Golden Gate Water Ski Club v. County of Contra Costa

Golden Gate Water Ski Club (the Club), a private nonprofit organization dedicated to the recreational sport of water skiing, appeals from an order denying its petition for writ of mandate and from a judgment dismissing its complaint. The trial court’s rulings leave in place an order by the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors (the Board) ordering destruction and removal of all the dwelling units, outhouses and docks the Club and its members had erected or installed on Golden Isle. We affirm.

Background

Golden Isle is a five-acre island in the San Joaquin Delta in Contra Costa County (the County). It is in an area designated “open space” in the County’s general plan. The most appropriate uses for property designated “open space” involve resource management, such as maintaining critical marsh and other endangered habitats, or establishing safety zones around identified geologic hazards. The County has a land use ordinance limiting urban development in the County to 35 percent of its land, reserving the remaining 65 percent for agriculture, open space, wetlands, parks and other nonurban uses. It has established an urban limit line and limits urban uses to lands lying…