Harris v. City of Piedmont

42 P.2d 356, 5 Cal. App. 2d 146, 1935 Cal. App. LEXIS 1026
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 6, 1935
DocketCiv. 8820
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 42 P.2d 356 (Harris v. City of Piedmont) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harris v. City of Piedmont, 42 P.2d 356, 5 Cal. App. 2d 146, 1935 Cal. App. LEXIS 1026 (Cal. Ct. App. 1935).

Opinions

STURTEVANT, J.

Two different actions were commenced for the purpose of obtaining declaratory relief. By stipulation of the parties the two actions were consolidated for the purposes of trial. Harris v. City of Piedmont has become a moot case and in what follows we will not address ourselves thereto.

Heretofore the City of Piedmont, in the order stated, adopted zoning ordinances No. 196, No. 268 and No. 315. According to its terms the second repealed the first. In like manner No. 315, the last one, repealed the second. Counsel do not contend to the contrary. The record presents nothing for our consideration except the provisions of ordinance No. 315. The trial court found:

[148]*148“That at all times herein mentioned, plaintiffs were, ever since have been and now are the owners of that certain parcel of real property situate in the City of Piedmont, County of Alameda, State of California, described as follows, towit: (Here follows description).
“That at all times herein mentioned defendant was, ever since has been and now is a municipal corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws and Constitution of the State of California.
“That on or about March 21, 1929, the City Council of the City of Piedmont did adopt Ordinance No. 315, entitled:
“ ‘AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION IN THE CITY OF PIEDMONT OF FOUR ZONES CONSISTING OF VARIOUS DISTRICTS AND PRESCRIBING THE CLASSES OF BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN SAID SEVERAL ZONES, AND THE USE THEREOF: DEFINING THE TERMS USED THEREIN, PRESCRIBING THE PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION OF THE PROVISIONS HEREOF AND REPEALING ORDINANCES NOS. 196 and 268;’ a copy of which ordinance is attached to the complaint on file herein, marked ‘Exhibit A’, incorporated herein by reference and referred to for further particulars. That said ordinance does not make sufficient provision to satisfy the needs of the people of the City of Piedmont for the various uses and purposes permitted solely in Zones ‘C’ and ‘D’ . . . That by the terms of said ordinance two business districts are created, one in Upper Piedmont at and near the intersection of Highland and Vista Avenues (hereinafter referred to as ‘Highland Business District’), and the second in Lower Piedmont on Grand Avenue near and adjacent to the boundary line between the City of Piedmont and the City of Oakland (hereinafter referred to as ‘Grand Avenue Business District’). That said two business districts are so separated by difference in elevation, by street” alignment and by distance as to be noncompetitive, and serve distinct and separate portions of the City of Piedmont.
“That said Highland Business District, excepting property owned and devoted to public use, is entirely owned by one corporation. That said Highland Business District is [149]*149completely occupied by one gasoline service station, one bank, one real estate office, one grocery store, one delicatessen shop, one butcher shop and one candy store, and that there is no room available for expansion of said Highland Business District within the zone or zones in which business is permitted under the terms of said ordinances or any of them.
“That a monopoly of ownership and a monopoly of use exists in said Highland Business District. That the portion of said Grand Avenue Business District not at the present time occupied for business purposes is unsuited for business development.
“That said Ordinance No. 315 creates a large number of small zones constituting Zones ‘O’ and ‘D’, indiscriminately scattered over the entire City of Piedmont, frequently consisting of not more than one lot.
“That the Charter of the City of Piedmont, Section 41 thereof, by amendment duly adopted on January 18, 1927, provides, with reference to the zoning system of the City of Piedmont, as follows :
“ ‘The City of Piedmont is hereby declared to be primarily a residential city and the Council shall have power to establish such zoning system within the City as may in its judgment be most beneficial and in such zoning systems may prohibit the erection or maintenance of any class or classes of buildings within said areas and may classify and reclassify the zones established, but no zones now existing shall be reduced or enlarged with respect to size or area, aiid no zones shall be reclassified without submitting the question to a vote of the electors held at a general election or a special election to be called for the purpose, and no zone shall be reduced or enlarged and no zones reclassified unless a majority of the voters voting upon the same shall vote in favor thereof.
“ ‘The Council may also prescribe the character of materials and method of construction of buildings erected within any zone area and may establish such set back lines as it may consider necessary and proper. ’
“That at all. times herein mentioned, Ralph H. Barrett was, ever since has been and now is the Building Inspector of the City of Piedmont.
[150]*150“That on or about July 19, 1929, plaintiffs herein did file with the said Ralph H. Barrett, as Building Inspector of the City of Piedmont, their complete and detailed plans and specifications for the erection upon the real property described in finding I hereof of a building designed and intended for the purpose of housing retail stores, and that plaintiffs did tender and duly offer to pay on said day to Ralph H. Barrett, as Building Inspector of the City of Piedmont, the sum of Seventy Dollars ($70.00), which sum was and is the full amount of the permit fee required under the terms of the Building Ordinance of the City of Piedmont for said store building. That said Ralph H. Barrett, as Building Inspector of the City of Piedmont, did refuse to receive said sum of Seventy Dollars ($70.00), and did refuse to issue a permit for the erection of said store building, solely and exclusively upon the ground that the erection of said store building upon plaintiffs’ property was not permitted under the terms of said Ordinance No. 315.
“That immediately after said due offer of payment of said sum of Seventy Dollars ($70.00), plaintiffs did deposit said sum in the name of ‘Ralph H. Barrett, Building Inspector of the City of Piedmont’, with the American Trust Company, Fourteenth and Broadway Branch, Oakland, California, which said bank and branch is a bank of deposit of good repute in the State of California; and that on the 20th day of July, 1929, plaintiffs did give notice of such deposit to Ralph H. Barrett, as Building Inspector' of the City of Piedmont.
“That on July 19, 1929, plaintiffs did enter into a building contract to erect upon the real property described in finding I hereof a store building, in accordance with the plans and specifications filed with the Building Inspector of the City of Piedmont, as aforesaid.
“That an actual controversy relating to the legal rights and duties of the respective parties to this action exists.
“That plaintiffs’ property is situate on Highland Avenue, in the upper portion of the City of Piedmont, four blocks northwesterly of said Highland Business District.

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Harris v. City of Piedmont
42 P.2d 356 (California Court of Appeal, 1935)

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Bluebook (online)
42 P.2d 356, 5 Cal. App. 2d 146, 1935 Cal. App. LEXIS 1026, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harris-v-city-of-piedmont-calctapp-1935.