Soffer
City of Costa Mesa v. Soffer
Opinion
Opinion
Moore, J.
Sidney Soffer (appellant) appeals from a judgment declaring five of his motor vehicles a public nuisance and requiring him to obtain a certificate of compliance for a sixth. He raises three issues on appeal: (1) whether the City of Costa Mesa (respondent) is authorized by law to declare the storage of inoperative vehicles on private property a public nuisance per se; (2) whether the correct burden of proof was required of respondent at trial; and (3) whether various ordinances promulgated and enforced by respondent regarding inoperable vehicles on private property are unconstitutionally vague, overbroad, and violative of the Fourth Amendment.
Facts
Appellant stored vehicles at his Costa Mesa residence beginning in 1975, and gradually added to his collection through 1989. The eight vehicles stored there were in various states of disrepair, suffering from deflated tires, disconnected fuel lines and tanks, inoperative brakes, faulty or missing batteries, frozen engines, broken starters and a defective transmission. Engine and passenger compartments were filled with debris. The vehicles did not have current registrations and were not stored in a structure.