1991-12-09 Public Hearing, Citizens Participation Meeting, and Regular Meeting

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e 85-1199-0PINION e 2 FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH v. LOS ANGELES COUNTY tershed area and creating a serious flood hazard. Such flooding occurred on February 9 and 10, 1978, when a storm dropped 11 inches of rain in the watershed. The runoff from the storm overflowed the banks of the Mill Creek, flooding Lutherglen and destroying its buildings. In response to the flooding of the canyon, appellee County of Los Angeles adopted Interim Ordinance No. 11,855 in Jan- uary 1979. The ordinance provided that "[a] person shall not construct, reconstruct, place or enlarge any building or struc- ture, any portion of which is, or will be, located within the outer boundary lines of the interim flood protection area lo- cated in Mill Creek Canyon. . .." App. to Juris. Statement A31. The ordinance was effective immediately because the county detennined that it was "required for the immediate preservation of the public health and safety . . . ." I d., at A32. The interim flood protection area described by the or- dinance included the flat areas on either side of Mill Creek on which Lutherglen had stood. The church filed a complaint in the Superior Court of Cali- fornia a little more than a month after the ordinance was adopted. As subsequently amended, the complaint alleged two claims against the county and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District. The first alleged that the defendants were liable under Cal. Gov't Code Ann. ~ 835 (West 1980) 1 for dangerous conditions on their upstream properties that contributed to the flooding of Lutherglen. As a part of this claim, appellant also alleged that "Ordinance No. 11,855 de- nies [appellant] all use of Lutherglen." App. 12, 49. The second claim sought to recover from the Flood District in in- verse condemnation and in tort for engaging in cloud seeding during the stonn that flooded Lutherglen. Appellant sought damages under each count for loss of use of Lutherglen. The defendants moved to strike the portions of the complaint al- I Section 835 or the California Government Code establishes conditions under which a public entity may be liable "for injury caused by a dangerous condition of its property. . . ."