In this аppeal brought by residents of an area in which a Georgia county plans to locate a landfill, the district court dismissed as “not ripe” due process and taking clаims, and ruled against the residents, after a bench trial, on an equal protection claim. We affirm.
I. FACTS
On May 14, 1986, the Mullis Tree Service (“Mullis”) applied to the Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zоning Commission (“the Commission”) for a conditional use permit to operate a “non-putrescible” landfill in Macon, Georgia. A non-putrescible landfill contains wood, paper, and other items that do not decompose rapidly. Mullis sought to build the landfill in a census tract where 3,367 black residents and 2,149 white residents lived. On June 23,1986, the Commission convened tо consider Mullis’s application. Approximately 150 opponents of the Mullis plan attended the meeting. The Commission denied Mullis’s application.
In July, 1986, the Commission convened to reconsider Mullis’s application. After substantial deliberation, the Commission approved Mullis’s application subject to four conditions: (1) approval by thе county engineer; (2) approval by applicable state and federal agencies; (3) restrictions on dumping of putrescible materials; and (4) Commission approval of a final site. In November, 1986, the Commission granted final approval for Mullis’s conditional use permit.
II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
After the Commission granted Mullis’s conditional use permit, several property owners filed a state court certiorari petition, pursuant to section 27.15 of the Macon-Bibb Land Development Resolution. 1 The Superior Court of Bibb County dismissed this cоmplaint because the property owners failed to name Mullis, an indispensable party to the action. On May 2, 1987, the property owners appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
In April, 1987, with the state action pending, the East-Bibb Twiggs Neighborhood Association and two individuals (“the residents”) filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action in the district court, seeking tо enjoin the Commission from granting Mullis a conditional use permit. The residents also sought monetary damages from the Commission and Mullis. In their complaint, the residents raised four constitutional issues: (1) Mullis and the Commission denied them procedural due process rights under applicable zoning regulations; (2) Mullis’s and the Commission’s actions denied them substantive due process because the Commission’s decision to grant Mullis a conditional use permit did not relate to public health, safety, morality, or general welfare; (3) the Commission’s deсision to grant Mullis a conditional use permit constituted a taking without just compensation; and (4) Mullis’s and the Commission’s choice of a landfill site denied them equal protectiоn of the law because the decision affected more black persons than white persons. Mullis and the Commission moved to dismiss the residents’ action.
On June 19, 1987,
In October, 1988, the district court conducted a bench trial on thе equal protection claim. On February 16, 1989, the district court ruled for the Commission and Mullis.
*1575 III.CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES
The residents contend that the district court improperly dismissed their due process and taking claims. The residents also contend that the district court erroneously entered judgment for the Commission and Mullis on the equal protection claim.
The Commission and Mullis contend thаt the district court properly dismissed the residents’ due process and taking claims. The Commission and Mullis also contend that the district court properly entered judgment in its favor оn the residents’ equal protection claim.
IV.ISSUES
The issues presented on appeal are: (1) whether the district court properly ruled that the residents did not present ripe due process and taking claims; and (2) whether the district court correctly entered judgment in favor of Mullis and the Commission on the residents’ equal protection claim.
V.DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review
The district court’s application of
Williamson
constitutes a question of law which we review
de novo. See Georgia Power Co. v. Baker,
In rеviewing the district court’s bench trial conclusions, we review factual findings for clear error. Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a).
B. Due Process and Taking Claims
The residents argue that the district court incorrectly relied on
Williamson
when it ruled that the residents did not present ripe due process and taking claims. The residents argue that the district court should have relied on
Patsy v. Board of Regents,
In Williamson, the Supreme Court clearly distinguished between exhaustion of judicial or administrative remedies and exhaustion of the administrative process itself.
The question whether administrative remedies must be exhausted is conceptually distinct, however, from the question whether an administrative action must be final before it is judicially reviewable.... While the policies underlying the two concepts often overlap, the finality requirement is concerned with whether the initial decision-maker has arrived at a definitive position on the issue that inflicts an actual, concrete injury; the exhaustion requirement generally refers to administrative and judicial procedures by which an injured party may seek review of an adverse decision and obtain a remedy if the decision is found to be unlawful or othеrwise inappropriate. Patsy concerned the latter, not the former.
Williamson,
When the residents filed their section 1983 action, they had not exhausted the
process
leading toward “just compensation” because they failed to usе MaconBibb Land Development Resolution § 27.15 which provides an appeal from Commission decisions through state law certiorari. Therefore, in 1987, the residents could not claim that the Commission and Mullis denied them due process because they had not yet completed the process. Additionally, the residents did not present a ripe tаking claim in 1987 because they failed to seek compensation through state law procedures.
See Williamson,
C. Equal Protection Claim
To demonstrate that thе Commission’s and Mullis’s actions violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause, the residents had to prove that the actions resulted in a disproportionate rаcial impact and that the Commission acted with a discriminatory intent or purpose.
Arlington Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Corp.,
The district court found that the Commission did not act with discriminatory intent when it approved Mullis’s appliсation. Instead, the district court concluded:
[I]t appears to this court that the Commission carefully and thoughtfully addressed a serious problem and that it made a decision based upon the merits and not upon any improper racial animus.
Hast Bibb-Twiggs Neighborhood Association v. Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission,
We have reviewed the record and agrеe with the district court. The residents did not present sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the Commission acted with a discriminatory intent when it approved Mullis’s application, or that the Commission engaged in a historical pattern of discriminatory conduct. The Commission’s and Mullis’s actions, therefore, did not violate the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
VI. CONCLUSION
We conclude that the district court properly dismissed the residents’ due process and taking claims without prejudice because the residents failеd to present ripe claims. We also conclude that the district court correctly entered judgment for Mullis and the Commission on the residents’ equal protection clаim because the residents failed to demonstrate that the Commission or Mullis acted with a discriminatory intent when it approved Mullis’s conditional land use permit. Accordingly, the оrders of the district court are affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
Notes
. Section 27.15 is entitled "Appeals from decisions of commission.” The section states: "Any person, firm, or corporation aggrieved by a de-cisión of the commission shall have the right of certiorari as provided by law.”