Town of Atherton v. Superior Court

Petitioner seeks writ of prohibition to restrain the Superior Court of San Mateo County from proceeding in an action in eminent domain now pending in that court, numbered 76501, brought by Menlo Park School District against certain parties, in which said respondent seeks to condemn certain lands in said town of Atherton for school purposes.

Questions Presented

Do the zoning ordinances of a municipality control the right of a school district in which the municipality is included, to designate the location of its schools? Corollary to this are the questions (a) Is a school district a state agency ? (b) If so, has the state occupied the field of location of schools ?

Pacts

There is no conflict as to the facts. Included in Menlo Park School District are the incorporated cities of Atherton and Menlo Park as well as unincorporated territory. The district desires to acquire land in Atherton for public school purposes. Petitioner is a municipal corporation of the sixth class. June 24, 1957, the city council adopted ordinance Number 225, entitled “An Interim Zoning Ordinance Relating to Public Buildings and the Location Thereof Declaring its Urgency and Providing that it Shall Take…