City of Oakland v. Superior Court

Many California cities must grapple with nuisances associated with alcoholic beverage sale establishments. Some local entities have adopted ordinances to identify those activities associated with alcoholic beverage sales that constitute nuisances and to eliminate their attendant threat to the public health and welfare by means of an administrative process. The proprietors of alcoholic beverage sale establishments challenge these ordinances, arguing that they trod on the state’s exclusive right to regulate and tax alcoholic beverage sales. We hold that a city ordinance addressing nuisance problems associated with alcoholic beverage sale establishments does not improperly regulate preexisting grandfathered licensees or tax licensees for regulatory purposes.

In this case, petitioner City of Oakland (city) enacted an ordinance regulating nuisances associated with alcoholic beverage establishments. Real parties in interest California Beverage Retailer Coalition and Village Market filed an action against the city, seeking a declaratory judgment that the ordinance was invalid, an injunction precluding its enforcement, and monetary damages. The trial court granted summary…