance request does not violate equal protection principles because plaintiff has not met the threshold burden of proof for its equal protection challenge by showing disparate treatment of similarly situated entities based on religion. Accordingly, we reverse the

Court of Appeals judgment and reinstate the trial court's order granting defendants' motion for summary disposition. I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS This case originates from a zoning dispute in Ann Arbor Township. The property at issue is zoned as an office park (OP) district pursuant to the township zoning ordinance, and is located within Domino's Farms office complex. Among the uses permitted in the township's OP zoning district are daycare facilities for use by children of office park employees. Rainbow Rascals, a former tenant of Domino's Farms, had operated a 100-child-capacity secular preschool daycare facility in the office park limited to children of office park employees. In 1991, Domino's Farms, on behalf of Rainbow Rascals, applied to Ann Arbor Township for a variance to allow children whose parents did not work at the Domino's Farms office complex to attend the Rainbow Rascals daycare. variance. In 1998, plaintiff Shepherd Montessori opened a Catholic preschool daycare facility in this same office park complex. The facility was originally limited to children of office park employees. Thereafter, Domino's Farms applied to Ann Arbor Township for a variance to allow children whose parents did not work at the office park to attend Shepherd Montessori's facility, a variance virtually identical to the one granted to Rainbow Rascals. The ZBA again granted the requested variance. In 2000, Rainbow Rascals moved out of the office park, and Shepherd Montessori proposed to move into the vacated space and operate a K-3 primary school program. 2 The township's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) granted the requested

Shepherd Montessori sent a letter to the township's zoning administrator describing the proposal. The zoning administrator denied plaintiff's proposed use of the property, explaining that the operation of a primary school is not a permitted use within an OP district as designated in the township's zoning ordinance. Plaintiff filed a petition with the ZBA seeking in the alternative either (1) reversal of the zoning administrator's decision, (2) a use variance, or (3) a determination that plaintiff's proposed use of the property can be considered a "substituted use" of the prior "nonconforming" Rainbow Rascals daycare program. The ZBA held a hearing on plaintiff's petition. During the hearing, plaintiff's attorney asserted that plaintiff should receive special consideration because its primary school would have a religious component that would be a use favored by the Constitution. One ZBA member questioned plaintiff's attorney regarding this assertion and inquired whether counsel believed that plaintiff "has some additional right to relief that she [sic] would not have as a nonsectarian private school without a religious affiliation based on the Constitution." Plaintiff's attorney responded that he believed plaintiff is afforded additional rights under the Constitution, which favors education and religion. At the conclusion of the hearing, the ZBA indicated that it agreed with the zoning administrator's decision and denied plaintiff's request because a primary school is not a permitted use within an OP district as designated in the township's ordinance. The ZBA also ruled that plaintiff's proposed nonconforming primary school use could not be substituted for Rainbow Rascals' use of the property because the daycare was a permitted 3

use whereas a school is not. Finally, the ZBA voted to deny plaintiff's request for a use variance to operate a primary school in the OP district because plaintiff did not prove that without the variance, there could be no other viable economic use of the property. The vote on all three issues was unanimous. Plaintiff sued the township, alleging, among other things, that its equal protection rights were violated by defendants' denial of the variance request.1 The matter currently
1

This matter has been pending in the courts since 2000. The procedural history is complex. Plaintiff initially filed a lawsuit alleging violations of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), 42 USC 2000cc et seq., substantive due process, procedural due process, and equal protection. The parties filed cross-motions for summary disposition. The trial court ruled that plaintiff had no claim under RLUIPA and also dismissed plaintiff's constitutional claims. Plaintiff appealed in the Court of Appeals, and the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's grant of summary disposition on plaintiff's RLUIPA and equal protection claims and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. Shepherd Montessori Ctr Milan v Ann Arbor Charter Twp (Shepherd I), 259 Mich App 315; 675 NW2d 271 (2003). The township filed an interlocutory application for leave to appeal to this Court, which was denied. Shepherd Montessori Ctr Milan v Ann Arbor Charter Twp, 471 Mich 877 (2004). In 2006, on remand the parties again filed cross-motions for summary disposition on the RLUIPA and equal protection claims. The trial court granted defendants' motion and denied plaintiff's. Plaintiff once again appealed the decision in the Court of Appeals, which reversed the trial court's opinion and order granting defendants' motion for summary disposition and remanded for entry of judgment in favor of plaintiff and for reversal of the ZBA's denial of plaintiff's variance request. Shepherd Montessori Ctr Milan v Ann Arbor Charter Twp (Shepherd II), 275 Mich App 597; 739 NW2d 664 (2007). The Court of Appeals concluded that plaintiffs had established a substantial burden on religious exercise to support the RLUIPA claim and also held in favor of plaintiff's equal protection claim. Defendants filed a motion for reconsideration in the Court of Appeals, which the Court denied. Plaintiff filed a motion for sanctions against defendant, arguing that defendant's motion for reconsideration was vexatious under MCR 7.216(C). The Court of Appeals agreed, awarding plaintiff costs and attorney fees in an amount to be determined by the trial court.

4

before us addresses plaintiff's equal protection challenge. On the most recent remand from this Court, the Court of Appeals affirmed its prior decision that the defendants' application of the zoning ordinance violated the Equal Protection Clause. Applying the strict scrutiny standard of review, the panel held that defendant "treated a secular entity more favorably than plaintiff, a religious entity," and that defendant offered no evidence to show that the denial of plaintiff's variance was "precisely tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest." The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the trial court for entry of a judgment in favor of plaintiff.2 Defendants filed an application for leave in appeal to this Court, and we granted defendants' application limited to consideration of "(1) whether the Court of Appeals applied the correct standard of review in determining that the defendants violated the plaintiff's right to equal protection; and

Defendants filed applications for leave to appeal in this Court, challenging Shepherd I and Shepherd II and the Court of Appeals order imposing sanctions against defendants. On March 28, 2008, this Court vacated the judgment of the Court of Appeals in Shepherd II, reversed the order awarding plaintiff sanctions for a vexatious motion for reconsideration, and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for reconsideration in light of Greater Bible Way Temple of Jackson v City of Jackson, 478 Mich 373; 733 NW2d 734 (2008). Shepherd Montessori Ctr Milan v Ann Arbor Charter Twp, 480 Mich 1143 (2008). On remand, the Court of Appeals applied this Court's decision in Greater Bible Way and held that the trial court had correctly granted summary disposition in favor of defendants on the RLUIPA claim. However, the Court of Appeals also held that the remand order did not alter its prior ruling that defendants' application of the zoning ordinance violated the Equal Protection Clause, and the Court remanded the case to the trial court for entry of a judgment in favor of plaintiff. Shepherd Montessori Ctr Milan v Ann Arbor Charter Twp (On Remand) (Shepherd III), 280 Mich App 449; 761 NW2d 230 (2008).
2

Shepherd III, 280 Mich App 449.

5

(2) whether the defendants violated the plaintiff's right to equal protection in denying the plaintiff's request for a variance."3 II. STANDARD OF REVIEW A trial court's ruling on a motion for summary disposition is a question of law, which this Court reviews de novo.4 Underlying constitutional issues are also reviewed de novo by this Court.5 III. ANALYSIS At issue in this case is whether defendants' denial of plaintiff's zoning variance request was constitutionally permissible. In order to resolve this issue, we apply the following principles of equal protection law. The equal protection clauses of the Michigan and United States constitutions provide that no person shall be denied the equal protection of the law.6 This Court has held that Michigan's equal protection provision is coextensive with the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.7 The Equal Protection Clause requires that all

3

Shepherd Montessori Ctr Milan v Ann Arbor Charter Twp, 483 Mich 1131 Haynes v Neshewat, 477 Mich 29, 34; 729 NW2d 488 (2007). Sidun v Wayne Co Treasurer, 481 Mich 503, 508; 751 NW2d 453 (2008). Const 1963, art 1,

Download SHEPHERD MONTESSORI CENTER MILAN V ANN ARBOR CHARTER TWP.pdf

Michigan Law