Buena Park Motel Ass'n v. City of Buena Park

Plaintiffs, the Buena Park Motel Association and 12 of its members, filed suit for declaratory and injunctive relief against defendant City of Buena Park, contending two local zoning ordinances violate their constitutional rights. Ordinance No. 1340, adopted in 1996, made it unlawful for motel owners to rent their rooms to the same guest for 30 days or more. Three years later, the city council adopted ordinance No. 1399 to amend the earlier ordinance by making it unlawful for motel owners to rent a room to the same guest for 60 days or more in any 180-day period. Plaintiffs challenged the ordinances as an unreasonable and irrational exercise of defendant’s police powers, as an unlawful taking of private property without just compensation, and as a violation of their right to the equal protection of the laws. The trial court entered judgment for defendant following a bench trial.

Plaintiffs appeal, contending the trial court erred in concluding their challenge to ordinance No. 1340 is barred by the statute of limitations and by ruling that the ordinances did not amount to an unlawful taking and did not violate plaintiffs’ right to equal protection. We disagree with their…