Arcadia Development Co. v. City of Morgan Hill

I. Introduction

Plaintiff Arcadia Development Company (Arcadia) is the owner of an undeveloped 69-acre parcel of land annexed by defendant City of Morgan Hill (City) in 1990. Under City’s general plan the Arcadia property is zoned R-1 (7000), which allows single-family residential developments on lots as small as 7,000 square feet. Notwithstanding its general plan designation, the Arcadia property is limited by a City ordinance known as the “Density Restriction” to 20-acre lots. The Density Restriction applies only to the Arcadia property and to no other property within City’s urban service area. The question in this appeal is whether the Density Restriction is an invalid exercise of City’s police power or a violation of Arcadia’s right to equal protection of the law. (U.S. Const., 14th Amend.; Cal. Const., art. I, § 7, subd. (a).) We conclude that there are conceivable rational reasons for the restriction and, therefore, that the ordinance is valid.

II. Facts

City is situated in the southern portion of Santa Clara County in the flatlands of the Santa Clara Valley about 20 miles south of San Jose. The Diablo Mountain Range is to City’s east; the Santa Cruz Mountains…