Strong

While I agree with the conclusion of the majority that the county should not be estopped in the circumstances of this case, I reach that result on the sole ground that the developer had knowledge of the invalidity of his permit prior to seeking the approvals in question. To the extent that the majority rest their holding upon the county's asserted lack of actual knowledge of the invalidity of the permit, I must respectfully express my disagreement with their reasoning. In my view the county, having issued the permit, cannot be heard to maintain that it had no knowledge of its expiration date. Accordingly, the state of its actual knowledge can have no relevance to the matter of estoppel. With this limitation, I concur in the majority opinion. *Page 729

[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *Page 722 OPINION Robert S. Strong and Anita M. Strong, 1 purchased a parcel of land in Santa Cruz County for the purpose of constructing a mobile home park. At the time of the purchase, the property had a use permit for the construction of a park of 177 spaces. The county sought to reduce the number of spaces in the park to 142, and its action was challenged by Strong. The primary question to be determined in this proceeding is whether the county was estopped to assert the expiration of the permit as justification for the reduction in the number of spaces allowed because it approved plans for construction subsequent to the expiration date. Strong entered into a contract to purchase the property on March 15, 1972. A use permit had been granted in 1968 to a prior owner and was renewed by the county several times. The last renewal had occurred on April 12, 1971. The language of the permit was ambiguous as to whether it expired on April 1 or April 12, 1972. 2 At best, it was to expire less than *Page 723 a month after Strong agreed to purchase the…

Robert S. Strong and Anita M. Strong, purchased a parcel of land in Santa Cruz County for the purpose of constructing a mobile home park. At the time of the purchase, the property had a use permit for the construction of a park of 177 spaces. The county sought to reduce the number of spaces in the park to 142, and its action was challenged by Strong. The primary question to be determined in this proceeding is whether the county was estopped to assert the expiration of the permit as justification for the reduction in the number of spaces allowed because it approved plans for construction subsequent to the expiration date.

Strong entered into a contract to purchase the property on March 15, 1972. A use permit had been granted in 1968 to a prior owner and was renewed by the county several times. The last renewal had occurred on April 12, 1971. The language of the permit was ambiguous as to whether it expired on April 1 or April 12, 1972. At best, it was to expire less than a month after Strong agreed to purchase the property. A county ordinance provided that a use permit lapsed after one year from its effective date unless the permit allowed a longer period.

The permit…