# Brown v. Sandy City Board of Adjustment

> Court of Appeals of Utah · March 26, 1998 · 339 Utah Adv. Rep. 13

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9849338

## Case

- **Full name:** Thomas S. “Steve” and Nancy C. BROWN, Dennis K. Cloward, and Joseph T. Bowers, Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. SANDY CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT; And Sandy, a Political Subdivision of Utah, Defendants and Appellees
- **Court:** Court of Appeals of Utah
- **Decided:** March 26, 1998
- **Citations:** 339 Utah Adv. Rep. 13; 957 P.2d 207; 1998 Utah App. LEXIS 19; 1998 WL 159807
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Bench
- **Judges:** Bench, Billings, Jackson
- **Cited by:** 16 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9849338

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- explaining that “because zoning ordinances are in derogation of a property owner’s common-law right to unrestricted use of his or her property, provisions therein restricting property uses should be strictly construed” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)
- reversing summary judgment in favor of City prohibiting homeowner’s from renting homes short-term under ordinance; no taking claim was alleged — court held that language of ordinance did not prohibit short-term rentals

## Opinion text

BENCH, Judge,
concurring in result:
Sandy City relies upon an ordinance in arguing that its Development Code does not permit short-term leases of property. The ordinance provides as follows:
No land shall be used or occupied and no building or structure shall be designed,. created, altered, used or occupied for any use, except those uses specifically permitted on the land upon which the building or structure is located or erected or use established as permitted in the regulations for the district in which said land is located.
Sandy City, Utah, Dev.Code § 15-21-11 (1996) (emphasis added). Essentially, Sandy takes the position that every use of property is prohibited unless the use is specifically permitted by ordinance. That approach to zoning is diametrically opposed to the common law followed in Utah. See, e.g., Patterson v. Utah County Bd. of Adjustment, 893 P.2d 602 , 606 (Utah Ct.App.1995) (stating zoning ordinances are to be strictly construed against the municipality because they are “in derogation of a property owner’s common-law right to unrestricted use of his or her property”).
As the main opinion concludes, short-term rentals are permitted in Sandy unless the city passes an ordinance to specifically prohibit them.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9849338. Public record. Not legal advice.