MANDITORY ZONING IN CONFORMANCE WITH GERAL PLAN

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OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY OPINION NO. 73-36 May 1, 1973 SUBJECT: Mandatory Zoning in Conformance with General Plan REQUESTED BY: Director of Planning OPINION BY: James A. Withers, City Attorney By Charles J. Liberto, Assistant City Attorney QUESTION: Must the zoning of a charter city conform with its general plan in the absence of an ordinance requiring it to do so? ANSWER: No ANALYS IS The California State Planning Act, Title 7, Chapter 4, was -- recently amended by SB 1239, requiring all city zoning ordinances to be in conformance with the general plan by July 1, 1973. Pur- suant to said amendment, residents or property owners within a given city are allowed to bring an action in the Superior Court in administrative mandamus pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure ~ 1084 to enforce said requirement provided that such action is filed within six (6) months of July 1, 1973 or within ninety (90) days of the enactment of any zoning ordinance or amendment of any zoning ordinance contrary to the general plan. The provisions of Title 7, Chapter 4 of the California Planning Act are made specifically inapplicable to charter cities except to the extent that such charter city adopts by ordinance the requirement that zoning ordinances conform to the general plan. Government Code Section 65803 (Stats.l965, c. 1880, p. 4346, ~6.) Lagrutta v. City Council, City of Stockton, (1970) 96 Cal. Rptr. 627, 9 Cal App 3d 890. This office has examined Chapter 27 of the Santa Ana Muni- cipal Code (Planning) and Chapter 49 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (Zoning) and finds no ordinance adopted thereunder requiring the City of Santa Ana, as a charter city, to conform its zoning ordinances with the duly adopted general plan of the City of Santa Ana. It is, therefore, the conclusion of this office, pursuant to 70