Garat

In general, the matter before us has arisen within the context of an ongoing municipal land-use planning dispute between, on the one hand, the City of Riverside (a charter city under the authority of article XI, sections 3 and 5, of the California Constitution, with charter set forth at Statutes 1981, Appendix-Charters, pages 55-80), its City Council and various “controlled growth” special interest groups (hereinafter, unless otherwise specifically indicated, the City) and, on the other hand, various private citizens, other special interest groups and development consortiums (hereinafter, unless otherwise specifically indicated, Garat), all of whom, collectively and individually, oppose the City’s enactment (by and through the use of the initiative process by the City’s voters) and enforcement of the “controlled growth” land-use planning measures at issue in this case. In particular, the City has brought this appeal before us following the trial court’s decision below, in consolidated “invalidity proceedings,” that the City’s general plan is (and for some length of time has been) deficient as a matter of law and that, consequently, two land-use initiative “ordinances”…