Pinecrest Homeowners Association v. Glen A. Cloninger & Associates

Glen A. Cloninger & Associates (Cloninger) (defendant) owned property designated as medium density in the Lincoln Heights area of Spokane, Washington. Cloninger applied to the Spokane City Council (the council) for an amendment to the Spokane City Comprehensive Plan (the plan) to permit office parks of at least five acres in the neighborhood of Cloninger’s property to qualify for mixed-use development. Mixed-use development combined residential, office, and retail uses. The council accordingly amended the plan. The amendment was effective immediately and called for the enactment of a zoning ordinance permitting the rezoning of areas designated as high density in Cloninger’s zone to allow for mixed-use development complying with specific design standards. The amendment also required the hearing examiner to process a rezone that would fulfill the purposes of the amended plan. Cloninger then applied for rezoning, but the hearing examiner denied the request on the ground that the zoning ordinance called for in the plan had not yet been enacted. Cloninger appealed to the council, which reversed and remanded the hearing examiner’s decision. The Pinecrest Homeowners Association, the Rockwood Neighborhood Council, and various homeowners (plaintiffs) brought suit in the Spokane County Superior Court, challenging the council’s decision. The superior court affirmed the council’s decision. The plaintiffs appealed to Division Three of the Court of Appeals of Washington, which reversed the superior court’s decision. Cloninger appealed to the Supreme Court of Washington.