IN RE: ZONING OF RICHARD D.
BATCHELOR and DEBORAH J.
BATCHELOR PROPERTY ON SKYUKA Polk County
ROAD, POLK COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA No. 01-CVS-70
Adams Hendon Carson Crow & Saenger, P.A., by George Ward
Hendon and Cynthia Marie Roelle, for petitioner-appellees.
Powell & Deutsch, by Robert J. Deutsch for respondent-
appellants.
Wynn, Judge.
In an opinion filed 3 September 2002, this Court dismissed the
appeal of the residents of Skyuka Hills Subdivision and the Skyuka
Hills homeowners association (respondents) for failure to give
timely notice of appeal. The record on appeal filed by respondents
contained a judgment dated 19 October 2001 which lacked a file
stamp by the clerk of court. See N.C.R. App. P. 9(b)(3).
Respondents' notice of appeal and their appeal information
statement filed with this Court also stated that the judgment was
entered on 19 October 2001. On the basis of respondents' record on
appeal, and nothing appearing to the contrary, this Court concludedrespondents' notice of appeal filed on 30 November 2001 was
untimely and dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
Respondents filed a petition for rehearing on 17 September
2002 and attached a copy of the judgment which bears a file-stamped
date of 29 October 2001. Although this file-stamped judgment is
not properly part of the original record on appeal, see N.C.R. App.
P. 9(b)(5), this Court granted respondents' petition for rehearing
on 27 September 2002 in order to treat the purported appeal as a
petition for writ of certiorari and reach the merits of the case.
In their appeal, respondents contend the trial court erred in
ruling that five of the Zoning Board of Adjustment's conclusions
were not supported by its findings of fact and were arbitrary and
capricious. We disagree.
Initially we note the trial court properly used the whole
record test in reviewing the Zoning Board of Adjustment's
decision. Ball v. Randolph County Board of Adjustment, 129 N.C.
App. 300, 302, 498 S.E.2d 833, 834, disc. review improvidently
allowed, 349 N.C. 348, 507 S.E.2d 272 (1998). The trial court
found, and we agree upon review of the record, that the Zoning
Board of Adjustment's findings of fact do not support its
conclusions that: the activities of Richard D. and Deborah J.
Batchelor (petitioners) on the premises is a business and
constitute or closely resemble 'retail trade, commercial services,
sales and rental of merchandise and equipment'; the proposed
building is not an Accessory building; the petitioners' intended
use of the premises would not be consistent with the statement ofdistrict intent; and the proposed building is not a structure
permitted in the RE-1 district . . . . We therefore affirm the
trial court's judgment which reversed the order of the Zoning Board
of Adjustment and reinstated the determination of the Zoning
Administrator.
(See footnote 1)
Affirmed.
Judges McGEE and CAMPBELL concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).
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