Dondlinger v. L.A. County Regional Park etc.

Filed 1/31/19 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

JIMMIE J. DONDLINGER, B284932

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC645369) v.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGIONAL PARK AND OPEN SPACE DISTRICT,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, James C. Chalfant, Judge. Affirmed. Capstone Law, Glenn A. Danas, Liana Carter, Robert K. Friedl; Dakessian Law, Mardiros H. Dakessian, Zareh Jaltorossian, and Ruben Sislyan for Plaintiff and Appellant. Miller Barondess, Louis R. Miller, Brian A. Procel, David I. Bosko; Greines, Martin, Stein & Richland, Timothy T. Coates, and Alan Diamond for Defendant and Respondent. ____________________________

Jimmie Dondlinger filed suit seeking to invalidate a voter- approved special property tax imposed by the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District (the District). The trial court granted the District’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and denied Dondlinger leave to amend the complaint. Based on our interpretation of Public Resources Code section 5566, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. BACKGROUND Pursuant to Public Resources Code section 5566 and Government Code section 53722, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, acting as the governing body of the District, enacted a resolution on July 5, 2016 to place on the November 8, 2016 ballot the language: “To replace expiring local funding for safe, clean neighborhood/city/county parks; increase safe playgrounds, reduce gang activity; keep neighborhood recreation/senior centers, drinking water safe; protect beaches, rivers, water resources, remaining natural areas/open space; shall 1.5 cents be levied annually per square foot of improved property in Los Angeles County, with bond authority, requiring citizen oversight, independent audits, and funds used locally?” The measure, on the November 2016 ballot as Measure A, was to create a tax “on all improved parcels in the District at a rate of 1.5 cents per square foot of structural improvements, excluding the square footage of improvements used for parking.” Los Angeles County voters approved Measure A by a vote of 74.9 percent in favor to 25.1 percent opposed. On January 3, 2017, Jimmie Dondlinger, who owned real property in Los Angeles County subject to the tax created by Measure A, filed a complaint against the District seeking to have the Measure A tax invalidated. Dondlinger filed a petition and