Charles A. Pratt Const. v. Ca Coastal Com'n

• Citation: 76 Cal.Rptr.3d 466,162 Cal.App.4th 1068
• Decision Date: 08 May 2008
• Docket Number: No. B190122.,B190122.
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: CHARLES A. PRATT CONSTRUCTION CO., INC., Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION, Defendant and Respondent.

76 Cal.Rptr.3d 466

162 Cal.App.4th 1068

CHARLES A. PRATT CONSTRUCTION CO., INC., Plaintiff and Appellant, v. CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION, Defendant and Respondent.

No. B190122.

Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 6.

May 8, 2008.

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Michael M. Berger, Los Angeles; William S. Walter, for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, J. Matthew Rodriquez, Senior Assistant Attorney General, John A. Saurenman, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, for Defendant and Respondent.

GILBERT, P.J.

If "it's a long, long time from May to December," ¹ it's an eternity from 1973 to 2008. But time, as Einstein taught us, is relative.

From a developer's perspective, time stops when rights vest. Government Code section 66498.1 confers a vested right to proceed with a development that complies with local ordinances in effect when a local agency approves a vesting tentative map. But if a development does not comply with state and federal laws, the march of time is inexorable notwithstanding section 66498.1. This illustrates yet another perspective about time: "Nothing endures but change." (Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, 540-475 B.C.)

Charles A. Pratt Construction Co., Inc. ("Pratt") filed this petition for a writ of administrative mandate, ordinary mandate and for damages against the California Coastal Commission ("Commission"). Pratt sought an order requiring the Commission to set aside its decision denying it a coastal development permit under the California Coastal Act (Pub. Resources Code, § 30000 et seq. ("Coastal Act")),² and for damages arising from a regulatory taking of its property. The trial court denied Pratt's petition for writ of administrative or ordinary mandate, and dismissed its taking claim as not ripe. We affirm.

FACTS

The History

The issues in this appeal involve a vesting tentative subdivision map in 1990. Earlier events set the issues in context.

In May of 1973, the San Luis Obispo County ("County") approved Pratt's tentative subdivision map designated as Tract 308, Units I and II. Unit I was a 25-acre parcel which could be divided into 86 residential lots. Unit II was an 81-acre parcel which could be divided into 149 residential lots.

The County's approval was in concept only. It was subject to a number of conditions, such as approval of a grading plan and erosion control plan. Over the course of five years, the County gave Pratt extensions of time to meet the conditions.

Eventually, Pratt filed a claim with the South Central Coast Regional Commission ("Regional Commission")³ seeking a determination that it had a vested right to subdivide Unit I into 86 lots and to complete offsite improvements. Pratt did not make a claim of a vested right for Unit II. The Regional Commission denied Pratt's claim to a vested right for a final map for Unit I. But the Regional Commission found Pratt did have a vested right to complete offsite improvements because of the substantial investment Pratt had made for those improvements.

Pratt petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate to vacate the Regional Commission's denial of the final map for Unit I. The superior court granted Pratt relief, and the Regional Commission appealed. The Court of Appeal held that approval of the tentative map did not give Pratt a vested right because Pratt had not satisfied the conditions necessary to fulfill the requirements of the map. (South Central Coast Regional Com. v. Charles A. Pratt Construction Co. (1982) 128 Cal. App.3d 830, 846, 180 Cal.Rptr. 555.) Nevertheless, the court held that because Pratt was allowed to complete the offsite improvements, the Commission must grant a permit to complete the subdivision so long as the subdivision comports with the land density requirements of the Coastal Act. (Id. at p. 848, 180 Cal.Rptr. 555.) Again, the court considered only the 25 acres of Unit I. (Id at p. 835,180 Cal.Rptr. 555.)

In 1985, Pratt submitted a new vesting tentative map to the County as Tract 1342. The new map contemplated subdivision of the 25 acres of Unit I into 40 lots with a remainder parcel of 81 acres, Unit II. A remainder parcel is one that is not proposed for development and is not counted as part of the "subdivision. (Gov.Code, § 66424.6.) The County and the Commission approved the application. A final map was recorded in 1989.

The Project

In February of 1990, for the first time, Pratt applied for a new vesting tentative map, Tract 1873, that encompassed the 81 acres of Unit II, plus an additional 40 acres for open space. The new map proposed 41 residential lots. The County approved Tract 1873 on September 1, 1999.

A number of parties, including governmental agencies, appealed the County's approval to the Commission. The Commission found the appeal presented substantial issues and set the matter for a de novo hearing. (§ 30625, subd. (b).)

At the hearing, Pratt claimed that Unit II was exempt from the Coastal Act. Pratt's claim of exemption was based on the theory that he had a vested right to complete the project or at least a vested right to complete the offsite improvements. In June of 2000, the Commission rejected Pratt's vested rights claim, and denied his application for a coastal development permit.

Pratt filed the instant action for mandamus to require the Commission to vacate its decision denying the development permit and for damages. Pratt alleged, among other matters, that the 1990 vesting tentative map vested his rights subject only to laws and policies in existence at the time, and that the Commission's decision was based on post-vesting policies. Pratt also alleged that the Commission has taken his property without compensation in that it deprived him of substantially all economically viable use of his property, has defeated his reasonable investment-backed expectations, and has unreasonably delayed his right to make beneficial use of his property.

The trial court denied Pratt's petition for writ of mandate because it found Pratt had no vested rights and that the Commission's decision denying the development permit is based on substantial evidence. The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings on Pratt's taking causes of action on the ground that the actions are not ripe for adjudication.

DISCUSSION

I

Pratt contends the Commission lacked jurisdiction to consider the appeal.

Pratt points out that the Commission's appellate jurisdiction is limited to determining whether the permit issued by the County is consistent with the Local Coastal Plan ("LCP") and whether the permit violates coastal access policies. (§ 30603, subd. (b).) Here, because no issues were raised concerning coastal access, jurisdiction is limited to determining whether the County's permit is consistent with the LCP.

Pratt argues that his filing of the vesting tentative map in 1990 gave him the right to develop his property subject only to laws and policies existing at the time. Pratt claims, and the Commission does not dispute, that the Commission's denial of his coastal development permit is based on policies enacted after he filed his vesting tentative map.

Pratt's vested rights argument relies on Government Code section 66498.1, subdivision (b). Subdivision (b) provides in part "When a local agency approves or conditionally approves a vesting tentative map, that approval shall confer a vested right to proceed with development in substantial compliance with the ordinances, policies, and standards described in Section 66474.2." Subject to exceptions not relevant here, Government Code section 66474.2, subdivision (a) requires a local agency to apply only those ordinances, policies and standards in effect on the date the local agency has determined the tentative map application is complete.

The flaw in Pratt's argument is Government Code section 66498.6, subdivision (b). That subdivision provides: "The rights conferred by this chapter shall relate only to the imposition by local agencies of conditions or requirements created and imposed by local ordinances. Nothing in this chapter removes, diminishes, or affects the obligation of any subdivider to comply with the conditions and requirements of any state or federal laws, regulations, or policies and does not grant local agencies the option to disregard any state or federal laws, regulations, or policies."

In an attempt to avoid Government Code section 66498.6, Pratt claims that once the LCP is certified by the Commission, it becomes a matter of local law. Thus, Pratt argues, the vesting provisions of Government Code section 66498.1, subdivision (b) apply.

Under the Coastal Act's legislative scheme, however, the LCP and the development permits issued by local agencies pursuant to the Coastal Act are not solely a matter of local law, but embody state policy. The Commission's primary responsibility is the implementation of the Coastal Act. It is designated the state coastal zone planning and management agency for any and all purposes. (§ 30330.) Local government prepares the LCP. (§ 30500, subd. (a).) But the LCP must be submitted for the Commission's approval. (§ 30512, subd. (a).) The Commission may certify the LCP only if it meets the requirements of and is in conformity with the policies of the Coastal Act. (§ 30512, subd. (c).) Zoning and other actions to implement the LCP must also be submitted to the Commission for approval. (§ 30513.) Once the Commission certifies the LCP and all implementing actions become effective, the Commission's authority over coastal development permits is "delegated to the local government ...." (§ 30519, subd. (a).) Finally, the Commission has appellate jurisdiction to determine whether the development permit issued by the local government is consistent with the LCP and coastal access policies. (§ 30603, subd. (b).)

Although local governments have the authority to issue coastal development permits, that authority is delegated by the Commission. The Commission has...