Lowensohn

This appeal is taken from a judgment in an eminent domain action brought by respondent, the City of Los Angeles. The action was initiated for the purpose of condemning 80 acres of land in the Palmdale area for airport purposes. The property was owned by appellants, Dr. and Mrs. Lowensohn, who were awarded $440,000 by the jury as compensation for their land. Appellants moved for a new trial; this motion was denied.

Facts

In 1962 appellants purchased the subject property for investment purposes. From the time of the purchase to the time of the eminent domain proceedings, the land remained vacant, and no improvements were accomplished. Beginning in 1959, the property was continuously zoned M-2'/i. This designation, used by the Regional Commission of Los Angeles County, permitted heavy industrial uses with a particular allowance for aircraft manufacture and assembly.

A general plan, developed in 1968, revealed that the planning area of which appellants’ property was a part encompassed 9,500 acres devoted to industrial use and 5,300 acres devoted to quasi-industrial use. This latter acreage had been the site of a private civilian airfield. In 1954, however, the airfield was…