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Judge rules against Meredith in Measure 37 case |
City of Dundee wins case over purple house's owner;
Meredith vows appeal of court decision |
By David Sale, Newberg Graphic
reporter
E-mail David at
dsale@eaglenewspapers.com
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Yamhill County Circuit Court Judge Carol Jones ended a two-year
legal battle last week, ruling in favor of the city of Dundee in the
Measure 37 lawsuit brought by city resident Howard Meredith.
The owner of the vacant purple house along Highway 99W, Meredith
challenged Dundee after the enactment of Measure 37, arguing that
city land-use laws had reduced the value of property he had owned
since 1975. He sought $250,000 in damages.
“It ain’t over yet,”
said Meredith, who claims to have spent around $100,000 on legal
fees for his case. “I definitely will appeal.”
In her verdict, Jones found that Meredith had failed to demonstrate
that the market value of his property had been reduced by municipal
land-use regulations.
“It’s what we’ve argued all along,” said attorney Chris Crain, who
represents the city. “I think the law was fairly clear.”
At the request of both parties, the verdict was rendered in a
summary judgment, after a review of written evidence submitted to
the court.
“There was no actual trial — there wasn’t a question of the facts,
just how the law should be administered,” Crain explained.
A one-time mayoral candidate, Meredith accused city officials of
harming his property value by enacting in 1995 a commercial business
district zoning overlay, preventing him from opening a coffee
drive-through in the house — painted purple in protest of a
never-enforced Victorian overlay city design code.
Acting on the advice of his attorney, Russell Baldwin of Lincoln
City, Meredith refused to submit a real estate appraisal or comply
with Dundee’s other Measure 37 claim application procedures,
contending he was entitled to immediate redress and the city bore
the burden of proof to show his real estate value had not been
impacted.
In 2005, Meredith filed a similar Measure 37 claim at the state
level, also seeking $250,000 in damages. The claim was dismissed by
the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development on the
grounds that it was “unable to determine what, if any, state laws
may be restricting (Meredith’s) use of the property,” according to
the ruling.
When damages also proved not to be forthcoming from Dundee,
Meredith filed suit against the city for $250,000, alleging the city
had violated the terms of Measure 37 by not awarding him the payment
sought within 180 days of his notice of intent.
In December 2006, the Dundee City Council enacted an ordinance
specifically to allow the council to consider the merits of
Meredith’s case in the absence of a properly-filed Measure 37 claim.
After consulting with city attorneys, the council voted to waive
the central business district overlay on Meredith’s property,
reverting it to the standard commercial zoning in place when he
purchased the site, which allowed drive-thrus as a conditional use.
“That waiver is worthless,” Meredith argued. “The conditional use
permit requires a 150-foot setback and that would put it right up
against the railroad tracks. That’s no good.”
He also sought exemption from the city’s design review process,
which Jones found to be already in place when the property was
purchased and therefore not eligible for a Measure 37 waiver.
Meredith said he also hopes to establish his Measure 37 claim as
transferable through the appeals process, reversing the state’s
ruling on the matter.
“My wife and I don’t want to have to run a drive-through ourselves,
but we can’t get anyone else to do it under this waiver,” he said.
“If we could only come up with some kind of business the city would
allow and find someone to lease from us, we might be able to go
ahead.” |
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From
July 18, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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