Gisler v. County of Madera

38 Cal. App. 3d 303, 112 Cal. Rptr. 919
California Court of Appeal·Decided March 29, 1974·No. 1862·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

38 Cal.App.3d 303 (1974)
112 Cal. Rptr. 919

VINCENT GISLER et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants,
v.
COUNTY OF MADERA, Defendant and Respondent.

Docket No. 1862.

Court of Appeals of California, Fifth District.

March 29, 1974.

*305 COUNSEL

Gendron & Gendron and Lester J. Gendron for Plaintiffs and Appellants.

Roy E. Wolfe, County Counsel, for Defendant and Respondent.

OPINION

BROWN (G.A.), P.J.

In this action in inverse condemnation the several appellants[1] seek to recover damages from the County of Madera (hereinafter "County") by reason of the operation of an ordinance zoning their agricultural lands "ARV-20";[2] the zoning ordinance effectively prevents the appellants, and each of them, from using or selling two-and-one-half-acre residential lots delineated on a subdivision map recorded in 1913.

The appellants are owners of land in Madera County east of Highway 99 on the San Joaquin Valley floor. All of the property is devoted exclusively to agricultural use, as are the surrounding areas, and none of the parcels owned by the individual appellants is less than 18 acres in area.

All of the property involved is located within the perimeter of a "paper" subdivision denoted Sharon Farms Subdivision 3, which was duly recorded on September 11, 1913 (corrected Oct. 3, 1913). The map delineates two-and-one-half-acre parcels for residential purposes. Notwithstanding the recordation of the map, the lands have continued to be devoted exclusively to agricultural uses. No residential buildings are constructed thereon, none of the streets has been developed, and no money has been expended to convert the property to a residential subdivision.

Pursuant to a general plan established by the County, on July 13, 1965, it duly adopted ordinance No. 298, which zoned appellants' property "ARV-20." The ordinance provides for exclusive agricultural use of the lands and prohibits sale of parcels of less than 18 acres.

*306 The trial of the cause was before the court, without a jury. (1a) Judgment, which was entered May 15, 1972, denied damages to the appellants and found, among other things, that the adoption of ordinance No. 298 was a lawful exercise of the police power of the County and injury to appellants, if any, is not compensable. We agree.

In Hill v. City of Manhattan Beach (1971) 6 Cal.3d 279, 285 [98 Cal. Rptr. 785, 491 P.2d 369], the Supreme Court recently said: "`The constitutionality of the principle of zoning is no longer an open question, and a restrictive regulation in this field pursuant to a municipality's comprehensive and systematic plan of community development, when reasonable in object and not arbitrary in operation, will be sustained as within the legitimate exercise of the police power. [Citations.]' [Citation.] Zoning ordinances which nevertheless are unreasonable, arbitrary or discriminatory in their application to particular properties will be held not applicable on constitutional grounds. [Citation.]"

(2) Every intendment is in favor of the validity of the exercise of the police power, and, even though a court may differ from the determination of the legislative body, if there is reasonable basis for the belief that the zoning has a substantial relation to public health, safety, morals or general welfare the zoning measure will be deemed to be within the purview of the police power. (Consolidated Rock Products Co. v. City of Los Angeles (1962) 57 Cal.2d 515, 520-523 [20 Cal. Rptr. 638, 370 P.2d 342]; Clemons v. City of Los Angeles (1950) 36 Cal.2d 95, 98-99 [222 P.2d 439]; Wilkins v. City of San Bernardino (1946) 29 Cal.2d 332, 338-339 [175 P.2d 542]; Town of Los Altos Hills v. Adobe Creek Properties, Inc. (1973) 32 Cal. App.3d 488 [108 Cal. Rptr. 271].)

In certain factual situations it is difficult to draw a precise line between a noncompensable injury resulting from the enactment of a valid regulation under the police power (Goldblatt v. Hempstead (1962) 369 U.S. 590, 593 [8 L.Ed.2d 130, 133, 82 S.Ct. 987, 989]; Holtz v. Superior Court (1970) 3 Cal.3d 296, 305 [90 Cal. Rptr. 345, 475 P.2d 441]; Albers v. County of Los Angeles (1965) 62 Cal.2d 250, 262 [42 Cal. Rptr. 89, 398 P.2d 129]; Sheffet v. County of Los Angeles (1970) 3 Cal. App.3d 720, 732 [84 Cal. Rptr. 11]) and regulations which are beyond the limits of the police power and can only be justified as a "taking" under the power of eminent domain which requires just compensation (Peacock v. County of Sacramento (1969) 271 Cal. App.2d 845, 858-859 [77 Cal. Rptr. 391]; Sneed v. County of Riverside (1963) 218 Cal. App.2d 205, 209-211 [32 Cal. Rptr. 318]. See also People ex rel. Dept. Pub. Wks. v. Southern Pac. Trans. Co. (1973) 33 Cal. App.3d 960, 965-966 [109 Cal. Rptr. 525]; *307 Turner v. County of Del Norte (1972) 24 Cal. App.3d 311, 315 [101 Cal. Rptr. 93].) (1b) The facts in the case at bench, however, take it outside the borderline area and clearly render the County's zoning ordinance reasonable in object, not arbitrary in operation, and a proper exercise of the police power (Clemons v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 36 Cal.2d 95, 98-99).[3]

California legislative policy strongly favors the preservation of open spaces and agricultural zoning (Gov. Code, §§ 65850, subd. (a), 65910, 65560, subds. (b) (2) to 65570). Moreover, exclusive zones have been upheld in similar contexts, including agricultural zones (McCarthy v. City of Manhattan Beach (1953) 41 Cal.2d 879, 890 [264 P.2d 932] (exclusive beach recreational zone); Roney v. Board of Supervisors (1956) 138 Cal. App.2d 740, 743-746 [292 P.2d 529] (exclusive industrial zone); Consolidated Rock Products Co. v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 57 Cal.2d 515, 532-533 (prohibition of rock and gravel operations in agricultural-residential zone upheld); Mang v. County of Santa Barbara (1960) 182 Cal. App.2d 93, 98 [5 Cal. Rptr. 724] (prohibition of trailer park and gas station in agricultural zone upheld); Paramount Rock Co. v. County of San Diego (1960) 180 Cal. App.2d 217, 225 [4 Cal. Rptr. 317] (ordinance zoning land for agriculture and prohibiting a rock crushing plant upheld); Sladovich v. County of Fresno (1958) 158 Cal. App.2d 230, 240-241 [322 P.2d 565] (zoning of land to rural residential and agricultural upheld, even though partly surrounded by industrial zones.)

While there is apparently no case directly passing upon exclusive agricultural zoning with a minimum 18-acre parcel size, most zoning ordinances provide for minimum lot sizes and they have been held valid. (Gov. Code, § 65850, subd. (c); Clemons

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Gisler v. County of Madera, 38 Cal. App. 3d 303, 112 Cal. Rptr. 919 (Cal. Ct. App. 1974).

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