CC RES 2010-021 RESOLUTION NO. 2010-21
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES SETTING FORTH THE CITY
COUNCIL'S DETERMINATION THAT THE CITY SHOULD NOT
ACQUIRE THE 16 LOTS OWNED BY THE MONKS PLAINTIFFS
AND DOCUMENTING THE ACTIONS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL
HAS TAKEN TO PURGE THE CITY OF THE OBLIGATION TO
PURCHASE THE PROPERTIES.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES HEREBY
FINDS, ORDERS AND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, in 2002, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2002-43, which
required owners of properties within Zone 2 of the City's Landslide Moratorium Area to
demonstrate that a zone-wide factor of safety of at least 1.5 exists before owners of
undeveloped properties within that Zone could develop their properties; and
WHEREAS, owners of 16 undeveloped lots within Zone 2 subsequently filed
lawsuits entitled Monks, et al. v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes, et al., in state and
federal court challenging the adoption of that Resolution on the grounds that it
constituted a taking under the federal and state constitutions; and
WHEREAS, the City entered into a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs
whereby the federal lawsuit was dismissed and the plaintiffs received payment for all of
their claims for a temporary taking; and
WHEREAS, the California Court of Appeal in the case entitled Monks v. City of
Rancho Palos Verdes, reversed a decision by the Los Angeles County Superior Court,
which previously had determined, after a lengthy trial, that the City's action of adopting
Resolution No. 2002-43 did not constitute a taking of property, and held that the
adoption of Resolution No. 2002-43 did cause a regulatory taking of property; and
WHEREAS, on December 17, 2008, the California Supreme Court denied the
City's petition for review of the decision in the Monks case; and
WHEREAS, in Hensler v. City of Glendale, 8 Ca1.4th 1(1994), the California
Supreme Court stated that following a judicial determination that a taking of property
has occurred by virtue of the adoption of a governmental regulation, the governmental
entity must be afforded the option to exempt the property from the scope of the
regulation or to repeal the offending regulation so that the governmental entity is not
required to pay compensation for the taking; and
WHEREAS, the City Council never wished to purchase the plaintiffs' properties;
and
WHERAS, The City's expert appraiser established a value of approximately $1
million per lot for each of the plaintiffs' properties, and the plaintiffs' expert valued the
plaintiffs' properties at an even greater value;
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
VERDES HEREBY FINDS, ORDERS AND RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1: The City does not have adequate funds in its general fund reserve
to pay the plaintiffs for their properties, regardless of which appraiser's valuation is used
to determine the value of those properties.
Section 2: The City Council has taken the following actions to eliminate the
taking in compliance with the Supreme Court's decision in the Hensler case:
A. On January 21, 2009, the City Council adopted Resolution No.2009-06,
which repealed Resolution No. 2002-43.
B. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 498, which established a new
exception P in Section 15.20,040 of the City's Landslide Moratorium
Ordinance so that the owners of the 16 Monks lots could apply to develop
their properties and use the same processes that are available to developed
properties located within the Landslide Moratorium Area.
C. The City Council adopted Ordinance No. 502,which increased the amount of
the grading that could occur on each of the 16 lots owned by the Monks
plaintiffs to up to 1000 cubic yards per lot;
D. The City has received the applications for a moratorium exception from each
of the owners of the Monks plaintiffs' lots, seven of which are complete
applications, and has approved all of the applications for the seven lots for
which complete applications have been submitted.
E. On March 30, 2010, the City Council took action to reduce the planning and
building fees that will be charged to the owners of the Monks plaintiffs' 16
lots to the rates that were in effect in 2002.
SECTION 3: The City Council finds that it has taken all of the actions that are
necessary to allow the Monks plaintiffs, similar to other property owners in the City,to apply
to the City to develop their properties in accordance with the procedures established by the
Municipal Code, and therefore, the City Council has eliminated the need for the City to pay
compensation to the Monks plaintiffs.
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SECTION 4: The City Council continues to desire to eliminate any improper
constraints that constitute a taking of the property of the 16 lot owners, and desires to take
those reasonable efforts necessary to achieve that outcome.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED THE 31st DAY OF MARCH 2010.
iMayor
Attest:
egicht-
City Clerk
State of California )
County of Los Angeles )ss
City of Rancho Palos Verdes )
I, Carla Morreale, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, hereby certify that the
above Resolution No. 2010-21 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said
City Council at regular meeting thereof held on March 31, 2010.
'fr$1
n C771
City Clerk
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Resolution No.2010-21
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