International Ass'n of Fire Fighters v. City of San Leandro

This is an appeal from an action for declaratory judgment and permanent injunction. Appellants seek a declaration that General Order 75-2 of the San Leandro Fire Department is unconstitutional. The injunctive relief requested would restrain respondents from imposing any discipline for failure to comply with the order, which requires fire department personnel to reside within 40 road miles of fire station 4 located in San Leandro.

Both parties filed summary judgment motions upon which respondents prevailed.

Article XI, section 10, subdivision (b) of the California Constitution provides that: “(b) A city or county, including any chartered city or chartered county, or public district, may not require that its employees be residents of such city, county, or district; except that such employees may be required to reside within a reasonable and specific distance of their place of employment or other designated location.”

The City of San Leandro has adopted a residency requirement for its fire department personnel (General Order 75-2) in order to assure that firefighters can provide emergency assistance in a timely manner. The order states: “San Leandro Fire Department…