Morse v. County of San Luis Obispo

FLEMING, J.

Morse and Seal appeal a judgment of dismissal after a demurrer to their complaint was sustained without leave to amend for failure to state a cause of action.

Plaintiffs’ complaint charged that the rezoning of the area in the vicinity of a county airport resulted in the inverse condemnation of their property by the county, that in purchasing their property they acted in reliance on a zoning ordinance which stated their land would be rezoned for subdivision purposes on request, that the individual defendants responsible for rezoning the property abused their discretion and acted negligently.

The sole issue on appeal is whether Morse and Seal stated a cause of action against the defendants in their complaint.

Plaintiffs’ land lies in an area of small farms about four miles from the City of Paso Robles and one mile from the Paso Robles airport operated by the County of San Luis

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Obispo. The land was zoned A-l at the time they bought it, a zoning which permits a density of one residential dwelling per acre. Plaintiffs submitted a tentative subdivision map which proposed R-l uses and requested the county planning commission to rezone their property R-l, a zoning under which the maximum allowable density of residential structures per acre would be increased from one to five. According to the briefs, the planning commission undertook to review the zoning of the entire area in the general vicinity of the Paso Robles airport, and at the conclusion of its public hearing determined to decrease rather than increase the allowable density of land use in the area by recommending a zoning of A-l-5, a classification which requires five acres for a single-family dwelling. The board of supervisors approved the commission’s recommendation and rezoned the area of plaintiffs’ property to A-l-5.

1. The county zoning ordinance on which plaintiffs purport to have relied reads:

“It is the intention of this section to encourage proper development by promoting and retaining the agricultural use of property where subdivision or urban developments are imminent and until it is properly subdivided under current County Subdivision Ordinance. Approval of development plans or tentative and final subdivision maps constitute sufficient justification for the County Planning Commission to consider the appropriate rezoning of areas currently designated as A-l.”