People v. City of Pomona

198 P.2d 959, 88 Cal. App. 2d 460, 1948 Cal. App. LEXIS 1489
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 12, 1948
DocketCiv. 16390
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 198 P.2d 959 (People v. City of Pomona) 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
People v. City of Pomona, 198 P.2d 959, 88 Cal. App. 2d 460, 1948 Cal. App. LEXIS 1489 (Cal. Ct. App. 1948).

Opinions

McCOMB, J.

The present action was instituted by relator L. L. Wagner in the name of the People of the State of California for the purpose of setting aside an order of the City Council of Pomona, vacating for public purposes a portion of Commercial Street in the city of Pomona lying between Gibbs and Palomares Streets.

Commercial Street runs in an easterly and westerly direction, dead-ending with Rebecca Street on the west and Towne Avenue on the east. It parallels and lies one shallow block north of the side-by-side Southern Pacific and Union Pacific rights of way through Pomona. Throughout its entire length it and the lots abutting upon it are zoned for heavy industry.

The trial court found that the street closing was in the public interest and ordered by the city council “in good faith, and without any fraud, collusion or connivance with any person, firm or corporation, or any abuse of discretion, and solely for and by reason of the public necessity, interest and convenience. ’ ’

This is the sole question necessary for us to determine:

Is there substantial evidence to sustain the trial court’s finding that in vacating, closing and abandoning the portion of Commercial Street in the city of Pomona here involved, “each and every act and thing done in connection therewith, and incidental thereto, the members of the Council of the City of Pomona, and each of them, and each and every officer, agent and representative of the said City of Pomona acting m connection therewith, acted in good faith, and without any fraud, collusion or connivance with any person, firm or corporation, or any abuse of discretion, and solely for and by reason of the public necessity, interest and convenience?”

This question must be answered in the affirmative and is governed by these pertinent rules:

[462]*462(1) In the absence of evidence of (a) fraud or (b) collusion between a city council and private land owners, the act of a city council in ordering the vacation of a street is legislative in character and is conclusive and binding upon the courts both as to the necessity or convenience of the improvement and as to the extent thereof. (Beals v. City of Los Angeles, 23 Cal.2d 381, 385 et seq. [144 P.2d 839] ; People v. Oakland, 96 Cal.App. 488, 496 [274 P. 438]; People v. City of San Rafael, 95 Cal.App. 733, 739 [273 P. 138].)
(2) The mere fact that a property owner who will benefit by the vacation of the street agrees to pay all the expenses incident to such improvement does not of itself make the proceedings not in the public interest. (City of Oakland v. Parker, 70 Cal.App. 295, 298 [233 P. 68] ; Santa Ana v. Harlin, 99 Cal. 538, 541 [34 P. 224] ; People v. Oakland, 96 Cal.App. 488 [274 P. 438].)
(3) Proceedings taken by a city council in vacating streets for the purpose of general industrial expansion are in the public interest. (People v. Oakland, 96 Cal.App. 488, et seq. [274 P. 438]; Ponischil v. Hoquiam Sash & Door Co., 41 Wash. 303 [83 P. 316, 317].)

In the present case the record discloses that the mayor of respondent city tesified as follows:

“I would have voted to close that street from one end to the other if we could get industries who owned land on each side, any time, would do it today, sir, my thought being that that would bring industrial expansion to the City of Pomona. My purpose in voting to close Commercial Street between Gibbs and Palomares was to encourage and to keep industries in Pomona, give those industries a chance to operate.
“I was elected on an industrial expansion program and reelected and reelected and to vote to close that street for the expansion of an industry or as many industries as could be established on that street was according to my policy. It was my wish to increase our industries and bring other industries to Pomona. With reference to industry zoning, there is nothing on the south side of the railroad tracks that is adjacent to the Union Pacific. Only the north side of the Southern Pacific is available and there is probably not anything available on that side. Neither is there an inch available on the Union Pacific side so we have to economize on every square foot we can get with railroad frontage. The portion of the industrial zone shown on this map which abuts the main line trans[463]*463continental facilities includes Commercial Street as shown on the map, defendant’s Exhibit E, throughout its entirety. Commercial Street is just back of the Southern Pacific track and all of it lies within the heavy industry zone.
“The map, defendant’s Exhibit E, reflects the industry planning of the City Planning Commission of the City of Pomona as approved and carried into effect by the City Council in its zoning ordinance.
“I also took into consideration in arriving at my decision in this matter the recommendation of Gordon Whitnall as expressed in the letter read to the Council by Mr. Nichols at one of our meetings. I took into consideration the following statement contained in Mr. Whitnall’s letter: ‘Normal industrial uses desire sites having depths. City lots cramped between streets forming limited size blocks do not lend themselves satisfactorily to substantial industrial • purposes. This is amply demonstrated by what has already happened in cases where given industries continguous to the railroad have been forced to expand plants on the properties across Commercial Street. Fairbanks Morse and Sanitary Laundry are examples. ’
“Modern planning practices recognize these facts and they have developed the policy of providing suitable industrial sites by: 1. Consolidating areas where possible in developed sections of cities. 2. Designing new areas ample as to size and shape and well served with all required transportation facilities.”

Similarly, various councilmen testified as follows:

Councilman Lindesmith: “I gave consideration to possible industrial expansion in the City of Pomona adjacent to the Southern Pacific right-of-way on the north side. I gave consideration as to the street closing and as to industrial expansion to the depth of the lots, the location as to the railroads, the fact that the street is not a through street, and also I observed the traffic condition existing on the street before the closing. The traffic, I would say, was comparatively light in reference to trucks and heavy deliveries being made. It is my observation that most of them are made either from Fifth or Garey to the adjacent north and south streets to the plant where the commodity is being delivered and there does not exist, in my opinion, a heavy traffic problem on that street in regard to delivery of commodities.
“The recommendation of the Planning Commission was directed to the Council; all the discussion was as to the traffic [464]*464condition existing on Towne Avenue and the over-all picture as to the benefit the City, as a whole, would acquire by the closing of the street. I recall at one of those meetings an excerpt was read to the persons present from a letter from Mr. Gordon' Whitnall, a planning expert for the City Planning Commission.

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Bluebook (online)
198 P.2d 959, 88 Cal. App. 2d 460, 1948 Cal. App. LEXIS 1489, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-city-of-pomona-calctapp-1948.