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California Civil Procedure, Keyed to Levine, 6th Ed.
Morehart v. County of Santa Barbara
Citation:
7 Cal. 4th 725, 29 Cal. Rptr. 2d 804, 872 P.2d 143 (1994)Facts
Plaintiffs John and Frances Morehart owned block 132, a 3.7-acre parcel shown on an 1888 map of the Naples Townsite subdivision in Santa Barbara County. The parcel was part of approximately 900 acres that appeared on maps as a grid of lots, blocks, and streets never actually developed. In 1977, Morehart Land Company (49% owned by plaintiffs, 51% by their nine adult children) purchased a major portion of Naples. The county had zoned Naples as agricultural requiring 10 acres per dwelling, later increased to 100 acres under the coastal plan. On July 2, 1984, the county adopted resolutions establishing an “AS Antiquated Subdivision overlay district” requiring lots to be combined to meet minimum lot size when applying for land use permits, unless held in separate ownership prior to that date. Four days before this cutoff date, Morehart Land Company conveyed numerous Naples parcels to plaintiffs, their children, and family corporations to avoid common ownership of contiguous parcels. In 1986, the county issued plaintiffs a certificate of compliance stating their parcel was legal. In 1987, plaintiffs applied for a coastal development permit to build a single-family dwelling, but the county rejected the application in 1988, reasoning that recombination with adjoining family-owned blocks was feasible to comply with the 100-acre minimum. The county formally enacted ordinances in 1988 requiring parcels to be combined to comply with current density standards before issuing coastal development permits.
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