Downtown Palo Alto Committee for Fair Assessment v. City Council

Appellants are operators of businesses in the downtown area of the City of Palo Alto (hereafter sometimes the City) who are affected by an ordinance enacted by respondent creating a Downtown Business Improvement Area and permitting annual charges to be assessed against businesses in the designated improvement area. By way of a petition for writ of mandate filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court, appellants challenged the validity of the ordinance on numerous grounds.

After a hearing at which documentary and testimonial evidence was introduced, the trial court found the ordinance valid and denied the petition. Appellants subsequently filed a motion for reconsideration and for a new trial, based upon newly discovered evidence. The motion was denied and this appeal followed. The facts pertinent to the issues raised on appeal are as follows.

In May of 1982, respondent Downtown Palo Alto, Inc. (hereafter DPAI), a nonprofit membership corporation representing 164 businesses in downtown Palo Alto, presented a proposal for an ordinance establishing parking and business improvement area to the Palo Alto City Council (hereafter City Council). At that time, an estimated 800…