Lund v. Cottonwood Meadows Co

In Lund v. Cottonwood Meadows Co., 15 Utah 2d 305, 392 P.2d 40, 42 (Utah 1964), the plaintiff sought to prevent the development of a mobile home park after the Salt Lake County planning commission had approved the plan for the park. Id. at 41. The plaintiff argued that he was not required to exhaust administrative remedies as required by section 17-27-16 (the predecessor to section 17-27-1001) because the builders of the mobile home park were in actual violation of a zoning ordinance, and therefore section 17-27-23 (the predecessor to section 17-27-1002) provided him with an alternative avenue of relief. Id. at 42. While recognizing that section 17-27-23 provided a general means of redress for the violation of ordinances, Lund held that the plaintiff was nevertheless required to fulfill the requirements of section 17-27-16 because he was challenging an administrative decision: "Section 17-27-23 gives land owners a separate cause of action in the courts when a violation of a zoning resolution is charged. But where, as in this case, the alleged violation of the ordinance arose from the administration of a zoning ordinance by an administrative officer or agency, as provided in Section 17-27-16, appeal from that administrative ruling should have been taken to the proper administrative tribunal, or a suit should have been commenced in the courts within the statutory period . . . ." Id. The Court found: "The 90-day limitation period 4 is designed to assure speedy appeal to the proper tribunal any grievance that a party may have who is adversed by a decision of an administrative agency. The evident purpose of the statute is to assure the expeditious and orderly development of a community . . . ."