County of Riverside v. City of Murrieta

1. Introduction

On July 19, 1994, pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law, section 33000 et seq. of the Health and Safety Code, the Murrieta City Council adopted Ordinance No. 121 approving a redevelopment project involving 3,788.19 acres of land. Subsequently, 200 acres of vacant county land were eliminated from the project area, thus reducing the amount of property affected to 3,588.19 acres. The project is generally located in the area of the juncture of Interstates 15 and 215 in Riverside County.

The County of Riverside (County) filed a superior court action challenging the City of Murrieta’s (City) approval of the project on a number of grounds. The trial court reviewed the administrative record and issued a statement of decision granting judgment in favor of the County on the grounds that the record did not contain substantial evidence to support the City’s findings that the project area is a “predominantly urbanized area . . . which is a blighted area.” (§ 33320.1, subd. (a).)

The City has appealed arguing that the trial court erred in finding no substantial evidence to support the City’s determination that the project area is both predominantly urbanized…