Gibson v. County of Riverside

Decision Date04 January 2002
Docket NumberNo. ED CV 94-441-RT.,ED CV 94-441-RT.
Citation181 F.Supp.2d 1057
PartiesDouglas Arnold GIBSON, et al., v. COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE, et al.
CourtU.S. District Court — Central District of California

Christopher Brancart, Brancart & Brancart, Pescadero, CA, James D. Smith, Law Offices of James D. Smith, Berkeley, CA, for plaintiffs.

Bruce Disenhouse, Kinkle, Rodiger & Spriggs, Riverside, CA, Timothy T. Coates, Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland, LLP, Beverly Hills, CA, for defendants.

PROCEEDINGS: ORDER (1) GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND SUMMARY ADJUDICATION OF ISSUES AND (2) GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT.

TIMLIN, District Judge.

The Court has read and considered plaintiffs' and defendants' motions for partial summary judgment, defendants' and plaintiffs' oppositions, and plaintiffs' and defendants' replies, as well as the admissible evidence and all supplemental briefing. Based on such consideration, the Court concludes as follows:

I.

BACKGROUND

Since 1978, the County of Riverside ("the County") has enacted ordinances imposing age restrictions on persons occupying dwelling units in certain areas within the unincorporated areas of Riverside County and has enforced those ordinances. Within these areas, the County forbids the residency of persons who do not meet certain age qualifications. While acknowledging the permissibility of age restrictions on certain activity when imposed and enforced by private parties in accordance with state and federal law, plaintiffs challenge the constitutionality and legality of the County exercising its legislative authority to impose age restrictions on land use. Plaintiffs contend that the County's use of its zoning power to impose age restrictions on the residential use of real property violates various statutory and constitutional provisions of state and federal law.

A. S.C.D. Zoning

Plaintiffs in this action live in various locations within the unincorporated areas of the County of Riverside. In these areas, land use is restricted by zoning regulations passed by the County of Riverside's Board of Supervisors. Specifically in issue is Section 18.7 of County Ordinance 348, first added to Ordinance 348 in 1978 ("Section 18.7").

1. Section 18.7

Section 18.7 imposes age restrictions on entire areas of land subject to the County's geographical jurisdiction. Although the specific age restrictions contained in Section 18.7 have changed through the years, at all times the restrictions applied only to occupied dwelling units in areas whose zone classification symbol was followed by the suffix "S.C.D." (e.g., R-1-S.C.D.).

a. Section 18.7: March, 15, 1978 - September 12, 1991

The County originally enacted Section 18.7 on February 14, 1978. It went into effect on March 15, 1978. From March 15, 1978 to September 12, 1991, Section 18.7 required that "each dwelling unit in [areas whose zoning symbol includes the suffix S.C.D.], that is occupied, ... be occupied by at least one person not less than 50 years of age and no person under 18 years of age shall permanently reside in any dwelling unit in the zoned area."

b. Section 18.7: September 12, 1991 - May 19, 1993

The County amended Section 18.7 on August 14, 1991, and this amendment went into effect on September 12, 1991. From September 12, 1991 to May 19, 1993, Section 18.7 required that "each dwelling unit in [areas whose zoning symbol includes the suffix S.C.D.], that is occupied, ... be occupied in accordance with the `housing for older persons' provisions of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. § 3607), as they now exist and as they may from time to time be amended."

c. Section 18.7: May 19, 1993 - Present

The County again amended Section 18.7 on April 20, 1993, and this amendment went into effect on May 19, 1993. Since May 19, 1993, Section 18.7 has required that "each dwelling unit in [areas whose zoning symbol includes the suffix S.C.D.], that is occupied, ... be occupied solely by persons 55 years of age or older in accordance with the `housing for older persons' provisions of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. § 3607), as they now exist and as they may from time to time be amended."

2. Areas Zoned as S.C.D.

There are four areas within the County of Riverside zoned as S.C.D. which are relevant to this action. They are known, at least for the purposes of this litigation, as Sun City, Hemet, Golf Knolls, and Air Force Village West.

Sun City is the largest of the areas zoned as S.C.D. which are relevant to this action. The Sun City S.C.D. zone contains several thousand units of single family tract homes, at least three mobile home parks, and apartments and condominium units.1 The Hemet S.C.D. zone contains two housing areas: a mobilehome park and a single family tract development known as Palm Gardens. All together, there are approximately 96 dwelling units within the Hemet S.C.D. zone. The Golf Knolls S.C.D. zone contains approximately 400 dwellings, comprised of mobilehomes and manufactured homes. The Air Force Village West S.C.D. zone contains approximately 400 dwelling units, comprised of duplex townhomes and apartments.

3. Enforcement of Section 18.7

The County of Riverside has taken some action to enforce Section 18.7's limitations. Between June 28, 1989 and March 21, 1994, the County through its agents sent approximately 72 communications to occupants of residences suspected of allowing individuals who did not meet Section 18.7's age restrictions to reside at that location. The communications, consisting of "Notices of Reported Violations" and "Notices of Violations," set forth Section 18.7's age restrictions and informed the recipient residents of their suspected violations. No communications were sent in 1990 or 1991, and approximately 57% of the communications sent since May 19, 1993 (i.e., 13 of 23) incorrectly characterized the age restriction as being 50-or-older, not 55-or-older.

B. The Parties
1. Defendants

Plaintiffs name five defendants in their first amended complaint: the County of Riverside ("the County"), Larry Parrish ("Parrish"), Thomas Ingram ("Ingram"), Scott Barber ("Barber"), and Joseph Tronti ("Tronti").2 Defendant Parrish is the Chief Administrative Officer of the County; he is sued in his individual and official capacities. Defendant Ingram is the Director of Building and Safety for the County; he is sued in his individual and official capacities. Defendant Barber is the Supervising Code Enforcement Officer for the County; he is sued in his individual and official capacities. Defendant Tronti is a Senior Code Enforcement Officer with the County; he is sued in his individual and official capacities.

2. Plaintiffs
a. Individually-Named Plaintiffs

There are seven individually-named plaintiffs in this action. They are Douglas Arnold Gibson ("Douglas Gibson"). Douglas Arnold Gibson, Administrator of the Estate of Diane Marie Gibson ("Diane Gibson"), Dustin Gibson, Daniel Gibson, Lucille Mayo, and James Russell Dittmar (collectively, "Plaintiffs"). Plaintiffs Douglas Gibson and his wife Diane Gibson live with their two minor sons, Dustin Gibson and Daniel Gibson (collectively, "the Gibsons"), in a house owned by Diane Gibson in Sun City. Plaintiff James Russell Dittmar, Sr. owns and lives in a home in Sun City with his wife, Helen, and his minor son Steven. Plaintiff Lucille Mayo resides in Hemet with her grandson Craig Flynn, a minor child.

b. The Class

On September 18, 1995, the Court granted Plaintiffs' motion for class certification, finding that Plaintiffs had satisfied at least the requirements of Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court certified a class comprised of:

(1) all families with minor children who, since March 12, 1989, have been threatened with citation or eviction from their dwellings or cited or evicted from their dwellings by defendants for violation of section 18.7 of Riverside County Ordinance Number 348, which prohibits, or has been interpreted by defendants to prohibit, families with minor children from occupying a dwelling in certain areas of Riverside County; and

(2) all persons who, since January 1, 1985, because of their age or because of the age of other residents of their household, have been threatened with eviction or evicted from their dwellings by defendants for violation of section 18.7 of Riverside County Ordinance Number 348, which prohibits, or has been interpreted by defendants to prohibit, persons from occupying a dwelling in certain areas of Riverside County on the basis of their age.

The Court limited the class action portion of the case to determination of:

(1) all questions on which entry of injunctive or declaratory relief rests;

(2) all questions relating to defendants' liability for punitive damages (and the amount thereof if found liable);

(3) Plaintiffs' entitlement to, and the amount of their, attorneys' fees; and

(4) all other questions regarding defendants' liability to the named plaintiffs and the members of the class, except for those questions which relate to proof of the causality, existence, and amount of specific compensatory damages due to individual plaintiffs.

C. Procedural Background

Plaintiffs filed a complaint against the County on May 9, 1994, and a first amended complaint ("FAC") on March 29, 1995. The FAC alleges that the County's actions in enacting, enforcing, and refusing to repeal Section 18.7 of Ordinance 348 give rise to claim for relief based on (1) the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3631(FHA); (2) the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, Cal.Gov.Code §§ 12900-12995 (FEHA); (3) the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, Cal.Civ.Code §§ 51-53 (Unruh Act); (4) federal constitutional substantive due process, (5) state constitutional substantive due process, (6) federal constitutional equal protection, ...

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