West Coast Advertising Co. v. City & County of San Francisco

TAYLOR, J.

The City and County of San Francisco, its zoning administrator and its director of planning, appeal from a judgment granting petitioner, West Coast Advertising Company, a peremptory writ of mandate directing the issuance of a building permit to erect a billboard. The question on appeal is whether the trial court’s order granting the writ pursuant to the then-existing city ordinance should now be reversed because of a subsequent amendment prohibiting such billboards.

The facts are not in dispute. On April 1, 1965, petitioner, a California corporation engaged in the business of erecting and maintaining advertising signs, applied to the city zoning administrator for a permit to erect a billboard on its premises adjacent to the freeway at 2513 San Bruno Avenue. The zoning administrator denied the permit and thereafter petitioner appealed to the Board of Permit Appeals, hereafter Board. The Board heard the appeal of petitioner on May 10, June 16 and June 21, 1965, overruled the decision of the zoning administrator and ordered approval of the application for a permit on the grounds that

the billboard was not a structure within the planning code.

Thereafter, the zoning administrator and planning director requested a rehearing before the Board, which was denied on August 16.

On September 7, petitioner filed its application for a writ of mandate and the alternative writ issued. At the September 29 hearing on the application, all parties knew that the city was then considering a new ordinance, No. 263-65, prohibiting billboards on property adjacent to freeways and that if passed, petitioner could not compel the issuance of the writ.

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Petitioner indicated it would take its chances on the new ordinance. The new ordinance was passed on October 11, had its second reading on October 18, was signed on October 22, and became effective 30 days thereafter on November 21. On October 21, the court below granted the writ of mandate on the basis of the original ordinance still in effect. This appeal ensued.

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Petitioner contends that the writ was properly issued as the new ordinance did not become effective until 30 days after the order entered by the court below and that it now has a vested right to the building permit. The applicable principle of law was recently stated by our Supreme Court in