MacKay v. City of Los Angeles

McNUTT, J.,

pro

tem.

Plaintiff sued to quiet title to lands which were sold to the City of Los Angeles (defend

[181]

ant) for a delinquent assessment levied against them to pay the expense of their acquisition by condemnation for park purposes. A demurrer was sustained and judgment was entered against plaintiff, who has appealed on the judgment-roll.

The acquisition of said lands resulted from proceedings instituted by the respondent City of Los Angeles under section 2 of the Park and Playgrounds Act of 1909 (Stats. 1909, p. 1066), which reads as follows: “Before ordering the acquisition of any land or lands for any purpose authorized in section 1 of this act the city council shall pass an ordinance declaring its intention so to do.” Section 1 of the act provides that “whenever the public interest or convenience may require, the city council of any municipality shall have full power and authority to acquire by condemnation any land situate in such municipality for public park .or public playground purposes”.

Appellant contends that -pending the accomplishment of the proceeding thus instituted the City of Los Angeles adopted a charter, one of the provisions of which, numbered section 176, follows: “No real property shall be acquired by the city for park sites unless such sites are first approved by the Board of Commissioners. Said board shall have full control over all park sites and no such sites shall be devoted to any other purpose in whole or in part without permission from said board,” and that therefore the proceedings were abortive because the sites in suit were not first approved by the board of park commissioners. The argument is grounded upon the propositions: that “City Charter provisions are strictly construed and must be strictly followed ”

(O’Melveney

v.

Griffith, 178

Cal. 1 [171 Pac. 934]); that the ordinance of intention to acquire the park sites in question was not finally adopted until after the charter provision requiring the approval of the board of park commissioners had become effective; that the park sites were not acquired as a matter of law until after the adoption of the aforesaid charter provision.