Wickham

Plaintiff is the owner of certain premises situate on the northerly corner of Grand and Linda Avenues, in the City of Piedmont, which heretofore have been utilized for residential purposes. Shortly prior to the commencement of this suit she concluded to convert the same into business property and to that end made arrangements to construct two stores thereon. The city’s officers threatened that if she proceeded with such construction she would be arrested for the alleged violation of a zoning ordinance enacted by said city on May 21, 1925; and thereupon she commenced this suit to have said ordinance declared void and to enjoin the city and its chief of police from enforcing its terms. Upon trial a decree was granted in her favor from which defendants have appealed.

The city is operated under a freeholders’ charter approved by the legislature in 1923 (Stats. 1923, p. 1564), and the territory embraced within its corporate limits contains 1,151 acres. It is contiguous to and entirely surrounded by the city of Oakland, and at the time of trial Piedmont’s population was approximately 9,000 people. Section 41 of the charter is entitled “Zoning System,” and reads as follows: “The City of…