Warren v. MARION COUNTYWarren v. MARION COUNTY
This is a suit brought under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act (ORS ch 28) seeking a judgment declaring that the building code ordinance of Marion county is unconstitutional and void and that plaintiff, a building contractor, is not required to comply with its terms.
The complaint alleges that the defendant county’s
The ordinance in question was enacted pursuant to an enabling act, Oregon Laws 1955, ch 439, § 5, which is now compiled as
We shall address our attention first to the contention that the act constitutes an invalid delegation of legislative power. The section subject to attack on this score is
“215.108 Building code ordinance. (1) The governing body of a county may adopt ordinances establishing building codes for the county, or any portion thereof, in conformity with the standards set forth inORS 215.104. Such ordinances may adopt by reference published budding codes, or any portions thereof, which conform to such standards,and a certified copy of such code or codes shall be filed with the county clerk of said county.
“(2) Any governing body of a county which adopts ordinances establishing building codes shall by ordinance provide procedures for appeals from decisions made under the authority of the ordinances establishing building codes.”
“215.055 Standards for development pattern. The development pattern and regulations and ordinances adopted by the commission or the governing body of the county underORS 215.010 to 215.190 shall be designed to promote the public health, safety and general welfare. The commission and the governing body of the county shall give reasonable consideration, among other things, to the character of the areas involved, the buildings, structures and uses presently in the areas, the peculiar suitability or adaptability of the areas for particular uses, the needs of agriculture, industry and business in the future growth of the areas, the need for healthful surroundings and conditions, the conservation of property values and the direction and trend of building development in the areas. Provisions relating to height, bulk and construction of buildings and the areas of yards, courts and other open spaces shall be uniform for each class of buildings throughout each zoning area included in the development pattern. Provisions relating to the construction, location and use of buildings or structures shall be designed to secure safety from fire and other dangers and to insure sanitary conditions and adequate light, air and access.”
An examination of the history of this legislation reveals that a clerical error was made in the course
Plaintiff contends that even though
There is no constitutional requirement that all delegation of legislative power must be accompanied by a statement of standards circumscribing its exercise. It is true that a contrary view has frequently been expressed in the adjudicated cases, particularly
As pointed out in Davis on Administrative Law, the important consideration is not whether the statute delegating the power expresses
standards,
but whether the procedure established for the exercise of the power furnishes adequate
safeguards
to those who are affected by the administrative action. 1 Davis, Administrative Law Treatise, §§ 2.10, 2.15, 7.20. See also:
Peninsula Corporation v. United States,
In testing the statute for the adequacy of such safeguards it is important to consider the character of administrative action which the statute authorizes. The statute here authorizes the establishment of building codes, including the adoption by reference of published codes such as the Uniform Building Code which the defendant adopted in modified form. Such codes
We believe that the appeals procedure required by OES 215.108 (2) provided a sufficient safeguard to persons wishing to contest administrative action in the enforcement of the code. Plaintiff has not mentioned the standards which he thinks would satisfy the requirement for an adequate statute. We doubt that any standards which he could suggest for inclusion in the statute would make any clearer the scope of the delegated power or contribute materially to the protection of a citizen against unwarranted administrative action. We hold that OES 215.108 constitutes a valid delegation of legislative power.
Plaintiff next attacks the building code on the ground that it fails to provide any procedure for appeals as required by the enabling act. OES 215.108 (2) provides as follows:
“215.108 Building code ordinance. (1) The governing body of a county may adopt ordinances establishing building codes for the county, or any portion thereof, in conformity with the standardsset forth in ORS 215.104. Such ordinances may adopt by reference published building codes, or any portions thereof, which conform to such standards, and a certified copy of such code or codes shall be filed with the county clerk of said county.
“(2) Any governing body of a county which adopts ordinances establishing building codes shall by ordinance provide procedures for appeals from decisions made under the authority of the ordinances establishing building codes.”
The Marion county building code ordinance adopted by reference Volume I of the Uniform Building Code (1955 ed) with certain amendments. Section 204 of the Uniform Building Code relating to appeals procedure was adopted as amended by the ordinance. The amended section reads as follows:
“ ‘Section 204. BOARD OF EXAMINERS AND APPEALS. In order to determine the suitability of alternate materials and construction and to permit interpretations of the provisions of this code, there shall be and is hereby created a Board of Examiners and Appeals, consisting of six (6) members, who are qualified by experience and training to pass on matters pertaining to building construction. Two members shall be practicing registered architects, two competent general contractors and two practicing registered professional engineers, each of whom shall have had at least ten years experience as an architect, contractor, or engineer. A quorum for any meeting shall be three or more members. If three only, one shall be a contractor member, one engineer member, and one an architect member. The building inspector shall be an ex-officio member and shall act as secretary to the Board. The Board of Examiners & Appeals shall be appointed by the mayor ① and shall hold office for a term of one year, unless sooner removedfor cause. The hoard shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations for conducting its investigations & shall render all decisions & findings in writing to the building inspector with a duplicate copy to the appellant and may recommend to the Common Council such new legislation as is consistent therewith. If any member has a working interest in the matter before the appeal board, he may attend and enter in the discussion but will not be permitted to vote.’ ”
Plaintiff contends that the ordinance does not comply with the requirements set forth in OES 215.108 (2) in that the ordinance makes no provision for times when the appeal board must meet to hear complaints, that it prescribes no time within which an appellant must appeal to the board, and generally fails to set-out the procedures necessary to present a case to it for determination.
The Uniform Building Code from which this section in substance was adopted contains no other sections relating to the procedures to be followed in passing upon matters pertaining to building construction under the code. Apparently, the draftsman of the Uniform Code regarded the section as sufficient to meet the minimum constitutional requirement for procedural due process. We must determine whether that minimum has been met.
The enabling statute, OES 215.108 (2), phrases the delegation of authority in general terms — the county “shall by ordinance provide procedures for appeals.” The plaintiff interprets this direction to require the ordinance itself to spell out the details as to time of hearing, time within which appeals may be taken and other procedural matters, apparently on the theory that the person aggrieved must be able to de
The statute, by requiring that provision must be made for appeal procedures, indicates clearly enough that a hearing must be afforded persons who are not satisfied with the initial administrative determination. It is not unlikely that the statute was drafted with knowledge that the Uniform Building Code provided for such appeal procedures. At any rate, it is reasonable to assume that the legislature intended that the governing body of the county would set up an administrative board to carry out the quasi-judicial function of hearing the complaints of those appealing from the action of the officer charged with inspecting structures covered by the building code. This the ordinance clearly does and to this extent, at least, the ordinance followed the command of the statute that appeal procedures must be provided. The ordinance, however, leaves to the board the task of working out the details of its own procedure by providing that the board “shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations for conducting its investigations.”
Can the county thus subdelegate the function of establishing necessary procedural safeguards to assure the constitutional requirement of due process ? We think that it can. First, we do not regard it as essential that the ordinance or the rules and regulations adopted by the board set out in advance the times for meet
"We hold that the governing body of the county may delegate the function of establishing the necessary rules or procedure for cases appealed to the board created by it. See, Forkosch, Administrative Law, § 86. In the absence of proof to the contrary, we are entitled to presume that the board has carried out the mandate of the ordinance and has adopted “rules and regulations for conducting its investigations.”
United States v. Chemical Foundation, Inc.,
In reaching our conclusion on this phase of the ease we have made the assumption that the function
It is next contended that
We shall first consider the contention that the subject is not embraced in the title. The title to Oregon Laws 1955, ch 439 was as follows:
“Relating to county planning; creating new provisions ; amendingORS 215.050 , 215.150 and 215.420; and providing penalties.”
Plaintiff argues that the words “county planning” in the title are not sufficiently broad to embrace the provision enabling the county to enact an ordinance establishing a building code.
The constitutional restriction on titles of legislative acts was designed to prevent the use of the title as a means of deceiving members of the legislature and other interested persons as the bill moved through the legislative process. The restriction ivas intended to assure those who could not examine the body of the act itself that the act did not deal with more than its title disclosed. See an excellent treatment of the subject of titles of acts in “The Constitutional Restriction on Titles of Acts in Oregon” by Walter Probert in 31 Or L Rev 111 (1951).
Our cases repeatedly state that Article IV, § 20 must be liberally construed; the insufficiency of the
Basically, the question is one of semantics; specifically, the problem of determining whether the idea of a building code and its enactment is a referent of the expression “county planning.” Whether it is or not will depend upon the meaning which the expression has come to have through usage. The word “planning” in such expressions as “county planning,” “city planning,” “regional planning” and the like is frequently used to embrace all of the problems which relate to the integration of land use, including the orderly development of the community, zoning, traffic, and the regulation of the location, construction and use of buildings, to mention a few. In the discussion of planning in this sense it is not uncommon to find as a part of the subject matter dealt with, the enactment or administration of building codes. See for example, LXII The American City 77; LVI Ibid. 113. Judicial recognition of the relationship between county planning and the enactment of a building code is found in
Vanderburgh County v. Sanders,
218 Ind 43,
“1. Authority to adopt a budding code requiring the obtaining of permits for contemplated buildings and the payment of a reasonable fee therefor is conferred upon a board of county commissionersby a statute providing for the appointment of a county planning commission with the view to development of the county as a place of residence according to a master plan, and empowering it to prepare and submit to the board of county commissioners drafts of ordinances for the purpose of carrying out the master plan, or of any part thereof, including zoning or land use regulations.”
The court’s recognition of a building code as impliedly included in legislation calling for the creation of a master plan by a planning commission reflects, we believe, a not uncommon understanding of the scope of the word “planning” in this context. We think that the title afforded sufficient warning of the subject of building codes dealt with in the body of the act and, therefore, we hold that the act does not violate Article IV, § 20 of the Oregon Constitution.
As a corollary argument defendant asserts that the act also violates the constitutional restriction against including more than one subject in a single act. It is to be noted that Article IV, § 20 permits “matters properly connected” with the subject of the act. As we have already stated, the subject of building codes is related to the subject of county planning. We hold that it is “properly connected” within the meaning of the constitutional provision.
The validity of the building code ordinance is attacked on the ground that it was not legally adopted. It is argued that the question of whether the ordinance should be adopted must be submitted to the legal voters of the county in accordance with OES 215.120. That section provides in part as follows:
<c* * * (1) The governing body of the county may adopt ordinances submitted under OES 215.110 by the commission.
“(2) Prior to the enactment of any zoning or land nse ordinances submitted under ORS 215.110 , the county court or board of county commissioners shall refer to the legal voters of the county at a general or special election called for that purpose the question ‘Shall the county court or board of county commissioners be authorized to enact zoning and land use regulations?”’
The commission referred to in
# * * #
“(1) Zoning or land use regulations,
“(2) The making of official maps and the preservation of the integrity thereof,
“ (3) Procedure for appeals from decisions made under the authority of such ordinances, and
“(4) Regulations for the conservation of the natural resources of the county.”
It is stipulated that there has been no approval by the voters of Marion county of the building code ordinance. Whether such approval is necessary is purely a matter of statutory construction.
We are convinced that the subject of the adoption of building codes was not intended to be conditional upon submission to the people for approval. In addition to the evidence of the separate treatment of building code ordinances in the act, there is an additional ground which leads us to the conclusion that such ordinances were not intended to be included in
Finally, it is argued that the building code ordinance violates the equal privileges and immunities clause of the Oregon Constitution, Article I, § 20, and that it also violates that part of Article IV, § 23 which prohibits the legislature from enacting special or local laws “for the punishment of Crimes, and Misdemeanors.”
The ordinance adopting the building code made the code applicable only to the unincorporated areas of Marion county lying west of the Willamette meridian, excluding, however, “farm dwellings or agricultural buildings and structures on lands used exclusively for grazing, agricultural, horticultural and timber growing purposes.” It is urged that the application of the building code ordinance to the unincorporated area lying west of the Willamette meridian and not to the unincorporated area lying east of the Willamette meridian constitutes an unlawful discrimination against those persons living and doing business west of the meridian. It is pointed out that the ordinance
The ordinance must, of course, rest upon a reasonable classification.
State of Oregon v. Pirkey,
The provision for the impostion of penalties in the building code ordinance does not violate Article IV, § 23. It is established that a law containing a penalty provision which is applicable only to a certain class of persons is not objectionable if the law is based upon a reasonable classification.
State v. Savage,
The judgment of the lower court is affirmed.
Notes
An interpretation section of the ordinance provides in effect that the word "mayor” shall be construed to mean “county judge.”