{ "id": 1552649, "name": "TBCH, INC., a New Mexico corporation, d/b/a T.D.'s Showclub, Petitioner-Appellant, v. CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, Respondent-Appellee", "name_abbreviation": "TBCH, Inc. v. City of Albuquerque", "decision_date": "1994-03-25", "docket_number": "No. 14522", "first_page": "569", "last_page": "574", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "117 N.M. 569" }, { "type": "parallel", "cite": "874 P.2d 30" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.M. Ct. App.", "id": 9025, "name": "Court of Appeals of New Mexico" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 52, "name_long": "New Mexico", "name": "N.M." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "80 L.Ed.2d 115", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 1984, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "104 S.Ct. 1581", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "S. Ct.", "year": 1984, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "465 U.S. 1093", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 11392884 ], "year": 1984, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/465/1093-01" ] }, { "cite": "100 N.M. 216", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 1588569 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1983, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "218-19" }, { "page": "1095-96" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/100/0216-01" ] }, { "cite": "100 N.M. 657", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 1588651 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "660" }, { "page": "1120" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/100/0657-01" ] }, { "cite": "87 N.M. 300", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 2832522 ], "weight": 2, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "302" }, { "page": "901" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/87/0300-01" ] }, { "cite": "759 P.2d 200", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "P.2d", "year": 1988, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "107 N.M. 413", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "year": 1988, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "107 N.M. 494", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 1597067 ], "weight": 2, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "498" }, { "page": "791" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/107/0494-01" ] }, { "cite": "88 N.M. 303", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 2838068 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1975, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "306", "parenthetical": "if ordinance requires construction, the rules of statutory construction apply" }, { "page": "236", "parenthetical": "if ordinance requires construction, the rules of statutory construction apply" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/88/0303-01" ] }, { "cite": "1993 WL 166937", "category": "reporters:specialty_west", "reporter": "WL", "year": 1993, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "3", "parenthetical": "not for publication" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "18 L.Ed.2d 605", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 1967, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "87 S.Ct. 1495", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "S. Ct.", "year": 1967, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "386 U.S. 1039", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6386657, 6385793, 6386181, 6387429, 6387592, 6386024, 6386892, 6386322, 6385621 ], "year": 1967, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/386/1039-06", "/us/386/1039-02", "/us/386/1039-04", "/us/386/1039-08", "/us/386/1039-09", "/us/386/1039-03", "/us/386/1039-07", "/us/386/1039-05", "/us/386/1039-01" ] }, { "cite": "77 N.M. 39", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 2806707 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1966, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "46", "parenthetical": "court will not be bound by a literal interpretation of the words of a statute if such strict interpretation would defeat the intended object of the legislature or be absurd" }, { "page": "247", "parenthetical": "court will not be bound by a literal interpretation of the words of a statute if such strict interpretation would defeat the intended object of the legislature or be absurd" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/77/0039-01" ] }, { "cite": "117 N.M. 346", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 1552772 ], "weight": 7, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "352" }, { "page": "1358" }, { "parenthetical": "emphasis added" }, { "page": "354" }, { "page": "1360" }, { "page": "352-353" }, { "page": "1358-59" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/117/0346-01" ] }, { "cite": "106 N.M. 140", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 708657 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1987, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "141" }, { "page": "691" }, { "page": "141" }, { "page": "691" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nm/106/0140-01" ] }, { "cite": "820 P.2d 1330", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "P.2d", "year": 1991, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "113 N.M. 16", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "year": 1991, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "113 N.M. 29", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 723300 ], "weight": 2, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "30" }, { "page": "127" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nm/113/0029-01" ] }, { "cite": "836 P.2d 710", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "P.2d", "case_ids": [ 2197215 ], "year": 1992, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/or/313/0508-01" ] }, { "cite": "813 Or. 508", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Or.", "year": 1992, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "29 Or.App. 761", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "Or. App.", "case_ids": [ 2152421 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1977, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "918" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/or-app/29/0761-01" ] }, { "cite": "571 P.2d 430", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "P.2d", "case_ids": [ 10458143 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "434" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/p2d/571/0430-01" ] }, { "cite": "501 U.S. 104", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 1108159 ], "weight": 3, "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "109" }, { "page": "2170" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/us/501/0104-01" ] }, { "cite": "80 L.Ed.2d 115", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1984, "pin_cites": [ { "parenthetical": "emphasis deleted" } ], "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "104 S.Ct. 1581", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "S. Ct.", "year": 1984, "opinion_index": 1 }, { "cite": "465 U.S. 1093", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 11392884 ], "year": 1984, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/us/465/1093-01" ] }, { "cite": "100 N.M. 216", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 1588569 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1983, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "218-19" }, { "page": "1095-96" } ], "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nm/100/0216-01" ] }, { "cite": "117 N.M. 346", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.M.", "case_ids": [ 1552772 ], "weight": 2, "opinion_index": 1, "case_paths": [ "/nm/117/0346-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 902, "char_count": 18179, "ocr_confidence": 0.71, "pagerank": { "raw": 1.4663631297785463e-07, "percentile": 0.6583447529180273 }, "sha256": "af86d90753ded2f7b25160e085bb1bcbb15b2181706a2a071de6542c2dfa4664", "simhash": "1:d6b3e2a034931d88", "word_count": 2968 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T15:10:41.727131+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "ALARID, J., concurs.", "HARTZ, J., files dissenting opinion." ], "parties": [ "TBCH, INC., a New Mexico corporation, d/b/a T.D.\u2019s Showclub, Petitioner-Appellant, v. CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, Respondent-Appellee." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "OPINION\nPICKARD, Judge.\nTBCH, Inc. appeals from a district court order dismissing its appeal from a declaratory ruling adopted by the City of Albuquerque. The declaratory ruling purported to explain the meaning of \u201ccompletely and opaquely covered\u201d female breasts as that term is used in the City\u2019s Comprehensive City Zoning Code. Under the City\u2019s ruling, TBCH\u2019s property would not be in compliance with the Zoning Code and would consequently have to be relocated. TBCH raises the following issues on appeal: (1) that it is in compliance with the plain and unambiguous language of the Zoning Code, (2) that the City\u2019s interpretation of \u201ccompletely and opaquely covered\u201d is unconstitutionally vague, (3) that the City\u2019s interpretation of \u201ccompletely and opaquely covered\u201d is arbitrary and capricious, and (4) that the Zoning Code discriminates against women in violation of the New Mexico Equal Rights Amendment. We hold that TBCH complied with the Zoning Code as written, and we reverse the trial court\u2019s order of dismissal. Because this issue is dispositive of the appeal, we do not reach TBCH\u2019s other issues.\nBACKGROUND\nThe Zoning Code contains provisions that address the zoning of what are referred to as adult entertainment establishments. See Albuquerque, N.M., Rev.Ordinances ch. 7, art. XIV, \u00a7\u00a7 5(B)(1); 5(B)(114); 22(B)(1); 40(D)(l)(a)(l)(b) (1993). Adult entertainment establishments are conditional uses under the Zoning Code, and as such they must meet certain locational requirements. See id. \u00a7 22(B)(1)(a) & (b). The Zoning Code has three definitions of an adult entertainment establishment, only one of which is argued by the parties as being relevant to this case. That particular definition defines an adult entertainment establishment as \u201c[a]n establishment which provides amusement or entertainment which is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on material depicting, describing, or relating to ... specified anatomical areas.\u201d Id. \u00a7 5(B)(1)(a). The Zoning Code defines \u201cspecified anatomical areas\u201d as, among other things:\nLess than completely and opaquely covered:\n(3) Female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola to and including the bottom of the breast; covering of only the nipple and areola of the breast does not constitute such covering\u2014\nId. \u00a7 5(B)(114)(a).\nTBCH\u2019s property is a nightclub that features female dancers. The practice of TBCH is to have its dancers apply heavy flesh-colored theatrical makeup to their breasts and areolae and to affix flesh-colored plastic circles to their nipples. In July 1991, the city zoning manager notified TBCH that it was classified as an adult entertainment establishment because its dancers\u2019 breasts were not \u201ccompletely and opaquely covered.\u201d The zoning manager ordered TBCH to comply with the Zoning Code or to vacate its property and relocate to a zone that allows adult entertainment establishments.\nIn response to a request by TBCH as to whether its makeup practices satisfied the \u201cclearly and opaquely covered\u201d language of the Zoning Code, in September 1991 the zoning manager issued a declaratory ruling, stating that the wording of the ordinance \u201cclearly eliminates the use of \u2018pasties\u2019 or nipple covers of any type. Only some sort of clothing which would cover the entire lower breast is acceptable.\u201d TBCH first appealed the zoning manager\u2019s ruling to the City\u2019s Environmental Planning Commission. See NMSA 1978, \u00a7 3-21-8 (Repl.1985). A hearing was held in October 1991, the Commission agreed with the zoning manager, and the declaratory ruling was adopted as official policy.\nNext, TBCH appealed the Commission\u2019s decision to the City Council. In January 1992, the City Council denied the appeal, and found that \u201c[t]he Council\u2019s legislative intent in adopting the language \u2018completely and opaquely covered\u2019 as applied to the female breast is to conceal. Body makeup can be opaque but it does not \u2018completely cover\u2019 the breast if the appearance of the breast is apparent to the viewer.\u201d\nTBCH then appealed the City Council\u2019s decision to the district court by writ of certiorari. See NMSA 1978, \u00a7 3-21-9 (Repl.1985). The district court found against TBCH, dismissed the appeal with prejudice, and quashed the writ. Finally, TBCH appeals the district court\u2019s order to this Court.\nTHE MEANING OF \u201cCOVERED\u201d AS USED IN THE ALBUQUERQUE ZONING CODE\nBoth parties agree that TBCH will be in compliance with the Zoning Code and will not have to relocate its business if TBCH\u2019s makeup procedures constitute a complete and opaque covering of the dancers\u2019 breasts. At the October 1991 hearing before the Environmental Planning Commission, TBCH presented evidence, and the City did not dispute, that the makeup it used for its dancers was in fact opaque. Similarly, TBCH presented unrebutted evidence that the makeup was used on the complete area of the breast specified by the Zoning Code. The meaning of the word \u201ccovered,\u201d however, was disputed. While TBCH argued that female breasts may be \u201ccovered\u201d by makeup, the declaratory ruling adopted by the City maintained that \u201c[o]nly some sort of clothing which would cover the entire breast\u201d would satisfy the Zoning Code. Further, the City Commission found that \u201c[cjovering the female breast with body makeup does not serve to further the intent of the Zoning Code.\u201d Thus, this case turns on the meaning of \u201ccovered\u201d as that term is used in the Zoning Code.\n\u201cLegislative intent is determined primarily by the language of the act and statutory construction is proper only in the case of ambiguity.\u201d State ex rel. Mountain States Mut. Casualty Co. v. KNC, Inc., 106 N.M. 140, 141, 740 P.2d 690, 691 (1987); see also State ex rel. Helman v. Gallegos, 117 N.M. 346, 352, 871 P.2d 1352, 1358 (N.M.1994). Both parties contend that the language at issue is unambiguous. We agree. Webster\u2019s defines \u201ccover\u201d variously as \u201cto .put, lay, or spread something over, on, or before,\u201d \u201cto lie over: spread over: be placed on or often over whole surface of,\u201d and \u201cto put a surface layer over usu[ally] completely.\u201d Webster\u2019s Third New International Dictionary 524 (Philip B. Gove ed., 1961). We believe that such definitions support TBCH\u2019s interpretation of the ordinance. Further, we are aware that \u201ccover\u201d is also defined as \u201cto protect or conceal (one\u2019s body or a part of it) from view typically with an article of clothing or bedding.\u201d Id. (emphasis added). By its very use of the word \u201ctypically,\u201d however, this definition does not mean, as the City\u2019s declaratory ruling asserts, that only some sort of clothing can act as a cover. Nor is this a case, such as Helman in which a seemingly unambiguous statute is made ambiguous by another, contradictory statute. See Helman, 117 N.M. at 354, 871 P.2d at 1360. We hold, therefore, that the theatrical makeup, which was spread completely over the required surfaces of the dancers\u2019 breasts, and the plastic circles, which were placed on the dancers\u2019 nipples, satisfied the plain and unambiguous language of the ordinance.\nThe City argues that allowing makeup to \u201ccover\u201d a breast, even though such a practice could give the appearance of the actual breast, is absurd and contrary to the intent behind the ordinance. See State v. Nance, 77 N.M. 39, 46, 419 P.2d 242, 247 (1966) (court will not be bound by a literal interpretation of the words of a statute if such strict interpretation would defeat the intended object of the legislature or be absurd), cert. denied, 386 U.S. 1039, 87 S.Ct. 1495, 18 L.Ed.2d 605 (1967); see also Helman, 117 N.M. at 352-353, 871 P.2d at 1358-59. However, we do not believe that requiring a complete and opaque covering that might simulate the specified anatomical area is necessarily absurd or contrary to the legislative intent. In this connection, we note that the City has no quarrel with the use of skin-tight spandex tights as a form of \u201ccover\u201d for the dancers\u2019 buttocks, another specified anatomical area. Therefore, the City itself condones a method of \u201ccovering\u201d which, like TBCH\u2019s method, could show the outline of the specified area and give the appearance of that area. All that the law requires is an opaque covering. Heavy theatrical makeup is such a covering. While the viewing public may not readily distinguish between so covered areas and uncovered areas, the areas are distinguishable upon close inspection. We cannot say, as a matter of law, that it is absurd to insist on a distinction that is apparent only on close inspection but not apparent at a distance.\nFurther, if the City Council actually intended that a breast is not \u201ccovered\u201d if \u201cthe appearance of the breast is apparent to the viewer,\u201d it could easily have made that intent more clear. See, e.g., Louisville, Ky., Ordinances \u00a7 111.053(A), reprinted in City of Louisville v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Nos. 92-CA-1529-S, 92-CA-1712-S, 92-CA-1761-S, 1993 WL 166937, at 3 (Ky.Ct.App. May 21, 1993) (not for publication) (under zoning ordinance, person shall not expose to public view a bare female breast \u201cor employ any device or covering intended to give the appearance of or simulate\u201d a female breast). Consequently, we do not believe that our interpretation is absurd or that it defeats the intent of the ordinance.\nAs the language of the ordinance is unambiguous, and as our interpretation does not produce an absurd result, there is no need for us to construe the ordinance. See KNC, Inc., 106 N.M. at 141, 740 P.2d at 691. However, even if we believed this ordinance to be ambiguous so as to require us to analyze the ordinance under the rules of statutory construction, see Burroughs v. Board of County Comm\u2019rs, 88 N.M. 303, 306, 540 P.2d 233, 236 (1975) (if ordinance requires construction, the rules of statutory construction apply), our result would be the same. For example, one rule of statutory construction is to give persuasive weight to long-standing administrative constructions of statutes by the agency charged with administering them. See In re Sleeper, 107 N.M. 494, 498, 760 P.2d 787, 791 (Ct.App.), cert. quashed, 107 N.M. 413, 759 P.2d 200 (1988). In adopting the zoning manager\u2019s declaratory ruling, the City Commission found that the ruling had \u201cbeen in effect for more than six years.\u201d Our review of the record, however, indicates that the ruling to which the Commission referred was originally promulgated by the zoning manager in 1985, was subsequently superseded by a 1989 ruling that actually allowed the use of nipple covers, and was only re-implemented when TBCH asked for a declaratory ruling in 1991. Thus, the construction given the ordinance by the zoning manager was not long standing, and we do not afford it persuasive weight.\nSimilarly, we do not give persuasive weight to the City Council\u2019s 1992 finding that the Council\u2019s legislative intent in adopting the ordinance excluded the use of opaque body makeup, as that finding was made more than two years after the ordinance was passed. See State v. Cutnose, 87 N.M. 300, 302, 532 P.2d 889, 901 (Ct.App.1975) (statutes are interpreted as the legislature understood them at the time they were enacted), overruled on other grounds by State v. McCormack, 100 N.M. 657, 660, 674 P.2d 1117, 1120 (1984). Moreover, legislative intent is to be determined from the language of the legislation itself, not from the statements of legislators after the passage of the legislation. United States Brewers Ass\u2019n, Inc. v. New Mexico Dep\u2019t of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 100 N.M. 216, 218-19, 668 P.2d 1093, 1095-96 (1983), appeal dismissed, 465 U.S. 1093, 104 S.Ct. 1581, 80 L.Ed.2d 115 (1984).\nConsequently, based on the undisputed facts in this case, and based upon our reading of the word \u201ccovered\u201d as it is used in the Zoning Code, we hold as a matter of law that TBCH was in compliance with the Zoning Code. The order of trial court is reversed.\nIT IS SO ORDERED.\nALARID, J., concurs.\nHARTZ, J., files dissenting opinion.", "type": "majority", "author": "PICKARD, Judge." }, { "text": "HARTZ, Judge\n(dissenting).\nI respectfully dissent.\nOn one point I disagree not only with the majority, but also with both parties. I do not believe that the language \u201ccompletely and opaquely covered\u201d is plain and unambiguous. For language to be plain and unambiguous, it must bear only one meaning no matter what the context. As I have recently learned, what may appear at first and second glances to be plain and unambiguous may turn out to have a different meaning when one carefully examines the context. See Coslett v. Third St. Grocery, No. 14,912 (N.M.Ct.App. Mar. 21, 1994). Apparently the New Mexico Supreme Court has recently had a similar experience. See State ex rel. Helman v. Gallegos, 117 N.M. 346, 871 P.2d 1352 (N.M.1994).\nIn this case it does not require any great effort to detect ambiguity in the language of the ordinance. There are at least two common meanings of \u201ccover\u201d when applied to the human body. When one wants to \u201ccover\u201d a pimple or blemish, the usual practice is to apply makeup or the like. But that is hardly what a parent means in instructing a child to \u201ccover up.\u201d Ordinarily, when one speaks of covering the human body to protect a person\u2019s modesty, \u201ccover\u201d means \u201ccloak.\u201d A standard thesaurus lists \u201ccloak\u201d as a synonym for the verb \u201ccover.\u201d Roget\u2019s International Thesaurus, entry 228.19, at 141 (4th ed. 1977).\nOne must therefore look to the context of the language of the ordinance. The apparent purpose of the \u201ccompletely and opaquely covered\u201d requirement is to reduce the erotic message. Cloaking the area will accomplish that purpose. Applying flesh-colored theatrical makeup will not. Hence, I agree with the City\u2019s construction of the language of the ordinance as requiring \u201csome sort of clothing.\u201d\nTo be sure, as the majority points out, the ordinance could have been written more precisely to reflect the City\u2019s intent. Yet, it could also have been written more precisely to convey the construction adopted by the majority. The role of the courts is not to penalize legislative bodies by adopting perverse constructions of imprecise language; our task is to do our best to discern the meaning of the words used by the legislature. Although the majority opinion is not the first opinion to say \u201cthe legislature could have done better,\u201d I cannot recall an occasion on which that observation advanced the analysis in construing a civil statute, unless the court had adopted a dear-statement rule, see generally Astoria Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass\u2019n v. Solimino, 501 U.S. 104, 109, 111 S.Ct. 2166, 2170, 115 L.Ed.2d 96 (1991).\nSupporting the City\u2019s construction of the ordinance is the general proposition that courts should defer to an administrative agency\u2019s authoritative interpretation of its own regulations. As stated in a leading treatise:\nThe powerful effect courts give most agency interpretations of the agency\u2019s own regulations is based on common sense. The agency typically is in a superior position to determine what it intended when it issued a rule, how and when it intended the rule to apply, and the interpretation of the rule that makes the most sense given the agency\u2019s purposes in issuing the rule. Courts have significant institutional disadvantages in attempting to resolve these critical issues.\n1 Kenneth C. Davis & Richard J. Pierce, Jr., Administrative Law Treatise \u00a7 6.10, at 282 (3d ed. 1994) [hereinafter Davis Treatise]. A formal, official decision by the body that enacted the law is readily distinguishable from a post-enactment affidavit by one member of that body. Thus, the above-quoted statement in the Davis Treatise has broad support despite the wide acceptance of the proposition that post-enactment affidavits should not be considered in determining legislative intent, see United States Brewers Ass\u2019n v. New Mexico Dep\u2019t of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 100 N.M. 216, 218-19, 668 P.2d 1093, 1095-96 (1983), appeal dismissed, 465 U.S. 1093, 104 S.Ct. 1581, 80 L.Ed.2d 115 (1984). Indeed, one basis for the distinction between affidavits by individuals and official actions by the legislative body is noted in United States Brewers Ass\u2019n itself, which said: \u201cTestimony of individual legislators or others as to happenings in the Legislature is incompetent, since that body speaks solely through its concerted action as shown by its vote.\u201d Id. (emphasis deleted) (quoting Haynes v. Caporal, 571 P.2d 430, 434 (Okla.1977)).\nThe proposition stated in the Davis Treatise should also apply when a city council interprets an ordinance it has adopted. In Bienz v. City of Dayton, 29 Or.App. 761, 566 P.2d 904, 918 (1977), the court wrote:\nIn administrative law we have generally held that it is the responsibility of the agency entrusted with the administration of a statute, rather than the courts, to fill the statutory interstices____ The same rule should apply in construing municipal ordinances. The city council is not only charged with administering the ordinance, but is the legislative authority from which the ordinance originates and thus is in a superior position to discern legislative intent. Here, we have an ambiguity in the ordinance. We defer to the city\u2019s resolution of that ambiguity where as here the city\u2019s construction is not contrary to the express terms of the ordinance.\nAccord Clark v. Jackson County, 813 Or. 508, 836 P.2d 710 (1992); see Hyde v. Taos Mun.-County Zoning Auth., 113 N.M. 29, 30, 822 P.2d 126, 127 (Ct.App.), cert. denied, 113 N.M. 16, 820 P.2d 1330 (1991). Agreeing with this view, I would defer to the City Council\u2019s interpretation of the ordinance at issue here. Deference is particularly appropriate in this case. The City Council was interpreting an ordinance it had enacted only two-and-one-half years earlier and was reaffirming a construction of the word \u201ccovered\u201d that had been consistently applied by the zoning manager in construing the ordinance\u2019s predecessor.", "type": "dissent", "author": "HARTZ, Judge" } ], "attorneys": [ "John E. Farrow, Fairfield, Farrow, Hunt, Reecer & Strotz, P.C., Albuquerque, for petitioner-appellant.", "David S. Campbell, City Atty., and Laura J. Mason, Asst. City Atty., Albuquerque, for respondent-appellee." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "874 P.2d 30\nTBCH, INC., a New Mexico corporation, d/b/a T.D.\u2019s Showclub, Petitioner-Appellant, v. CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE, Respondent-Appellee.\nNo. 14522.\nCourt of Appeals of New Mexico.\nMarch 25, 1994.\nJohn E. Farrow, Fairfield, Farrow, Hunt, Reecer & Strotz, P.C., Albuquerque, for petitioner-appellant.\nDavid S. Campbell, City Atty., and Laura J. Mason, Asst. City Atty., Albuquerque, for respondent-appellee." }, "file_name": "0569-01", "first_page_order": 605, "last_page_order": 610 }