PROHIBITION OF ISSUANCE OF PERMITAS BY RESOLUTION PENDING AMEDMENT TO MUNICIPAL CODE REGULATIONS

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OPINION NO. 74-14 PAGE THREE amendment to an ordinance.' Rather,-the resolution purports to accom- plish by formal action results that could be accomplished in an entirely informal manner as noted under analysis to Question No. 1 above. V~here an application for a permit to construct a billboard on the plaintiff's property was denied after the adoption of an amend- ment prohibiting the erection of billboards in the area of the proposed site, but before the effective date of the amendment, the permit was held to have been properly refused in Chas. L. Harney, Inc. y. Board of Permit Appeals (1961) 195 Cal App 2d 442, 15 Cal Rptr 870, revers- ing a judgment which had granted a peremptory writ of mandate direct- ing issuance of the building permit. The plaintiff landowner applied for the permit on April 4, 1960. On April 21, 1960, the city planning commission informed the plaintiff that it intended to submit to the City Board of Supervisors an amendment prohibiting the erection of billboards in the .area of the proposed site. The commission put aside the application pending the proposed legislation which was adopted some time before June 16, 1960, the date of the denial of the appli- cation. The effective date of the amendment was July 23, 1960. The plaintiff argued that its right to a permit had to be determined as of the date of its application and could not be affected by an ordi- nance subsequently adopted, and that the commission, in determining whether to issue a permit, was not entitled to consider the provisions of a future ordinance. The court, however, dismissed this contention,. on the ground that there was no opportunity for any privilege to ripen into a vested right, since no privilege is acquired until a permit is issued. On the basis of the above authorities, it is concluded that the action of the Santa Ana City Council prohibiting issuance of permits for construction of off-premise advertising signs by resolution •pending amendment to regulations under the Santa Ana Municipal Code, is proper. Respectfully submitted, !~ ~-~.c~ K. George Kiraithe Law Clerk KGK:jc -46-