No. 22-545

Sage Lewis, et al. v. Akron Board of Zoning Appeals

Lower Court: Ohio
Docketed: 2022-12-14
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: civil-rights constitutional-claim due-process emergency-shelter liberty-interest property-rights rational-basis rational-basis-test zoning zoning-code
Key Terms:
AdministrativeLaw DueProcess Takings JusticiabilityDoctri
Latest Conference: 2023-02-17
Question Presented (AI Summary)

When a person wants to exercise the deeply and objectively rooted right to use liberty and property for the non-economic purpose of saving lives, does the standard of review amount to 'not utterly arbitrary'?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED Sage Lewis wants to use the backlot of his commercial building in Akron, Ohio, to provide temporary tent-shelter to homeless, street-dwelling Akronites during a life-threatening emergency such as a sub-zero blizzard. Akron denied Petitioners’ variance request under the local zoning code, and the state courts upheld that denial because the zoning code does not provide for emergency tent shelter. The courts then rejected Petitioners’ constitutional claim on the ground that Akron’s actions, being in conformity with the zoning code, were not “arbitrary.” The Question Presented is: When a person wants to exercise the deeply and objectively rooted right to use liberty and property for the non-economic purpose of saving lives, does the standard of review amount to “not utterly arbitrary”?

Docket Entries

2023-02-21
Petition DENIED.
2023-01-18
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/17/2023.
2023-01-10
Waiver of right of respondent Akron Board of Zoning Appeals to respond filed.
2023-01-06
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 14, 2023.
2023-01-05
Motion to extend the time to file a response from January 13, 2023 to March 14, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
2022-12-12

Attorneys

Akron Board of Zoning Appeals
John Robert YorkLaw Dept., Civil Div., Ste.202, Respondent
John Robert YorkLaw Dept., Civil Div., Ste.202, Respondent
Sage Lewis, et al.
Jeff RowesInstitute for Justice, Petitioner
Jeff RowesInstitute for Justice, Petitioner