City of Lawndale v. City of Torrance

This action arises from intercity competition for the right to annex uninhabited territory. The city of Lawndale and the city of Torrance are both attempting to annex Alondra Park, which is a regional park owned by the county of Los Angeles. These annexation attempts were commenced by Lawndale’s submitting two annexation proposals to the Boundary Commission of Los Angeles County, each of which included all the park and some other territory. They were submitted in May 1960, and entitled “Lawndale An nexations No. 2 and No. 3.” On June 14, 1960, Torrance brought a mandamus proceeding in an attempt to prevent the processing of these boundary descriptions through the boundary commission. The superior court refused to issue an alternative writ, and nothing further was done with respect to these two annexation proposals.

Following is a summary of the pertinent events relative to the current litigation: (1) On June 6, 1960, the City Council of Torrance adopted Resolution Number 3981 initiating proceedings to annex the territory of county-owned Alondra Park on its own motion, pursuant to section 35310 [Gov. Code] of the Uninhabited Annexation Act of 1939, and directed that a written…