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9. A4 ADVOCATING CITIES' INTERESTS BEFORE THE COURTS BRIEFS RECENTLY FILED Cities' Right to Intervene in Environmental Eminent Domain and Rezonin s Lawsuits The League filed a friend -of- the -court brief in support of cities' right to intervene in California Environmental Quality Act cases. The issue arises in the context of the City of Santa Clarita's efforts to represent its community's concerns about the expansion of a gravel mining operation in the unincorporated area on its border. The League's brief focuses on the second prong of the interven- tion test, which is whether the city has a signifi- cantly protectable interest in the subject matter of the lawsuit. The case name is Cemex v. County of Los Angeles, CV -02- 00747 -DT (C.D. Cal.). The League thanks Michael Brodsky of the San Fran- cisco Law Offices of Michael Brodsky for preparing the friend -of- the -court brief on behalf of the League. V What role should zoning restrictions should play in valuing property in eminent domain cases. In a case involving the City of San Diego, the court of appeal ruled that the property owner was entitled to a higher amount of "just compensation" for its property because of rezonings of neighboring properties. The League is concerned about the breadth of the court of appeal's language on this case, which involves highly technical issues. The League is asking that the court's opinion be decertified from publication. The case name is City of San Diego v. Rancho Penasquitos Partner- ship, 105 Cal. App. 4th 1013, modified and reh'g denied, (4th Dist. March 3, 2003). The League thanks the City of Oxnard for arranging for the letter in support of decertification from publication on behalf of the League. Staff Silence not a Basis for Estoppel The League is urging the California Supreme Court to publish a favorable court of appeal opinion relating to the doctrine of "estoppel" in the context of local entities. Essentially, "estoppel" prevents a party from taking a position that is contrary to what that party led another to believe. In this case, a school asserted that the City of Encinitas was "estopped "or precluded from denying that it had granted the school a sewer easement over adja- cent City property because city staff had acted in such a manner as to indicate the easement existed. The court held that the school's allegations in the complaint were not sufficient to establish that the school had been misled. Accordingly, it was proper to decide on a pretrial motion (demurrer) that there was no estoppel against the city and, thus, there was no reason for the matter to go before a jury. The case also illustrates that a regulatory act does not transfer property rights, even when the regulator is the owner. That is, the fact that the City had approved construction of the school did not mean that it had granted the school an ease- ment over the adjacent City parcel. The case name is Encinitas Country Day School v. City of Encinitas, D039849 (4th Dist. February 26, 2003). League staff prepared the letter brief. Growth Boundary Case is Supportive of Local Planning A court of appeal recently issued a very useful opinion analyzing the interplay between state housing laws and local land use policies. In an unpublished decision, a local growth management ordinance that included an urban growth boundary was upheld against a challenge based on state housing laws, regulatory takings and other issues. The opinion included language that would benefit cities considerably, given that the issues in this case are ones cities face either as part of their own land use planning activities or as the result of citizen initiatives. The League authorized a letter, written by League staff, requesting that the opinion be pub- lished (and therefore may be used as precedent by other local agencies). The case name is Shea Homes Limited Partnership v. County of Alameda, No. A097072 (1" Dist. March 13, 2003). These briefs and others recently filed by the League are available on the League's website at www cacities orgAeoaladvocacv PAGE 4 /PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site-- www.cacities.org