Puritan-Greenfield Improvement Association v. Leo

153 N.W.2d 162 (1967)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D owns a home in Detroit in a zoning district restricted to single-family residences. D offered the home for sale at $38,500 when comps in the area were going for only $25,000. D got no offers. D applied to the Detroit Board of Zoning Appeals (Board) for a use variance. D was going to turn the home into a dental and medical clinic. The Board found unnecessary hardship and practical difficulty because of the heavy traffic and the closeness to the business section immediately to the west. The Board granted the use variance. It found that the proposed use would not alter the essential character of the neighborhood, would not be injurious to the contiguous property, would not be detrimental to the surrounding neighborhood, and would not depreciate property values. Puritan (P) filed to have the use variance overturned. The judge ruled for P holding that it had not been shown that the land could not yield a reasonable return or be put to a proper economic use if used only for a purpose allowed by existing zoning and that such showing of hardship as had been made was of 'self-created' hardship attributable to the character of the structure thereon. D appealed.