Wilson v. City of Alhambra

HENSHAW, J.

The action is for injunction. The facts are that Dos Robles Street in the city of Alhambra is a street forty feet wide, ending at the property line of plaintiff Wilson, who was the owner of a six-acre tract of land. Wilson desired to prolong Dos Robles Street through his property, joining Dos Robles Street with Alhambra Road, another public way of the city running at right angles with the line of Dos Robles Street extended, Ms purpose being to subdivide his property and. sell building lots along the frontage of his proposed Dos Robles Street extension. Wilson employed

the city engineer

of the city of Alhambra to draw plans and specifications for

[431]

the construction of this street or way through his property, in conformity with all the regulations and requirements of the ordinances of the city of Alhambra. The work contemplated cement sidewalks, cement curbing, and gutters, as well as the construction of the driveway proper. The city engineer drew up the plans and specifications in accordance with the requirements of the city ordinances, and Wilson let his contract for the construction of the work. Being in ignorance of the existence of an ordinance of the city exacting permission for the doing of such work before operations were begun, they proceeded with it without obtaining such permit, and Wilson and the contractor were arrested and proceeded against criminally for the violation of this ordinance. Thereupon Wilson and his contractor made application to the proper authorities of the city of Alhambra for permit to do the work, offering to pay any moneys required and to file an undertaking in any penal sum exacted. Their request was arbitrarily refused for no other assigned reason than that they had begun the work without first requesting a permit. They then undertook the further prosecution of the work and to make connection with Alhambra Road, when the city of Alhambra adopted a new ordinance, No. 281, making it unlawful for any person "to establish, open, make, build, construct, maintain, lay out or adopt any private way, private drive, private street or other private street to be used for street and highway purposes in the city of Alhambra less than fifty feet in width.” Wilson and his contractor were arrested for a violation of this ordinance because the street which they projected and were in the process of constructing over Wilson’s private property was but forty feet in width. Dos Robles Street, the public street of the city of Alhambra, an extension of which in effect Wilson undertook to build through his property, was itself but forty feet wide, and so were other public streets of the city. The court adopted the view that the ordinance was unreasonable, was an unwarranted interference with the rights of private property, and granted the injunction restraining the city of Alhambra from enforcing the ordinance against plaintiff.