Judge rules Columbia swim instructor lawsuit over zoning dispute can move forward

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - A Columbia swim instructor’s case against the city will move forward after she sued when a zoning dispute shut down the backyard swim-lesson business she has run for years.

Libby Souder has been teaching private lessons in her backyard pool since 2018 and has obtained a city business license every year without issue.

But when she went to renew last year, a neighbor’s complaint triggered a denial.

The city says a zoning rule requires home businesses to operate entirely indoors, which means no lessons in the pool.

The city is citing its unified development ordinance, which states that home businesses must “be conducted entirely within the principal structure or within a fully enclosed, lawfully approved structure.”

A Thursday hearing made it clear that Souder will get her day in court on the merits.

The hearing, though, was largely procedural. Circuit Court Judge Thomas McGee decided to put a pause on a civil lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the zoning ordinance while an official appeal of the City of Columbia’s Board of Zoning Appeals plays out.

Souder argues she had no prior notice that the city rule applied to her.

That ordinance was in place when she was first given a business license.

“I knew that what happened to me wasn’t right,” she said in an interview by her pool following Thursday’s hearing. “I knew that there were farther-reaching implications to other instructors.”

Institute of Justice attorneys Robert Fellner and Renee Flaherty, along with local attorney Geoffrey Chambers, are representing Souder in this matter.

The Institute of Justice is a nonprofit that specializes in defending homes, businesses and charities against abusive property regulation.

The attorneys say the city’s enforcement violates Souder’s constitutional right to use her property to earn a living.

“Libby did everything right,” Fellner said. “She had that license renewed by the city for 7 years, and then they pulled the rug out from under her at the last minute.”

The original neighbor complaint also cited excessive noise, but Fellner notes she teaches seasonally, for just a few hours a day, and never with more than three students at a time.

Souder says this fight is not just about her business; it is about safety.

“It’s been very difficult not being able to teach swim lessons here at the house anymore,” she said. “Drowning is the number one cause of death in children ages 1 through 4. And so it’s definitely near and dear to my heart, and something that I enjoy doing and have done for a long time.”

Souder said if the zoning board’s decision stands, it could limit access to swim lessons in the area.

She said parents do not have many indoor or commercial pools to choose from, and it is even harder to find an instructor who is certified, insured and someone they can trust.

The judge set a briefing schedule deadline two weeks from now.

The next hearing on the facts of the case is expected in the coming months.

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