Bayside Manor, Inc. v. City of Santa Monica

Opinion

KINGSLEY, J.

The City of Santa Monica and the city’s rent control board appeal from a judgment granting a peremptory writ of mandate, requiring it to grant to petitioners an exemption from the city’s rent control law. We reverse.

[53]

For some time, petitioners operated a group of buildings, licensed under the Community Care Facilities Act (Health & Saf. Code, § 1500 et seq.). The record shows no attempt to apply the Santa Monica Rent Control legislation to that facility until after May of 1980.

1

However, in June of 1979, petitioners filed an application for formal exemption from that legislation. No action having been taken on that application, in April of 1980, petitioners notified all of their occupants to vacate and, as of May 20, 1980, the facility had become vacant. Thereafter the application for exemption was denied. By this proceeding in mandate, the trial court ordered that the exemption certificate be issued. The writ also purports to hold that all community care facilities are exempt from the Santa Monica regulations. The city and the rent control board have appealed. We reverse.

I

We agree with appellants that the portions of the writ which purport to hold

all

community care facilities exempt from the rent control regulations are beyond the scope of the jurisdiction of the trial court. This is not a class declaratory action. It involves only the status of the properties owned by respondents. It is true that, if the respondents secure, on this appeal, an exemption, that decision may become a precedent for cases involving other properties. But its precedential value, if any, must be determined in other, and future, litigation.

II

Santa Monica’s rental control legislation is found in a provision of its charter. That provision provides for regulation of “Any building, structure, or part thereof, or land appurtenant thereto, or any other rental property rented or offered for rent for living or dwelling house units, and other real properties used for living or dwelling purposes, together with all housing services connected with use or occupancy of such property such as common areas and recreational facilities held out for use by the tenant. ”