Oxnard Hospitality Enterprises v. City of Los Angeles CA2/8

FACTS

Background In 1977, A.H. Bronson (not a party in the trial court or on appeal) applied to the City for a building permit and certificate of occupancy to add a dance area in a building located on Oxnard Street in the City’s Tarzana neighborhood, in an area zoned for “M1” and “CM” uses, meaning “limited industrial” use and “commercial manufacturing” use. At that time, the building was already being used as a “beer café.” In May 1978, the City issued a certificate of occupancy to Bronson; the certificate stated that the “occupancy designation” for the property was a beer café with a dance area.

1 Hereafter Oxnard. Our references to Oxnard include plaintiff and appellant Elias Laty, Oxnard’s sole shareholder. We hereafter refer to Laty only as needed to establish context for the opinion. 2 At trial, Oxnard called Frank Lara, a principal inspector in the City’s Department of Building and Safety. During his testimony, Lara explained that there is a difference between an “occupancy designation” for a property and the “zoning designation” for a property. For example, Bronson’s building on Oxnard Street had an “occupancy designation” of B-2, meaning it had been approved for…