Smith v. County of Los Angeles

For a second time, appellant seeks a conditional use permit (CUP) for a nude dancing cabaret. The application is for the same location the cabaret formerly occupied in an unincorporated area of the county near the cities of Azusa and West Covina. In a published opinion filed in 1989, this court affirmed a denial of appellant’s prior CUP application for this property (Smith v. County of Los Angeles (1989) 211 Cal.App.3d 188 [ 259 Cal.Rptr. 231 ]). This time, however, appellant raises a new issue, the constitutionality of the Los Angeles County ordinance under which he was denied a CUP. Because we conclude this ordinance contains criteria which are so vague they constitute an unconstitutional prior restraint, we reverse and do not reach the other issues raised in this appeal.

Facts and Proceedings Below

Since this appeal is decided on the basis of the constitutionality of an ordinance, we need not dwell on the specific facts of this application and the *996 county’s processing of that application. Moreover, most of the details regarding the property and the neighborhood can be found in our prior opinion, Smith v. County of Los Angeles, supra, 211 Cal.App.3d 188 .…

I am persuaded by the reasoning contained in the opinion that the Los Angeles County CUP ordinance suffers *1011 from constitutional “vagueness,” infirmities which are beyond our province to cure. By joining with my colleagues to reverse the judgment and remand to the trial court for issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate I would accentuate two points:

For a second time, appellant seeks a conditional use permit (CUP) for a nude dancing cabaret. The application is for the same location the cabaret formerly occupied in an unincorporated area of the county near the cities of Azusa and West Covina. In a published opinion filed in 1989, this court affirmed a denial of appellant's prior CUP application for this property ( Smith v. County of Los Angeles (1989) 211 Cal. App.3d 188 [ 259 Cal. Rptr. 231 ]). This time, however, appellant raises a new issue, the constitutionality of the Los Angeles County ordinance under which he was denied a CUP. Because we conclude this ordinance contains criteria which are so vague they constitute an unconstitutional prior restraint, we reverse and do not reach the other issues raised in this appeal.

Since this appeal is decided on the basis of the constitutionality of an ordinance, we need not dwell on the specific facts of this application and the county's processing of that application. Moreover, most of the details regarding the property and the neighborhood can be found in our prior opinion, Smith v. County of Los Angeles, supra, 211 Cal. App.3d 188 . Consequently, we will…