Congregation Etz Chaim v. City of Los Angeles

Opinion by Judge RAWLINSON; Dissent by Judge ALDISERT.

The controlling question in this case is whether Appellant the City of Los Angeles (the City) may revoke a building permit issued to Appellee Congregation Etz Chaim (the Congregation) authorizing renovations to a home owned by the Congregation and used as a place of worship. Because we agree with the district court that Congregation was entitled to rely on issuance of the building permit by the City, we AFFIRM the district court’s order lifting the stop-work order issued by the City.

I.

BACKGROUND

There is a long history of litigation between the City and the Congregation. The Congregation’s initial claim against the City, filed in federal court in 1997, alleged that the City’s building permit requirements- violated the Congregation’s constitutional rights to the free exercise of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of assembly, and equal protection; and violated the Fair Housing Act. Eventually, most of the Congregation’s claims were dismissed, but a claim against the City under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc, remained. Before the district court…

Dissenting:

I would reverse the judgment of, the district court and allow the City of Los Angeles to revoke the building permit. The building permit contravened the Los Angeles Municipal Code and the explicit limitations and directions of the Settlement Agreement entered into by the parties after five years of administrative proceedings and litigation in federal and state courts. Because the building permit was invalid, I would hold that the district court committed reversible error in applying the doctrine of equitable estoppel against the City of Los Angeles. See Pettitt v. City of Fresno, 34 Cal.App.3d 813, 824 , 110 Cal. Rptr. 262 (Cal.Ct.App.1973); Smith v. County of Santa Barbara, 7 Cal.App.4th 770, 772 , 9 Cal.Rptr.2d 120 (Cal.Ct.App.1992).

I.

Prior to signing the Settlement Agreement on September 27, 2001, the Congregation Etz Chaim and the City of Los Angeles engaged in extensive administrative proceedings and federal and state court litigation related to the City Zoning Administrator’s October 16, 1996 denial of the Congregation’s requests for variances and a conditional use permit. At the time of the denial, the Congregation already had been using the 303 South…

371 F.3d 1122 CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES, Defendant-Appellant. No. 02-56487. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted August 7, 2003. Filed June 16, 2004. Claudia McGee Henry, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Los Angeles, CA, for defendant-appellant City of Los Angeles. Kathryn Davis (briefed), Susan S. Azad (argued), Latham & Watkins, Los Angeles, CA, for plaintiff-appellee Congregation Etz Chaim. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Harry L. Hupp, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-97-5042-HLH. Before: ALDISERT * , TALLMAN, and RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge RAWLINSON; Dissent by Judge ALDISERT. RAWLINSON, Circuit Judge: 1 The controlling question in this case is whether Appellant the City of Los Angeles (the City) may revoke a building permit issued to Appellee Congregation Etz Chaim (the Congregation) authorizing renovations to a home owned by the Congregation and used as a place of worship. Because we agree with the district court that Congregation was entitled to rely on issuance of the building permit by the City, we AFFIRM the district…