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zta The ReaItABtrueBook of Californ*t!I6Fa-

G. GoRDoN WHiTNALLDirector Citj! Ptdknilq ContmitsiohLas Alr|eles

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The Redl,taBLueBook of Cablornid 2L9

LOnrngB? C. CoRDoNWIIITNAT,L

Lego,t StatuA-Pre,renk Wa,ste of PropertA Vul es-Pre! enb " Incongniti$" -N ot Arbiti'ar! Restq'iatioi-Mu,stbe Comprehensiae a,nd, R.asonalbl.e-Origi.n of Tetm"Zoning" Menace of Und,esirtfile Ma,nufactlni,ng.ONING is the teranapplied o the public regulation of th useof pr-ivate propelty. It is a relatively newexercfueof the policepower pioneerredy the City of Los Angeles. Since ts irstbmad enployment about 1911, zoning has become extensively used,especially in the east. New York was probably the fiIst large city tomake intensive use of zoning. The New York zoning coiirdinated forthe first time on a comprhensive scale, the three t)?es of regulationnow gener-allyemployed. They consist of1. Use2. Height3. Bulk or acres of ground covered

ZONING-ITS LDCAL STATUSzoning finds ts legal ustification n its effectuponconserving JIepublic peace,safety, health and general welfare. Its emploj4nent tothese ends brings it clearly within the restdctive legislation war-rantedby the Constitution. This has beendefinitelyestablishedn itsbasic application through United States Supreme Court decisions.Two of these,popularly efelred to as he Haddachek dck Yard case

ard the QuongWo Laundry case,eachoriginated n Los Angeles.Though the constitutionality of employing he police power toregulate he useof property is quite definitely established s a basicprinciple, here is still questionn the minds of someas to the extentto \a'hich hat power may be mployed. As is customary with theadventof any new function of government,made necessary y newconditionsnot anticipatedby statute law, zoning egislation s nowbeingsubjected o the closestscrutiny of the cou*s throughout heland. The result o datenaturally brings to light a variety of opinionsrenderedn the face of vart'rng circumstances, o two of which arethe same. A legal analysis of the available caseswould probablyresult n no definiteconclusion hrough the fact that in probablynottwo cases are the deterrnining facto$ the same. It is significant,however, hat in the general run of cases eferred to, the more recentopinionsdo not specificallyreat of the constitutionalityof zoning assuch, ut rather subject he individual casesn question o the test as

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1'lLeRetltlJ BLueBooh ol Cdilomiato whether the q:p[l.icotia]L 11he ]rartiutkLr case \s a reasotLableat:.ddisc-r'iminatoly application of public legulation. Alr unbiased studyof the attitude of cour.ts orvard rren- unctions, and zonjDg l1 particu-lar, reveals an urlquestioned tendency to{.ard ar ever bloideningintelpretation of constitutional autholit].. This has already pro--gressed o the point of estnblishillg the constitulionalit). oI enployingthe police porver to legulate useol Dropelty- The discussjons orv sogenerali]: irldulged jn, centel mostly rround cases D\,oh Dg lhe degreeand chAractclrof such rgulation.

XIUST DD CO]fPNEHE\SIVII AND EDASONA]]LDTo be.just j{ ied ud legit imate, oning nust be comlnehersive ndlelrsonable. Such zoning necesszlrii1'r'ecogrrizescorrrmuDityas a uuitaud tends to codrdinate ilto a single l:1yout, he se!,eral distinctive

t]'pes of development arld thc distlicts th:1t lesult. ComDr.ehensivezoDing fully recogrizcs the factors thnt trale contr.ibuted lr the pastto the sDecializedand different typcs ol de\'elopnrent. It goes ulther,a|d emDloJs thc ADo$'ledge of these terdcncies ij1 encour.agirg acontirlrolrs arld uDhampercd prooessof develoDnent. In t)ris lespect,zoning i.s norc ot a positil.e act than a negati\,e one. Il eDcourageiIather than restl.icts. The vely r1:rtnre of the considelatiors em-ploye.lal.esuch:s to discourAgc ny arbit lar 'x i ln irosit joD f bulden-somc rest l ict ions. Such di l f icult iesas oc(t lsionlt l-v f ise and consti-tute the subject of col[.t cases,do not inro]vc thc constitutionality oizoning regulation, but question only jts I exsonableness. Those cascslesult frequently flo lach of comprehensil'e ess in the zonirg planand fnd their oligin Dr'obably r] the ne\1.ncss l the fulction rvith itsconsequent :rck of plecedents_ SLlch c:rpcliences arc to be expectediD any pioreering \!or'1i. The ilnpor.tarlt and sjgnificant corsi.teiationjs the fact that zonjrg is be(oming e\,er n]oll' extensively used as theIesult of ar ircl'easins popul:rl demand, and this js justjfiect rnd re-flecled iD the ge eral xttitu.le ol ihe cour.ts.

ZONINC PNEVEN1S \VASTD ()T |ROPDRTI VAI,UESfhe pun)ose and e{fccl ol zoriDg is to prcverrt thc appallirg 1\'asteof improv ent v:rlues aud plo]rcr'l): vl1ucs so pr.etalcirt ir r tirc pastthlough the scr.appilg of inpro\.eneuts due lo the ercloachment ofuses dctlimeDtal to furthel. dc\,elopment and maintennnce of a dis-trict. This is accomplished b\. zonjng thr.c,Lrghhc cor)fialence nilstabi l i tv i t Droduces.

PREVDN'r.NG,IINCONG&UITIDS']Contlar'\' to lhe sometinles expressedopinio , a celtain propedyLrse, r itself wholl-\- rmob.jectionableand nccess:1r'yhen proierlilocrted, {'hen wlongly iocated becomesan nrcongr.uousenctoacnmeniupon other types of impr.ovements_ Such use lnay act as :r directr . p i 3 t . d - ' r ,oo r h F Id , ' e l o n r n p r . t ,, a . r r r r o . , . h , \ . . r i : r , o r l d o t b e

d e " r l o l l s fn l . d r s a I J i . r n ," i | | L l ^ p " Lp t r p j r r . . n g o f ( . $ u t , . J . T \ u s ,r 1 . o m n r . r l s r , l ' : a i s . o r . . i d e ' e J. t u h i i . . , " " s r \ . J , " o u t dh a r d t y0 a r r r r ' rpd 10 be n I l r . s i . p . Y . l . ' 1 n u L r l l . r r r g - o f p c l p d n .amrdsLol an ol ^cr '$le r ' .sidAni;r.di5U , r \ : l co ul, !ot rur. lrpr .or _fidence n th future of the district as to ple\-cni firr.fher' levelopment.

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Tke Realtg BItueBook of Caktornia 221The net result is the decadence f an other-wise aluable residencedistrict into a nondescript area where the only hope is "to await themarcl1 of plogress." In the meantime eisting improvements becomedilapidated ndwil l not bekept n repair becausehe districr s duefor a changp." Thus hedecadenl reaof thecityis increased hilethe better tlTe of development preads ver outward, eaving ts wakeof destructionbehind.

ME\ACE OF' 'U\DESTRABLE' ' MANUFACTURINCAnd what applies o the destructionof residence reas, s equallytrue of high classbusiness reas. An otherwiseexcellent etail sec-t ion.suchpossibly s Fif lh Avenuen Ne\ York, wil l suddenlvinditself eopafdizedy thF injecrion f undpsirabte anufacturin;,It is sometimesclaimed that such turnover is normal and in keep-ing with the progressof a town'sdevlopment.By such easoninghelocating of a gaHge in an otherwise esidence ection s iustiffed ontheground har he ime s 'f ipe andbesides,thergaragis ango nand the property used in that 'way. The fallacy of such position isfound in the fact that the areas necessarily so considered are so ex-tensiveas to be whoily out ol proportion o the suppodingareas. Ifsuchbe he policyof a town, muchof its area s foredoompdo remainidle with all of the resultanteconomicossboth to tbe ownersanal hecrly.

ZONINC NOT AEBITRARYXDSTRICTIONZoning,however,by no means equires hat a distr.ictoncea resi-dence istrict shall always emainso. That would ndeedbe blockincthe march of prrogress. It is frequently found in zoning that certaiiporlions f a strict ly esidencereaare zonedor business.Usuallv.it js found that such classification niicipates he almost, nevitabiedevelopment hat would occur in the nor.malprogress of the districtupon the expiratioi of deed restrictions that for the present make ofthe disrricl a residential alea. Under such conditions, frequent)yfound, the original deedrestrictions prove to be a hindrance to norntlprogress. This resultsprobably through develope$and subdivjdersconsidering given tracl large]y as a separate enlity with l;ll,lethoughtas to its relationship o the rest of the tov.n.In the final analysis, t is found that the old practice of aban-doDing a-stareasbecausehey were rhoughl to be ,.Doomedbv theMarch of Progress' is basedupon a wholly mistakenbelief that acity develops n regular cycles from a given center like t]1ewaves oDa pond expanalingever outward from the center where a Debblevrastf irown. Cil iesdo notexpand r developn ihat way.espeiial lyromthe standpointof property use. The process an better be colitDaredio the incomingtide as it sweepsupon a brokenshore ine. ffowingever in through the low places; swirling around a rock here and iprominencehere. and finally coveringal l tle low placesbut leavingIil|e islandsand jagged rockrs rojpcring. So with a clty-it blowiatrd l swirls and gradually"covers he low places."eaving,.islands,'and"jaggedrocks"high and dry above he human ide of traffic.

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??2 ThERe&IfuBLueBookol Ca,Iit'orni(LZONINGNEITIILS MYSTERIOUSORARBITRARY

.. .?oTnC, thprefofe, s mprFly lhc pro.essoi sludvins rhF .,shor.eItne' oj a commurrrtJ ' ,d bJ obspr.\rrg ha adrancpof rhp r de of rrt .o_g l p s sd e l e r m r n e . . o ; r ' a s h u n a r r l yp o s s i b i p .h p r r e v r r a b l ec o r r r . " elwl l l rakp. l t r ! thc pro(essof Ial ing advanrage l lhe cxDpr. ien.c t.I n e . p a s Ll d a p n t t r g t h a t k n o s l e d g e t o r h e g a i D o l l h ei u r u l s . 11 ..rvr. arcnttp.rur. thf l t def initaly puts lhp s,ova in rhe ki lche . rheDrano n l.he .\ ._r rour,r. Id t l .a Lnd n lhe bpd|oom, d rhear :r . tne:999: iedj lF' l le,r a !to\e. nor a piairo.nor a bed. I o" an jrx, is anutsa cp r t ' .pt i . Lrulnray easily bpcome o if incor,gt.uouslv,r 'ced,Inus, a sto\c, In a Uedluorl ot onl) be.omps nuisan.p o ll jp bcd_Toom3nd desl oJs I rre a upo i l^e .oom or i ts uqualput.pose,ut t hestove actually losesmuch of its valu thr.oughbei"g r;;";;tir;; ll ;p loper surroundirgs and adjuncts.. . "onl l ,q s nprrhelmysteriousnof arbitrary. I t is the sampDr.ac_u.e appnpd o the crvir houspholdhaj cvery bus;nessman insicts hallbe employed in his office Steciahzatiun.

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