Supreme Court Won’t Hear Norco Lot-Size Case

The state’s highest court has refused to hear a former councilman’s arguments that the City Council improperly rejected petitions for a referendum on small-lot zoning.

By declining to review two lower court rulings, the California Supreme Court has ended former Councilman Louis deBottari’s bid to let the voters decide whether homes in a northern Norco subdivision should be allowed on 10,000-square-foot lots.

Norco’s zoning generally requires single-family homes to sit on lots of at least 20,000 square feet--slightly less than half an acre--to allow animal keeping and to preserve the city’s prized rural atmosphere.

Throughout the 1 1/2-year legal battle, deBottari has maintained that his lawsuit was essential to protect the right of Californians to challenge planning decisions through the referendum process.

Attorneys in the lawsuit learned of the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday, when they received post cards from the clerk of the court. The justices denied deBottari’s request for review Thursday, with only Chief Justice Rose Elizabeth Bird dissenting, Gill said in a telephone interview.

“It’s a sad day, I think, for people who believe in referendums,” deBottari said Monday.

But judges in both Riverside County Superior Court and the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Bernardino sided with the city, saying that the case was a dispute over procedure rather than the right of referendum.

Decision Attacked

Opponents of the housing development along the Santa Ana River bluffs erred in attacking the City Council’s June, 1984, zoning decision rather than the general land-use plan enacted at the same time, City Atty. Barry Brandt argued.

State law requires that a city’s zoning be consistent with its general plan, Brandt said, so reversing the zoning decision without first changing the land-use plan would be illegal. “It’s like putting the zoning cart before the general plan horse,” he said.

Howard Hanzlik, who sold the property for development, was also named in deBottari’s suit. “I never felt that he had any merit,” Hanzlik said, “but it kept us on the edge of our seats.”

Model homes are already being built on the site, said Deputy City Manager Ronald Cano. The houses--close to 100 are planned--are priced between $120,000 and $150,000, he said.