Surf and Sand, Llc v. City of Capitola

MEMORANDUM

Plaintiff Surf and Sand LLC (“Surf and Sand”) seeks to challenge a Capitola municipal ordinance implementing a state statute designed to prevent owners of mobile home parks from avoiding rent control by effecting sham conversions of the parks from rental to owned units. See Cal. Gov’t Code § 66427.5 (“State Conversion Statute”); City of Capitola Municipal Code § 16.70 (“Conversion Ordinance”). The Conversion Ordinance implements the State Conversion Statute by detailing the information that park owners must disclose when conducting a survey of resident support prior to a conversion and establishing a presumption that a conversion is bona fide only if a majority of the renters support conversion. The district court dismissed the action and we affirm.

The district court correctly held that the facial challenge to the Conversion Ordinance as a public regulatory taking was not ripe. Plaintiff had not sought compensation from the state as required by Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172 , 105 S.Ct. 3108 , 87 L.Ed.2d 126 (1985). Surf and Sand contends on appeal that because Williamson creates a prudential barrier to…