Zoning Challenge to Planned Parenthood Dismissed
Almost 10 years ago, Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood and others claiming that Planned Parenthood's use of property violated local zoning. The case bounced back between the trial and appellate court. Ultimately, the court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss the case, and the case was appealed.
In Fox Valley Families Against Planned Parenthood v. Planned Parenthood of Illinois, 2018 IL App *(2d) 170137, the appellate court upheld the dismissal of the case. The issue before the appellate court was whether Planned Parenthood's use complied with the city's zoning ordinance.
Plaintiffs argued that the use was prohibited in the underlying zoning district because it was a "nonprofit use" that required a special use permit. Defendants, on the other hand, argued that the use was permitted by-right in the underlying zoning district under the category "Offices, business and professional, including medical clinics," consistent with the City of Aurora's interpretation of its zoning ordinance.
The court analyzed the zoning ordinance and accepted defendants' interpretation that the use was permitted as a medical clinic. The court determined that the non-profit nature of a proposed medical clinic use was irrelevant as the zoning ordinance did not distinguish between the two. Because Planned Parenthood's use fell within the medical clinic category, a use that is permitted by-right in the zoning district in which the property is zoned, the court concluded that plaintiff's zoning challenge was properly dismissed.
Post Authored by Julie Tappendorf
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