City of Los Angeles v. Superior Court

Petitioner, the City of Los Angeles (City), seeks an extraordinary writ of mandate directing the superior court to set aside orders issuing writs of mandate in two related cases filed by real parties in interest, Kang and Miyamoto.

I. Factual and Procedural History

Since April 1985, the City has required a conditional use permit for off-site alcoholic beverage sales city wide. (L.A. Mun. Code, § 12.24.) In April 1987, the City adopted Los Angeles Municipal Ordinance No. 162128, known as the South Central Alcohol Sales Specific Plan, which added off-site retail alcohol sales to the zoning codes as a use requiring a conditional use permit. (Korean American Legal Advocacy Foundation v. City of Los Angeles (1994) 23 Cal.App.4th 376, 382 [ 28 Cal.Rptr.2d 530 ] (KALAF).)

Under either ordinance, existing uses before their operative dates became “deemed to be approved” conditional uses. (L.A. Mun. Code, § 12.24F.) Thus, businesses such as those owned by Kang and Miyamoto which operated before either the citywide conditional use permit ordinance or the specific plan were “grandfathered” and given “deemed approved” conditional use status. (KALAF, supra, 23 Cal.App.4th at p.…