Opinion ID: 1126936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Porterville Case

Text: Notwithstanding several cases cited by appellant suggest that a complete, absolute exclusion of churches from zoned residential areas might be held as unconstitutional, the appellant does not argue such a proposition here, and for the reason that the Milwaukie ordinance is not an ordinance of exclusion. Such a complete exclusion was, however, provided by the zoning ordinance of the City of Porterville, California, and given judicial approval in Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints v. City of Porterville, supra (203 P2d 823), dismissed for lack of Federal question, 338 US 805, 94 L Ed 487, 70 S Ct 78, rehearing denied, 338 US 939, 94 L Ed 579, 70 S Ct 342. Also see Chief Justice Vinson's later approving reference to the Porterville case in American Communications Ass'n v. Douds, 339 US 382, 397, 70 S Ct 674, 94 L Ed 925 (1950):    When the effect of a statute or ordinance upon the exercise of First Amendment freedoms is relatively small and the public interest to be protected is substantial, it is obvious that a rigid test requiring a showing of imminent danger to the security of the Nation is an absurdity. We recently dismissed for want of substantiality an appeal in which a church group contended that its First Amendment rights were violated by a municipal zoning ordinance preventing the building of churches in certain residential areas. (Citing Porterville case, supra) In Porterville, as here, it was contended the challenged ordinance operated as a restriction of right to religious worship and was beyond the reach of the police powers. Notwithstanding that the Porterville case treats with an ordinance which excludes churches from single family dwelling zones and with no provision for applications for permission for special use as found in the Milwaukie ordinance, and notwithstanding that appellant, referring to the Porterville case, concedes that where the legislature has excluded all but private residences and no churches have been permitted in the area, then such a law may be said to be constitutional, depending on the circumstances of the particular case as to whether the zone includes most of the city, it still has a most important interest and significant application here. By giving judicial approval to the absolute exclusion of churches from zones reserved for single family dwellings, it is authority for the proposition that such a restriction can be a reasonable application of the police power, and, as was later demonstrated by American Communications Ass'n v. Douds, supra, (339 US at p 397), the Porterville exclusion is not an infringement upon the liberties guaranteed by the First Amendent. Reason dictates that if the Porterville ordinance is not a denial of due process or equal protection of the law or the freedom of religion by reason of a complete exclusion of churches from an area zoned for single family residences, it therefore cannot be a denial of due process or equal protection of the law or an infringement on the religious liberties, to deny a permit to build a church within such area when it is apparent that it will create or intensify a condition of traffic congestion. The Porterville case, at p 825, cites with approval the following statement from Miller v. Board of Public Works, 195 Cal 470, 492, 234 P 381, 38 ALR 1479: There are some decisions which do not uphold the validity of a zoning ordinance establishing strictly residential districts. We are of the opinion, however, that the better reasoned cases are in favor of the validity of comprehensive zoning which establish strictly private home districts, and that the most which can be said of the cases to the contrary is that they merely show that this is a question upon which reasonable minds may differ. We are in accord with this view. We are also in agreement with the following observation from the Porterville case, supra: A single family residence may be much more desirable when not in an apartment house neighborhood or adjacent to a public building such as a church. The municipal legislative body may require that church buildings be erected to conform to health and safety regulations as provided in its building code and we see no reason to hold that churches may be erected in a single family residential area when a duplex, triplex, or other multiple dwelling can lawfully be excluded therefrom. The provision in the ordinance for a single family residential area affords an opportunity and inducement for the acquisition and occupation of private homes where the owners thereof may live in comparative peace, comfort and quiet. Such a zoning regulation bears a substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals and general welfare because it tends to promote and perpetuate the American home and protect its civic and social values. We find no merit in plaintiff's contention that the application of the ordinance to the plaintiff results in an unwarranted restriction of religious worship. (203 P2d at p 825.) 28. The denial of a building permit to appellant did not prohibit any one of its members from religious worship. Moreover, there is nothing in the record before us to indicate that alternative opportunities to locate do not exist. We do know that a church building could be erected without permit in one of the other zone areas; indeed, it is possible a permit might be issued on proper application as to another site in the same residential zone where traffic congestion would be less likely, or in an unzoned area of Milwaukie, if such exists. We are not persuaded by appellant's argument that the denial of its application to erect a church in the zone reserved for single dwelling residences works a trespass upon its religious liberties as protected by the Federal or Oregon Constitutions. The appellant having failed to sustain the heavy burdens cast upon it as a petitioner for mandamus, the judgment of the circuit court is affirmed.