Opinion ID: 1436310
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Summary of issues and proceedings.

Text: The Rancho Del Dios subdivision lies in the Rancho Santa Fe region in the hills of west-central San Diego County. At all times relevant the land in question was zoned A-4(1), an agricultural zone which permits residences on one-acre lots. (See San Diego Co. Code, art. X, § 210.) In 1967 the county adopted the San Dieguito General Plan to govern land use in the portion of the county which includes Rancho Santa Fe. The San Dieguito General Plan provided for residential development in Rancho Santa Fe at a density of 0 to .75 dwelling units per acre until, as we shall point out, it was amended on December 31, 1974. On June 26, 1974, real party in interest Santa Fe Company filed an application for a tentative subdivision map for Rancho Del Dios. The map divides the 217-acre parcel into 131 lots, many of which would be only 1 acre or slightly larger in size. Because the developer proposed to retain a 40-acre parcel and several smaller parcels in an undeveloped state, the density of the subdivision would approximate .6 dwelling units per acre. On October 11, 1974, the San Diego County Planning Commission (Planning Commission) approved the proposed tentative map, expressly finding that it conformed to the existing zoning and general plan. The Planning Commission recommended, however, that a number of conditions be imposed upon approval of a final subdivision map. Although one such condition was that the developer apply for a zoning change from A-4(1) to E-1 (one-acre residential), a zone the commission believed more suitable for a residential subdivision, the Planning Commission refused to require the zoning change as a condition to approval of a final map. On December 10, the board of supervisors approved the tentative map subject to the conditions proposed by the Planning Commission. Beginning in 1972, however, the county had been conducting hearings with a view to amending the San Dieguito General Plan. These hearings culminated on December 31, 1974, with the adoption of a new San Dieguito Community Plan. The new plan classifies the Rancho Santa Fe region for rural estate use and specifies that The Rural Estate category will allow one dwelling unit per two acre parcel. The plan notes that zoning must conform to the land use designations of the general plan; it lists as compatible with the rural-estate designation a variety of zones, including E-1(B) (two-acre residential) and, under certain circumstances A-4(1), the present zoning for Rancho Del Dios. The plan does not list E-1 (one-acre residential) as a zone compatible with rural-estate designation. Fulfilling the condition attached to approval of the tentative map, Santa Fe Company requested a zoning change to E-1. The Planning Commission opposed that request as incompatible with the new general plan, and proposed a zoning change to E-1(B). On April 24, 1975, the board of supervisors unanimously denied Santa Fe Company's request and, by a two-to-two vote, failed to approve the Planning Commission's request. [1] Recognizing its duty to conform zoning to the new general plan, the board of supervisors announced its intention to schedule conformity hearings to consider zoning changes for each region within the San Dieguito Community Plan. The conformity hearings for the Rancho Santa Fe region, originally scheduled for September of 1976, finally took place in June and July of 1978. On September 11, 1975, in Youngblood v. Board of Supervisors, neighbors of the Rancho Del Dios subdivision filed suit against the board. Their petition asserts two forms of relief. The first, a proceeding for traditional mandamus (Code Civ. Proc., § 1085), seeks to mandate the board of supervisors to rezone Rancho Del Dios to conform to the general plan. The second, a proceeding for administrative mandamus (Code Civ. Proc., § 1094.5), asserts that the board abused its discretion in refusing to rezone the subdivision to E-1(B) and in approving the tentative subdivision map. Plaintiffs did not request interim relief and Santa Fe Company completed the improvements required by the tentative map. On October 25, 1975, the board of supervisors approved the final subdivision map. Plaintiffs then requested leave of court to file a supplemental petition alleging that the board acted unlawfully in approving the final map. Without acting on that request the superior court, on November 18, 1975, sustained defendants' demurrer to the petition without leave to amend on the ground that mandamus does not lie because the acts of approving the maps and refusing to rezone are legislative and discretionary. The trial court thereupon entered judgment for defendants; plaintiffs appealed from that judgment. On March 17, 1976, four other neighbors of the Rancho Del Dios subdivision filed a second petition ( Zable v. Board of Supervisors ) against the county, seeking essentially the same forms of relief as the Youngblood petition and supplement. On June 25, 1976, the trial court sustained a demurrer to the Zable petition without leave to amend on the ground of another action pending (Code Civ. Proc., § 430.10, subd. (c)), but stayed entry of judgment pending a final decision in Youngblood. The Zable plaintiffs appealed from that order. While Youngblood and Zable were before the Court of Appeal, Santa Fe Company transferred all the lots in the subdivision. Some lots were acquired by officers or corporations related to Santa Fe Company, but many were purchased by individuals seeking homesites. On July 29, 1977, however, the Court of Appeal issued an injunction. As clarified in its subsequent order of August 3, 1977, the writ permits construction pursuant to building and grading permits already issued, but restrains the county from granting additional building or grading permits. We granted hearings in both Youngblood and Zable, consolidated the cases for oral argument and opinion, and continued the Court of Appeal's injunction in effect pending our resolution of these cases. Finally, on August 23, 1978, the board of supervisors completed its conformity hearings and rezoned Rancho Del Dios to E-1(B), a zone which requires two-acre lots and thus conforms to the San Dieguito General plan. The ordinance became effective September 22, 1978. Turning to the cases before us, we first observe that the appeal in Zable v. Board of Supervisors must be dismissed. (1) No appeal lies from an order sustaining a demurrer without leave to amend. ( Lavine v. Jessup (1957) 48 Cal.2d 611, 614 [311 P.2d 8]; Beazell v. Schrader (1962) 205 Cal. App.2d 673, 674 [23 Cal. Rptr. 189].) (2) A stay order may be appealed only if founded upon the ground of inconvenient forum. (See Code Civ. Proc., § 904.1, subd. (c).) Although the Zable plaintiffs point to the court's minute order directing that the Zable action be consolidated with Youngblood for future consideration, that consolidation neither transforms the order of June 25, 1976, into an appealable order nor gives the Zable plaintiffs standing to appeal the judgment in Youngblood. In Youngblood v. Board of Supervisors, plaintiffs' petition for mandate to compel the board to rezone Rancho Del Dios to conform to the general plan is now moot. Plaintiffs' contention that the board abused its discretion in approving the tentative and final subdivision maps for Rancho Del Dios remains to be resolved on this appeal.