Pathways Psychosocial v. Town of Leonardtown, CIV.A. DKC 99-1362.

133 F.Supp.2d 772

PATHWAYS PSYCHOSOCIAL, et al. v. TOWN OF LEONARDTOWN, MD, et al.

No. CIV.A. DKC 99-1362.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

March 29, 2001.

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Beth Pepper, Stein & Schonfeld, Victoria M. Shearer, Allen, Johnson, Alexander & Karp, Baltimore, MD, Robert L. Schonfeld, Law Office, Garden City, NY, for Plaintiffs.

Daniel Karp, Law Office, Baltimore, MD, for Defendants.

Tawana E. Davis, U.S. Attorney's Office, Baltimore, MD, for Amicus.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHASANOW, District Judge.

Pathways Psychosocial Support Center ("Pathways"), Clarissa Ann Edwards, and Walter Cotter, ("Plaintiffs") have brought suit against Defendants¹ alleging that they refused to allow Pathways to relocate its psychiatric rehabilitation facility to downtown Leonardtown, Maryland, because their clientele is mentally disabled. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12132, et seq., the Rehabilitation Act², and the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Presently pending before this court is Defendants' motion for summary judgment. The issues have been fully briefed, and no hearing is deemed necessary. Local Rule 105.6. For the following reasons, the court shall GRANT Defendants' motion for summary judgment in part and DENY it in part.

I. Background

Pathways is a non-profit agency licensed by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide a type of mental health service called "psychiatric rehabilitation" for individuals with serious mental illness. In the spring of 1997, Gerald McGloin, executive director of Pathways, contacted Robert Guyther, the Town Administrator, to find a downtown location for the program. Def. Ex. 1, McGloin Dep., 50; Ex. 2, Guyther Dep., 38-39.

Mr. Guyther suggested several locations, and in a conversation a few days later, Mr. McGloin expressed interest in one particular building that had been suggested, the Court Square Building. Guyther Dep., 38-39. Mr. McGloin informed Guyther that Pathways would be counseling mentally disabled patients and that the space would be used for administrative offices and counselors. Guyther Dep., 47-48. The Leonardtown Town Council ("the Council") declared its downtown a "designated neighborhood" so that low-interest state loans could be made available to businesses willing to participate in revitalization efforts. Because the Court Square Building was located within the "designated neighborhood", businesses within this building would be eligible to apply for low interest state loans provided that they had the Town's endorsement. Mr. Guyther offered to ask the Council for an endorsement on Pathways' behalf.

On May 19, 1997, Mr. Guyther described Pathways' potential move to the Court Square Building as follows:

We have a resolution before us. I think I should announce for the record that this building under contract of sale belongs to my father, but I'm not getting anything out of it, but anyhow the people that are proposing to buy this is called Pathways, Inc. which is a counseling center and jobs and mental health counseling center ... and that they would like to consolidate all their operations into this building within the designated areas for the loans and grants that the State is to provide.

Guyther Dep., 97-100; Videotape of May meeting. The Council members unanimously approved the resolution and voiced no concerns as to the nature of Pathways' business. Videotape of May meeting.

A. Rescission of Town Endorsement

At the July 1997 meeting, the Council rescinded its endorsement of Pathways. The Town Council members are Ruth Proffitt, Bernard Delahay, Susan Erichsen, Daniel Muchow, and Walter Wise. Daniel Muchow, a member of the Council who was absent from the May meeting, spearheaded an effort to rescind the endorsement granted to Pathways, prior to the vote.³ Mr. Muchow called Mr. McGloin and Mayor Norris, to express his disapproval of Pathways' receipt of revitalization funds and move to downtown specifically because Pathways' clients would "be a public nuisance" and would "urinate in public", "get drunk", "be exhibitionists", and "be violent." Pl.Ex. 1, McGloin Dep., 86-89; Pl.Ex. 5, Norris Dep., 138. Mr. Muchow also conducted a petition drive where he knocked on townspeople's doors and stopped into shops, publicly denouncing Pathways as a vehicle by which mentally disabled people would move downtown and become a public safety risk. Pl. Ex. 14, D'Espito Aff. at ¶ 4. Katherine D'Espito, a resident of Leonardtown, recalled that Mr. Muchow knocked on her door and related that an organization called Pathways wanted to move downtown and that the people in the program, with all their problems would be "wandering around the town unsupervised .... that these people had mental problems and some had scrapes with the law." Id. Ms. Garner, a local shopkeeper, recounted that Mr. Muchow stated that his objective was to convince the business and community people in town to join together to oppose the move by Pathways and then he asked her to place a petition in her store. Pl.Ex. 15, Garner Dep., 14-22.

Mr. Muchow presented these petitions containing at least 120 signatures at the July 14 Council Meeting.⁴ Mayor Norris asked Mr. McGloin to attend the meeting to answer questions but Mr. McGloin declined, stating that he could not make the meeting on such short notice. Def. Ex. 9, Town Council Minutes July 14, 1997, 000133.⁵

At the meeting, various council members expressed concerns about Pathways being a residential facility and that this would lead to Pathways' clientele walking around downtown without supervision. Id. at 000134. Ms. Erichsen described the atmosphere of the meeting with these words:

[T]hese people had been talked to in a manner that would create fear in them, and that there was a genuine fear that something could happen, that you know, I didn't agree with. But there was a real-it was a lot of elderly women and they weren't rational. Can I say that? That was the air, that you were dealing with people who weren't rational.

Q: And what was the fear that you believe was expressed or what did you understand?

A: I think they thought that it was fear for their physical safety, these older women ... I couldn't figure out why they would be so up in arms.

Pl.Ex. 12, Erichsen Dep., 69. Mayor Norris stated that the members of the community expressed fear about safety, lack of supervision, and declining property values. Pl.Ex. 5, Norris Dep., 177. The Council then voted to rescind its endorsement of Pathways. On July 21, 1997, the Town's attorney, Karen Abrams, sent a letter to Mr. McGloin indicating that the Town retracted its endorsement of Pathways to apply for a revitalization loan. Def. Ex. 14, Let. Of July 21, 1997. However, Ms. Abrams' letter also invited Mr. McGloin to reapply for the Town's endorsement and schedule a time when he could be present to answer questions and explain Pathways' plans. Id.

Plaintiffs assert that without the Council's endorsement Pathways could not acquire a loan from the State, and without the loan, it could not purchase the Court Square Building. Additionally, on July 28, 1997, Mayor Norris, Ms. Proffitt, and Mr. Muchow visited Pathways' offices. These officials told Mr. McGloin about the fears many senior citizens had about being assaulted by Pathways' clients, and the desire to have other types of businesses move into the town. Pl.Ex. 1, McGloin Dep. pp. 154-157.

B. Denial of the Occupancy Permit

At this point, Pathways decided to pursue an alternative downtown location, the McCrone Building. On August 22, 1997, Pathways signed a contract to purchase the McCrone Building from a bank which would also provide the financing. Def. Ex. 16, Contract of Sale. Thus, no public financing would be required. On September 2, Mr. Guyther called Mr. McGloin stating that the Mayor had heard Pathways wanted to purchase the McCrone Building, but that Pathways required an "occupancy permit" and that the permit would be denied due to "insufficient parking." Pl.Ex. 1, McGloin Dep., 151. Mr. McGloin filed an occupancy permit application on September 5 stating Pathways' anticipated use as: "Offices, psycho-social day program." Def. Ex. 21, Permit App. Mr. Guyther denied the occupancy permit request claiming that the Mayor had instructed him to refuse because certain parking requirements were not met. Pl. Ex. 1, McGloin Dep., 151, 170-173; Pl.Ex. 7, Guyther Dep., 178-179, 190-192. Mayor Norris informed Mr. McGloin that he would have to take his proposal to the Planning and Zoning Commission ("the Commission") where the public's interests could be represented in an open forum. Id.

Plaintiffs assert that this denial of their occupancy permit application was a radical departure to the policy and practice of Leonardtown. Ms. Bonel, the Town Planner, who had primary responsibility for administering, interpreting, and issuing permits had regularly issued dozens of occupancy permits for all types of professional, medical, and health-related services; had never conferred with the Mayor on any of them; never denied a permit application; and, never sent any to the Planning Commission for a fact-finding proceeding.⁶ Pl.Ex. 17, Bonel Dep., 49 92-93. Moreover, Ms. Bonel regularly informed the Planning Commission of the permits she issued, which they ratified and never questioned. Pl.Ex. 17, Bonel Dep., 101. Typically, applicants received their occupancy permit within 24 hours of submitting the application.

C. Planning Commission Denied Pathways an Occupancy Permit

Defendants contend that this matter was referred to the Planning and Zoning Commission because Pathways' use did not clearly fit the requested zoning district rather than for possible parking requirement violations. Paper No. 29, 14. On October 30, 1997, the...