PROPOSED WHOLESALE MEAT BUSINESS AT 802 EAST THIRD STREET IN THE C2 DISTRICT

Home Browse Search

OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY OPINION NO. 73- j APRIL 27, 1973 SUBJECT: Proposed Wholesale,Meat Business at 802 East Third Street in the C-2 District. REQUESTED RY: Planning Department OPINION BY: James A. Withers, City Attorney BY: Richard E. Lay, Deputy City Attorney QUESTION: May a business which cutting of halves of pieces and packaging wholesale selling of be allowed in a C-2 variance? ANSWER: No. ANALYSIS includes both the beef into smaller thereof, as well as the packaged beef, 3istrict without a A zoning ordinance must be construed reasonably con- sidering the objects sought to be obtained and the general struc- ture of the ordinance as a whole. Markey v Danville Warehouse & Lumber, Inc. 259 P2d 19. The Santa Ana Code provisions relat- ing to zoning manifests the intention to exclude manufacturing activities from districts zoned primarily for commercial uses, except as specifically permitted under the code. Commercial zones are intended to be more restrictive than industrial zones. Thus, as a general rule, activities which have both commercial and industrial or manufacturing aspects are to be excluded from commercial districts and allowed in industrial districts. The cutting and packaging of halves of beef is a manufacturing activity in that it involves the fashioning ,pf raw materials into a change of form for use, and as such it is distinct from commerce but included within industrial uses. Markey v. Danville Warehouse, supra. It is therefore prohibited in a commercial zone, even though combined with wholesaling activities, unless specifically allowed by the relevant zoning ordinance. Neither SAMC Sec. 41-377, governing uses permitted in a C2 district, nor Sec. 41-365, governing uses permitted in a Cl district, specifically allow the, cutting, packaging, or "processing" of meat or food products. Nor can such an activity be deemed merely incidental to wholesale activity. The code 66