Travis v. County of Santa Cruz
| Citation | 122 Cal.Rptr.2d 713,100 Cal.App.4th 609 |
| Decision Date | 25 July 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. H021541.,H021541. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Steven TRAVIS et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants, v. COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ, Defendant and Respondent. |
Steven Travis, Stanley M. Sokolow, Sonya Sokolow, In pro per, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Stephen D. Pahl, San Jose, Karen Kubala McCay, Pahl & Gosselin, for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Appellants.
Samuel Torres, Jr., County Counsel, Dwight L. Herr, Assistant County Counsel, for Defendant and Respondent and for Amicus Curiae on behalf of Respondent.
This case involves a challenge to Santa Cruz County's second dwelling unit ordinance. Proceeding by writ of mandate in the trial court, the petitioners asserted that the ordinance is preempted by state statute and that it is unconstitutional. The trial court denied the petition, chiefly on the ground that it was untimely. We will affirm.
Steven Travis (Travis) and Stanley M. Sokolow and Sonya Sokolow (the Sokolows) were petitioners below and are appellants here. The County of Santa Cruz (the County) is the respondent. At issue in this case is the validity of the County's Second Unit Ordinance (the Ordinance).
The Ordinance. The Ordinance was first enacted in December 1981, effective January 1982. It has been amended several times since then. As initially enacted, the Ordinance authorized a second dwelling unit of 640 square feet or less on those parcels large enough to qualify for two single family dwellings under the density limitations of the County's General Plan and Zoning Ordinance. The Ordinance included both occupancy and rent restrictions: occupancy was restricted to a maximum of two low-income adults or two average-income seniors, and affordable rent was required.
In March 1984, the County amended the Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3500). The amendments to the Ordinance relaxed the parcel size requirement.
More than a decade later, in August 1994, the County amended the Ordinance again. Among the substantive 1994 changes were these: the maximum size of the second dwelling was increased for certain specified parcels, the minimum parcel size was decreased for certain specified parcels, and the occupancy restrictions were relaxed to permit family members to reside in the second unit without regard to income.
In November 1997, the County again made substantive revisions to the Ordinance. Among the 1997 amendments were these: the maximum size of the second dwelling was increased again for some parcels, the minimum parcel size was decreased again for some parcels, and the occupancy restrictions were relaxed again, this time to eliminate the limitation to two adult occupants. In addition, the administrative processing level for applications for second units outside the Coastal Zone was reduced, as were the setback requirements. Finally, the amendments made the occupancy and rent restrictions applicable to the main dwelling unit in the event the property owner occupies the second unit.
Most recently, the Ordinance was amended again in March 1998, but those changes were not substantive.
The Ordinance is codified at section 13.10.681 of the Santa Cruz County Code. (Santa Cruz County Code, § 13.10.681, pp. 816-820.) Of particular concern in this action are the Ordinance's occupancy standards, including the restrictions on rent levels, which are set forth in subdivision (e) of section 13.10.681 of the Santa Cruz County Code. (Id. at p. 819.)
Travis's Development. Travis owns a parcel of residential real property on Old Big Basin Road in Boulder Creek, in an unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County. In April 1999, Travis applied to the County for a development permit to convert a single family dwelling under construction into second dwelling unit and to construct a primary dwelling unit on the property. The County granted the permit, subject to the occupancy and rent conditions mandated by the Ordinance. Travis objected to the permit conditions by filing an administrative appeal, which was denied on June 21,1999.
The Sokolows' Development. The Sokolows also own residential real property in the unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County, consisting of two parcels located on Highview Drive, Santa Cruz. The Sokolows sought permits for second dwelling units on both of their parcels.
In 1996, the Sokolows sought and obtained a development permit that allowed them to construct a principal residence and a second dwelling unit on one of their parcels. The Sokolows undertook the permitted construction, and a certificate of completion on the second unit was issued in 1997. As required by the Ordinance and by their development permit, the Sokolows recorded a declaration of restrictions, which included occupancy restrictions and rental rate limitations on the second dwelling unit. The Sokolows did not challenge the 1996 permit conditions, administratively or otherwise.
In 1998, the Sokolows applied for a second unit development permit on their other parcel. That application was granted, again subject to the conditions mandated by the Ordinance. As before, the Sokolows did not pursue an administrative appeal from the permit conditions. However, in letters to the County's counsel in October and November 1998, they complained about the mandated conditions of their permit and argued that the Ordinance was preempted by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a state statute that limits local rent control efforts. (Civ. Code, § 1954.50 et seq.) The Sokolows' correspondence failed to persuade the County's counsel that the Ordinance was invalid. Thereafter, in December 1998, the Sokolows appeared before the County Board of Supervisors in an effort to have the Ordinance amended legislatively; that effort was equally unavailing.
Proceedings in the Trial Court. On September 7, 1999, acting in propria persona, Travis and the Sokolows filed a petition for a writ of traditional mandamus in Santa Cruz County Superior Court. Does 1-250,000 were named as additional petitioners, but no other parties came forward to join the petition.
The petition generally alleged that the occupancy and rent restrictions in the Ordinance violate state law and are unconstitutional. The petitioners prayed for an order enjoining enforcement and compelling the County to amend the Ordinance to remove the challenged restrictions. They also sought compensation and attorneys' fees.
Initially, the County demurred to the petition, claiming it was untimely and failed to state a cause of action. At the same time, the County also moved to strike portions of the petition. The County later withdrew its demurrer and filed an answer to the petition. In its answer, the County asserted the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense.
The trial court conducted hearings in November and December 1999 and entertained extensive written briefing from both sides. In their submissions to the court, the petitioners challenged the validity of the Ordinance on a number of grounds, including these: (1) the Ordinance is preempted by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act; (2) the Ordinance violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act; (3) the Ordinance compels housing discrimination in violation of state law; (4) the Ordinance violates the state planning and zoning law; (5) the Ordinance effects an unconstitutional taking; and (6) the Ordinance is invalid for lack of a valid housing element in the County's general plan. The County disputed all of petitioners' contentions.
By formal order entered on March 27, 2000, the trial court denied the petition for writ of mandate. In its order, the court concluded that all of the petitioners' facial challenges to the Ordinance were time barred. The court also determined that the Sokolows' as-applied challenges were time barred. Finally, the court concluded that Travis's as-applied constitutional challenge was timely, but that there had been no taking. Consistent with its order, the court entered judgment denying the petition.
Petitioners moved to vacate, reconsider, and amend the judgment, and for leave to amend their petition. The County opposed petitioners' motion.
The trial court heard the motion and took it under submission. Thereafter, by formal order entered on May 11, 2000, the trial court denied petitioners' motion to vacate. Less than two weeks later, on May 23, 2000, the court, acting sua sponte, amended its order to include a statement about petitioners' failure to obtain class certification as to the fictitious Doe petitioners.
Meanwhile, on May 22, 2000, the day before the court filed its amended post-judgment order, petitioners filed a notice of appeal.
First, petitioners raise a procedural issue concerning the trial court's amended post-judgment order. They assert that the amended order has no effect, since it was filed after the trial court had lost its jurisdiction by virtue of this appeal.
Next, petitioners argue that their substantive challenges to the Ordinance are timely. That argument requires us to first consider whether petitioners' challenges to the Ordinance are facial or as-applied claims.
Finally, petitioners renew some of the substantive challenges to the Ordinance that they raised below. In particular, they contend on appeal that the Ordinance is preempted by state statute, that it improperly discriminates on the basis of age, and that it effects an unconstitutional taking.
We first consider whether the petitioners' appeal deprived the trial court of jurisdiction to amend its post-judgment order.1
As a general rule, ...
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