<< main

Rent Control Court Victory in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta

September 30, 2009

U.S.Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on September 28, 2009 in a 2-1 decision that the rent control ordinance in Goleta, California, effected an unconstitutional taking of the parkowners property. The Court ruled that the City of Goleta should compensate the parkowners, Daniel and Susan Guggenheim and Maureen Pierce for the loss of their investment caused by the unconstitutional rent control ordinance. Goleta imposed the ordinance in 2002, when it became a part of Santa Barbara County. Since the challenged regulation caused substantial economic hardship to plaintiffs and singled out mobile home park owners to bear a burden of providing affordable housing, ordinance constituted a regulatory taking for which just compensation must be paid; however, ordinance did not violate due process or equal protection clause because it was rationally related to the legitimate public interest of promoting affordable housing. The City will more than likely ask for an en banc hearing from the 9th Circuit, and if not granted will appeal to the US Supreme Court.

Guggenheim v. City of Goleta - filed September 28, 2009 Cite as 06-56306

Click here to read the full text.

<< main