Opinion ID: 3050279
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Availability of relocation sites

Text: The County proposed 76 potentially available parcels for Déjà Vu’s relocation. Déjà Vu submitted the declaration of a land use expert contesting the availability and suitability of each site. After an exhaustive survey, the district court excluded eight sites for summary judgment purposes. Fantasyland, 373 F. Supp. 2d at 1132-40. In its briefs and at oral argument, Déjà Vu did not contest any of the district court’s 13710 TOLLIS INC. v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO individual determinations with respect to these remaining 68 parcels.4 [6] Déjà Vu’s argument on appeal draws on the County’s restriction of adult establishments to industrial zoning districts. All adult establishments must relocate to four industrial districts: M50, M52, M54, and M58. Although presumably available for adult establishments, none of these zones allows for general commercial use. “Non-manufacturing uses are restricted to those providing essential support services to manufacturing plants and their personnel.” San Diego County Zoning Ordinance § 2500; see also §§ 2520, 2540, 2580. According to Déjà Vu, this total exclusion from commercial zones suggests that it has not “been afforded a reasonable opportunity to relocate.” See Topanga Press, 989 F.3d at 1521 n.5 (avoiding the question of whether “under Renton, a business has been afforded a reasonable opportunity to relocate if all relocation sites are within an industrial zone and no commercial zones are offered.”). [7] We disagree. Déjà Vu’s position confuses two distinct questions. Whether or not an industrial zone permits generic commercial business within its borders rests on a legislative policy judgment. Asking whether an industrial zone is suitable for generic commercial activity examines the physical characteristics and infrastructure of the land within the zone. The Topanga Press analysis is concerned only with the latter. See 989 F.3d at 1531; see also Diamond v. City of Taft, 215 F.3d 1052, 1056 (9th Cir. 2000). In Topanga Press, we held that manufacturing or industrial zones may comprise part of the relevant market if they “are reasonably accessible to the general public” and “have a proper infra-structure.” 989 F.3d at 1531. We did not hold that industrial sites are potentially available for relocations only so long as they may be used for commercial purposes generally. If an industrial site is reason- 4 We therefore express no opinion on the district court’s mode of analysis, nor on any of its conclusions. TOLLIS INC. v. COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO 13711 ably accessible and has sufficient infrastructure to be “available” under Topanga, it remains available even if its use for other commercial purposes may be restricted by the zoning law. [8] In any case, the ordinance at issue here requires that adult businesses be located within industrial zones. Any other interpretation of the zoning scheme would zone adult businesses out of the county. As Déjà Vu does not challenge any of the district court’s holdings with respect to the suitability of any one of the 68 parcels for generic commercial use, its argument fails.