HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES, Petitioner, v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES et al., Respondents.
L. A. No. 22211
In Bank
Apr. 17, 1953.
40 Cal.2d 682
Other claims of error made by defendants are entirely without merit and need not be discussed.
The judgment is affirmed.
Shenk, J., Edmonds, J., Carter, J., Traynor, J., and Spence, J., concurred.
Ray L. Chesebro, City Attorney, Frank P. Doherty, Special Counsel, William H. Neal, Bourke Jones and John L. Flynn, Assistant City Attorneys, Weldon L. Weber, Deputy City Attorney, Jerome Weber, Henry F. Walker, Bodkin, Breslin & Luddy, Michael G. Luddy, William H. Rosenthal, Nat Rosin, Joseph Ostrow, Garner, Lillie & Bryant, Cameron L. Lillie and H. P. McCarthy for Respondents.
TRAYNOR, J.—The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, by petition filed on August 4, 1952, seeks to have the members of the City Council of the City of Los Angeles held in contempt of this court for their alleged failure to comply with the terms of a peremptory writ of mandate issued
The mandate proceeding was brought to test the validity of the city‘s action of December 26, 1951, attempting to abrogate, cancel, and rescind the agreements authorized by Ordinance No. 95,222 adopted on August 8, 1949. By that ordinance the city approved construction of a 10,000-unit low-rent housing project in cooperation with the housing authority of the city and the Public Housing Administration of the United States pursuant to the State Housing Authorities Law and Housing Cooperation Law (
In the present proceeding the housing authority alleged various matters as to which it was claimed the city had agreed to take action and as to which it had refused to proceed, in violation of this court‘s order in the mandate proceeding. An order was issued directing the individual members of the city council to show cause why they should not be adjudged in contempt of this court for failing, neglecting, and refusing to obey the peremptory writ of mandate. By reason of a stipulation of the parties on the return to the order to show cause, the only charge remaining to be considered is the failure of the city to complete annexation proceedings that would include in the site selected for the West Los Angeles (Cal. 4-21) project a county strip entirely surrounded by incorporated territory. The facts relating to the failure
On November 22, 1950, the city council approved and adopted a report of its Veterans’ Affairs and Housing Committee recommending approval of the authority‘s proposal to acquire 11 sites including the one now in question. The map of that site, submitted by the authority with its proposal, showed the presence of the county island. Thereafter, an application to the planning commission for a conditional use of the site for a housing project was made. The description of the site recited that it lay “partly in unincorporated territory of the County of Los Angeles,” and an attached report pointed out that there should be no difficulty in acquiring title to the county strip and annexing it to the city. On April 26, 1951, the application was granted by the planning commission. An appeal was taken to the city council and denied by that body on June 26, 1951. Thereafter the authority acquired title to the property comprising the county island and requested that the city council annex it. The usual procedure was promptly instituted, and after receiving reports from various city departments, the coordinating board unanimously recommended approval of the proposed annexation. The council referred this recommendation to its planning committee, which reported back on October 24, 1951. It reported that the coordinating board had recommended annexation “as requested by the Los Angeles Housing Authority,” and had advised that “the annexation of this strip would conform to the City‘s policy of absorbing county islands, thereby creating a more regular city boundary line....” The council then adopted its committee‘s report recommending annexation, and ordered proceedings to that end commenced. Thereafter, however, the city attempted to rescind its cooperation agreement and terminate the development of all public housing projects thereunder.
The city contends not only that it has not contracted to annex territory, but that under the provisions of the Housing Authorities Law (
It may be conceded that under the foregoing provisions the city and the authority do not have power to contract to develop a housing project completely outside the city limits or agree that the city shall annex territory for such a project. In the present case, however, approximately 37 of the 43 acres selected for the site lie in the city. The county territory consists of a strip approximately 150 feet wide by 1,200 feet long that is entirely surrounded by the city and divides the site into two separate and approximately equal parts. It is entirely uninhabited and unimproved. Unless this island, which is an integral part of the site, is annexed, the project cannot be built. Thus the purpose of annexation is not to develop a project outside of the city, but to make possible a project within the city in accordance with the slum-clearance and low-rent housing objectives contemplated by the housing legislation. The questions presented, therefore, are whether the city has contracted or legally can contract to annex such territory as is necessary for the development of a project within its limits.
The authority has the power to “Make and execute contracts and other instruments necessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers” (
The consistent course of conduct followed by the city before it attempted to abrogate the entire housing program makes clear that it agreed to annex the county island as a necessary step in the development of a project located in the city. (Woodbine v. Van Horn, 29 Cal.2d 95, 104 [173 P.2d 17]; Davenport v. Davenport Foundation, 36 Cal.2d 67, 73-74
We have concluded that the interpretation heretofore placed upon the statutes and contract by the parties is correct. The authority is not attempting to expand its territorial jurisdiction by developing a project outside of the city. It is seeking only to effectuate its purposes within the city. As pointed out by the city planning department, “Annexation, as proposed, would permit the consolidation of the housing program entirely within the limits of the City of Los Angeles, absorb an island which is presently located within the County of Los Angeles, surrounded entirely by the City limits of Los Angeles, and permit the construction of the necessary sewers to serve the residences within the proposed housing development which cannot be constructed if the narrow strip of County land is not annexed to the City of Los Angeles....”
It is now settled that the city has no right to abrogate the contract here involved or to withdraw its approval of the development and construction of these projects. “[H]aving taken the initial discretionary action to bring the housing authority into operation and having approved a project and entered into a cooperation agreement, there was nothing left to be done by either contracting party but to perform administratively whatever was necessary to carry the agreement into effect. ... [T]he law enjoins upon the city the duty to perform the terms of its agreements entered into with the housing authority and to go forward with the exercise of the powers which it has agreed to undertake in cooperating with that authority.” (Housing Authority v. City of Los Angeles, 38 Cal.2d 853, 862, 871 [243 P.2d 515].)
There is nothing in the statutes governing the territorial jurisdiction of the city and the authority that permits the city to evade its duty pro tanto by departing from
Since the question of annexation was not specifically presented in the mandate proceeding, we are of the opinion that respondents should not be fined for contempt. Petitioner seeks no more at this time than to have respondents ordered to complete annexation of the county island. We may make such an order under
Respondents are ordered to comply with the writ of mandate heretofore issued by annexing the territory in question.
Gibson, C. J., and Spence, J., concurred.
CARTER, J.—I concur in the reasoning and the conclusion in the opinion prepared by Mr. Justice Traynor that the action of the City Council of the City of Los Angeles in refusing to annex the strip of land (county island) embraced within the West Los Angeles Housing Authority Project constituted a violation of the agreement between the authority and the city which the city was directed to perform by the writ of mandate issued by this court in Housing Authority v. City of Los Angeles, 38 Cal.2d 853 [243 P.2d 515], but I do not agree that no punishment should be imposed for the refusal of the city to obey said writ.
While I think there is no question that the contract between the city and the authority clearly contemplated the annexation of land which might be considered necessary for the contemplated project, it is clear that under the factual situation disclosed by the agreed statement of facts in this proceeding, the city is estopped to deny annexation of the area here involved by its conduct which induced the authority to believe that the annexation proceeding would be consummated and the authority was therefore justified in acquiring the area.
There can be no question that the city has the power to annex the area in question under the Annexation of Uninhabited Territory Act of 1939 (
The council‘s approval, however, was more than approval of the acquisition of the site, it was also an express concurrence in the authority‘s plan to use the site for a housing project. But the matter did not rest there. After the authority had proceeded with its design for the project to the point where the number and ground locations of the proposed project had been determined, it applied to the city planning commission for a conditional use of the site for a housing project. That application described the site as “lying partly in unincorporated territory of the County of Los Angeles.” It was also accompanied by maps and other data clearly showing the existence of this county island in the middle of the site, and the contemplated location on it of some of the buildings. It was also accompanied by a copy of the authority‘s “Development Program” which embraced a narrative description of the proposed project. In it appeared the following statement: “It (the proposed site) is situated around a small slum area in the county owned by four private individuals. There should not be any difficulty in acquiring the county strip and annexing it to the City.”
There can be no doubt that the planning commission was fully aware of this situation and of the necessity for annexation. It must, of course, be assumed that the commission was familiar with the record upon which it acted. In addition, in the planning department‘s report approving and recommending this annexation, it is said with reference to the
It is clear that all of the elements of estoppel are present—with knowledge of the facts the officials of the city approved acquisition of the site and its use for public housing, upon which actions the authority relied in acquiring the property. Knowing that annexation was necessary to enable the authority to use the site thus acquired for the housing project, may it not be said that a legal duty was imposed upon the city officials to consummate the annexation proceeding? Admittedly there is no legal barrier against such action—the city council has the power to annex the area. Then why should the doctrine of estoppel not apply in such a case?
It has been said generally that a governmental agency may not be estopped by the conduct of its officers or employees (10 Cal.Jur. 650-651), but there are many instances in which
I desire particularly to call attention to the very pertinent language used by Mr. Justice Shenk in speaking for this court in Housing Authority v. City of Los Angeles, 38 Cal.2d 853 at pages 869 and 870 [243 P.2d 515]: “In Times-Mirror Co. v. Superior Court, 3 Cal.2d 309 [44 P.2d 547], the city of Los Angeles attempted to withdraw from and abandon condemnation proceedings to acquire land and properties of the Times-Mirror Company for use in a contemplated civic center. In the meantime the Times-Mirror had constructed a building on another location. The writ of mandamus issued in effect to prevent abandonment by the city of the pending condemnation proceedings by directing the respondent court to proceed with the trial of the condemnation action. The issuance of the writ was indicated by the application even as against the public body of the equitable doctrine of estoppel. This court, citing City of Los Angeles v. Cohn, 101 Cal. 373 [35 P. 1002], observed (at p. 330 [35 P. 1002]) that there are limits beyond which even a
The record in this case presents a sordid picture of political intrigue and chicanery and resort to fine-spun legal theories on the part of a majority of the city council of the city of Los Angeles to abrogate its contract with the housing authority and thus obstruct, delay and defeat the housing project contemplated by said contract. A narration of the official acts contained in the “Stipulation of Facts re Contempt” and the briefs of counsel should demonstrate to any unprejudiced mind that after December 4, 1951, a majority of the city council undertook to wreck and destroy the housing project here involved. The following appears without contradiction: On September 14, 1951—only two days after the authority had acquired title to all of the county island, and, therefore, as soon as it could do so without affecting the interests of private owners in the area—the authority requested the council to annex this county island pursuant to the
Promptly upon receipt of this request the council began the processing procedure customarily followed in such matters. The first step was to refer the matter to the Coordinating Board of the City of Los Angeles, composed of representatives of various of the city‘s departments and of which the city director of planning is chairman. That board received reports on the annexation question from: the street widening and opening division of the department of public works; the board of public utilities and transportation; the health department; the planning department; and the department of water and power. Each of these departments approved and recommended annexation, several of them pointing out that annexation of county islands was in keeping with the city‘s policy of absorbing them and creating regular boundary lines. Accordingly, on October 11, 1951—less than a month after the authority‘s request—the coordinating board made its report to the council unanimously recommending and approving the proposed annexation.
The council referred this report to its planning committee. That committee reported back on October 24, 1951. The committee‘s report stated that the coordinating board had recommended annexation “as requested by the Los Angeles Housing Authority“; and had advised “that the annexation of this strip would conform to the City‘s policy of absorbing county islands, thereby creating a more regular city boundary line. ...” Approval of the proposed annexation was, therefore, recommended in accordance with the coordinating board‘s recommendation. On November 14, 1951, the council adopted the committee report and ordered preparation of a resolution of intention under the
Between November 14 and November 29, 1951, the city attorney prepared the resolution of intention and transmitted it to the planning department. That department approved the resolution on November 29, 1951. On December 4, 1951, the city attorney transmitted it to the council and the council referred it to its planning committee. There it rested until after the rendition of this court‘s original decision in the instant cause.
On July 21, 1952, the planning committee reported the resolution out to the council, but a motion to adopt it failed. On
The public hearing called for by the resolution of intention was held on September 19, 1952. No protests, oral or written, against the proposed annexation had been or were received. The council then ordered preparation of an ordinance approving annexation. That was done and the ordinance was introduced for adoption on September 25, 1952. Unanimous consent to act on it that day was requested and refused, respondent Harby objecting. The ordinance was, therefore, laid over one week. Then ensued a series of attempts to procure adoption of the ordinance. All of them failed, the only action which the council would take being further postponement to November 10, 1952. In the meantime the application for a writ of certiorari had been denied on October 13, 1952, so there was no longer any basis for delay on the ground of the pendency of that proceeding.
This refusal to annex a small, contiguous uninhabited county island, annexation of which had been recommended and approved by all city departments concerned, and to which there is no public protest, is unprecedented in the history of the city. Not one request for such an annexation—and there have been some 34 of them from private owners and from governmental agencies—has been refused since enactment of the Annexation of Uninhabited Territory Act of 1939. The city‘s policy was always to annex and absorb such islands in order to create more regular city boundaries.
The decision of this court ordering the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate was filed on April 28, 1952, and the writ was issued on June 27, 1952, after one stay had been granted and another refused by this court and by a Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Decision of the cause
This attitude on the part of the city council was not merely the result of holding matters in suspense pending action on the application to the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. It was rather an attitude prompted by a refusal to accede to and comply with the writ of mandate. That is best shown by a resolution, adopted by the council on June 25, 1952 (one month after this court‘s decision had become final and two days after a further stay had been refused) in which it was said: “... this Council action constitutes notice to all persons and parties, including the Mayor; the City Housing Authority, its officers and agents, that this Council will resist any efforts at furtherance of the public housing program. ...”
It is further shown by the continuous efforts of respondents to effect abandonment of that program, notwithstanding the judgment of this court. Thus, the council persisted in holding an election on that question, even though on several occasions the city attorney informed this court that decision of the basic question would settle that issue too. Again, on May 7, June 19 and June 20, 1952, the council formally requested the state Legislature and the Congress to enact legislation permitting abandonment or cancellation of the program.
It is interesting and significant to contrast the expeditious way in which this matter was handled before December 4, 1951, with the tortuous, delaying actions of the respondents after that time. Of course, before December 4, 1951, respondents were cooperating in good faith in the common objective of developing and constructing these projects. After that time, and notwithstanding this court‘s mandate, they
It has been aptly said: “If we say with Mr. Justice Holmes, ‘Men must turn square corners when they deal with the Government,’ it is hard to see why the government should not be held to a like standard of rectangular rectitude when dealing with its citizens.” (48 Harv.L.Rev. 1299.)
Frankly, I am not impressed with the contention of any of the respondents that their refusal to cooperate with the authority by consummating the annexation proceeding was motivated by a conscientious desire to perform his official duty. The duty to cooperate cannot be distorted into a power to frustrate. The mandate issued by this court was clear and unambiguous. Any person who honestly desired to comply with it would have cooperated in consummating the annexation proceeding and thus enable the housing authority to complete its project. I cannot, therefore, see any justification for the tortuous, delaying, and frustrating actions of respondents as disclosed by the record before us.
It is my opinion, therefore, that those respondents who have refused to cooperate in consummating the annexation proceeding here involved, have wilfully violated the mandate of this court issued on June 27, 1952, in the original mandamus proceeding, and that an appropriate fine should be imposed upon each of them for this violation.
SHENK, J.—I dissent.
It is a fundamental principle of law that a municipality may not contract away its legislative functions without authority from a competent superior power. Here the Legislature has authorized a municipality in this state to surrender certain legislative discretion with reference to public housing to the will of a housing authority of that city. This may be done on certain conditions which are: that the housing authority be first created by the city; and secondly, that a contract of cooperation be entered into between the housing authority and the city with reference to public housing. Those conditions have long since been met in this case; and it has been established by prior decisions of this court that the city has thereby surrendered its legislative discretion to the city housing authority in matters concerning which it is competent for the housing authority to proceed, and that it is the duty of the city to cooperate with the housing authority concerning such matters.
What the majority is here doing is to compel the city to surrender its legislative power to decide whether or not to annex county territory (a conceded legislative power) to the discretion of the city housing authority in a matter over which that housing authority has no jurisdiction. This it should not be required to do. The cooperation of the city in this particular matter should come only from the voluntary action of the city in the exercise of its still retained and unsurrendered legislative discretion and power to annex contiguous unincorporated territory.
The question presented in this case is of great importance in the conduct of public housing operations in this state and I am disposed to elaborate rather fully on my views concerning it.
As indicated in the majority opinion this is a proceeding to have it adjudged that the members of the City Council of the City of Los Angeles are in contempt for their alleged failure to comply with the provisions of a peremptory writ of mandate issued by this court on June 27, 1952. The history of the controversy is contained in the opinion filed April 28, 1952 (38 Cal.2d 853 [243 P.2d 515]; certiorari denied Oct. 13, 1952, 344 U.S. 836 [73 S.Ct. 46, 97 L.Ed. 41]). The proceeding in which that opinion was filed and the per-
The purpose of the mandate proceeding was to test the validity of the city‘s action of December 26, 1951, attempting to abrogate, cancel and rescind the agreements authorized by Ordinance No. 95,222 adopted on August 8, 1949. That ordinance indicated the approval by the city of the construction of a 10,000-unit low-rent housing project in cooperation with the housing authority of the city and the Public Housing Administration of the United States pursuant to the State Housing Authorities Law and Housing Cooperation Law (
In the mandate proceeding this court determined that since the city had approved the project, and the housing authority and the Public Housing Administration had made binding contractual commitments and advances in respect to the project the city was without power, in the absence of express statutory authority, to withdraw its approval or to abrogate its agreements, but was under the statutory duty to perform them. In summarizing the duty enjoined by the statute upon the city it was said (38 Cal.2d at p. 871): “It is concluded that the law enjoins upon the city the duty to perform the terms of the agreements entered into with the housing authority and to go forward with the exercise of the powers which it has agreed to undertake in cooperating with that authority. On this record a direction that the city so proceed will afford the relief expedient to accomplish the purpose of the proceeding. It is of no concern that the mandate does not issue directing the specific powers to be exercised—since in many respects the details thereof are subject to the discretionary cooperative action of the city. The city does not contend that it will not go forward with the performance of the contracts if under the law it had no right or power to rescind the approval of the project or to cancel and abrogate the agreements.” Thereupon the order of the court required the issuance of a writ of mandate “directing the respondents to perform the terms of the agree-
In the present proceeding the housing authority alleged various particulars as to which it was claimed the city had agreed to take action and as to which it had failed and refused to proceed, all in violation of this court‘s order in the mandate proceeding. An order was issued directing the individual members of the city council to show cause why they should not be adjudged in contempt of this court for failing, neglecting and refusing to obey the peremptory writ of mandate issued on June 27, 1952, wherein they were ordered and commanded to perform the terms of the agreements entered into with the housing authority and to proceed in the fulfillment of their obligations thereunder.
It is at once apparent that the basis for any charge and finding of contempt herein must be the failure and refusal of the city to perform an act which under the statute it may lawfully agree to perform and which by agreement it has bound itself to perform in the cooperative undertaking. On the return to the order to show cause it was stipulated that the city had completed performance of a separate written agreement to acquire and convey to the housing authority tax-deeded lands within the 11 sites selected for the construction of the project; and had vacated and closed streets and alleys in those areas as provided in the cooperation agreement. The only charge remaining to be considered on the return is the alleged failure of the city to complete annexation proceedings for the purpose of including in the site selected for the West Los Angeles (Cal. 4-21) project a county strip entirely surrounded by incorporated territory—a so-called unincorporated or county “island.” As alleged good cause why it should not be compelled to complete the annexation proceeding the city council contends that the authority has no power to proceed in respect to unincorporated territory; that the statute does not authorize, nor has the city entered into an agreement for the annexation of unincorporated territory, and that the acts of the city council with reference to the annexation thereof commenced heretofore may not be held to estop the city from denying such authorization or agreement.
The facts relating to the alleged failure to complete the proceeding to annex the county “island” in the West Los Angeles (Cal. 4-21) project, are stipulated. The record shows the following undisputed facts:
On August 17, 1950, the housing authority advised the city council concerning the sites that had been selected, with tentative names of each site including the West Los Angeles area, (Project Cal. 4-21). Project site maps accompanied the letter, but the map of the West Los Angeles area did not designate the strip in controversy as county territory. On November 16, 1950, in a letter to the Veterans’ Affairs and Housing Committee the housing authority requested that its proposal to acquire the land indicated in the selected sites be approved by the city council. The map of Cal. 4-21 project accompanying this letter showed the 43-acre project bisected by a strip of unincorporated territory comprising about six acres, or as stipulated a strip approximately 150 feet wide by 1,200 feet long.
On November 22, 1950, the city council approved and adopted a report of its Veterans’ Affairs and Housing Committee concerning the 11 proposed sites. The report recommended approval of the authority‘s proposal to acquire the sites conditioned on the awareness that cooperative action affecting construction, planning, zoning, and the opening and closing of streets would be involved. In April, 1951, when the authority was in the process of acquiring land in the site, it applied to the city planning commission for conditional use permits. For the first time a surveyor‘s legal description of the West Los Angeles site boundaries expressly delineated the project as lying partly in unincorporated territory of the county and partly within the city. The accompanying architectural plans showed 62 residential buildings, four of which
On September 14, 1951, the authority requested the city council to take proceedings on its own motion to annex the county strip. In doing so the authority expressly invoked the language of the cooperation agreement whereby the city agreed to cooperate with the authority “by such other lawful action or ways as the Authority may find necessary in connection with the development and construction of the project.” On September 20th, the council referred the request to the city coordinating board, which in turn received reports from various city departments. The coordinating board reported back to the council on October 11, 1951, recommending annexation of the county strip. The council on October 24, 1951, referred the authority‘s request to its planning committee, which on the same day reported back to the council. On November 8, 1951, the boundary commission of the county approved a description of the county strip. On November 14th the council adopted the planning committee report which recommended (1) annexation as conformable to the city‘s policy of absorbing “county islands” to create a more regular city boundary line; and (2) that the city attorney be instructed to present the necessary resolution of intention pursuant to the
As shown in the opinion filed in the mandate proceeding, the city council attempted to withdraw the approval of and to abrogate the various agreements relating to, the housing
On November 6, 1952, the city made its return to the order to show cause in this contempt proceeding. The issues are submitted on the return, the record including the stipulated facts, and the arguments and briefs of the parties.
The contention that neither the authority nor the city had any extraterritorial power and that the city housing authority may not operate in county territory is unquestionably correct. In fact, the parties concede that the city housing authority may not develop any portion of the project construction program in county territory in the circumstances of the present case.
Both the authority and the city, in relation to low-rent housing project developments, are governed by the Housing Authorities Law and the Housing Cooperation Law. Under the statutes they are operating as arms of the state in a matter of state-wide concern. This status and the controlling effect of the statutes were settled by this court‘s decision in the
True, as the text continues, the city may not refuse to cooperate in the ways that the statute and the agreements require. But this is not to say that either the statute or the cooperation agreement requires the city to cooperate with reference to an operation by the city housing authority in territory outside of the city which the authority had no power to initiate.
Section 34208 of the Health and Safety Code defines the “area of operation” of a city authority and a county authority. That section provides that the “area of operation” of a city authority does not include any area which lies within the unincorporated area of any county for which an authority has been authorized to transact business. At all times here involved the Los Angeles County Housing Authority has been and is in existence and authorized to transact business. By
It must be clearly apparent that the powers given in the matter of cooperation relate, as specified in
It was made clear in the opinion filed in the mandate proceeding that the city may agree to conduct authorized proceedings involving the legislative function, such as for the opening and closing of streets within the city, which may be necessary or desirable in the completion of a project, and that such authorized proceeding, pursuant to agreement come within the category of the administrative acts indicated by the statute as desirable in the consummation of the state objective. (See Op., 38 Cal.2d at p. 868.)
The housing authority contends that the city has made an agreement to annex such county territory as the authority finds necessary for inclusion in the city housing project. The authority points to the quoted language of the cooperation agreement whereby the city agreed to cooperate “by such other lawful action or ways as the Authority may find necessary in connection with the development and construction of the project.” This provision in the agreement refers to matters as to which the authority may lawfully make the decision of desirability or necessity. Here the matter of including county territory in a city housing project is in the first instance a question for submission to the city council for its determination as to necessity or desirability. The authority may not be deemed to have the power of direction to the city council as to what territory should be annexed to the city. Nor in any event may the city by agreement surrender that power in the absence of express statutory authorization. If as here a county authority is in existence, that authority has
The case of Times-Mirror Co. v. Superior Court, 3 Cal.2d 309 [44 P.2d 547], is inapplicable. In that case both the private corporation and the city of Los Angeles were performing acts within their respective rights and powers. Here we are concerned with two public bodies, each of which is controlled by express statutory provisions as to the powers and rights which each may exercise. There is no injury to the authority by the claimed deprivation of a right which it does not have, and which in fact the city could not confer under the statute. There is no justice nor equity in favor of the authority within the meaning of the decisions upon which it relies. Estoppel may not be invoked when the statute is the measure of the power. (County of San Diego v. California Water Etc. Co., 30 Cal.2d 817, 822 [186 P.2d 124, 175 A.L.R. 747].) As in the cited case, there is in this instance no appropriate statutory authority pursuant to which an agreement as invoked by the authority could be made by the city. Consequently no legal duty of annexation has arisen. Whatever action has been taken by the city departments and the city council in connection with the proposed annexation must be deemed to be no more than acts in the determination that annexation might be desirable and should be accomplished.
In my opinion this court has no proper function to perform in the present proceeding either to direct the city council to cooperate by annexing the territory designated by the housing authority, or to hold the members of the city council in contempt for not so cooperating. I would dismiss the proceeding.
Edmonds, J., concurred.
SCHAUER, J., Dissenting.—I did not concur in the reasoning or the result in the preceding mandate proceeding (Housing Authority v. City of Los Angeles (1952), 38 Cal.2d 853 [243 P.2d 515]) and I do not agree with any implication therein or in either the majority opinion or Justice Shenk‘s dissent herein that the people (whether by direct vote, or through their governmental representatives, the city councilmen) may by contract irrevocably bargain away their legislative prerogatives. The right of the people to legislate whether by initiative or through elected representatives is the right of self-government. It means freedom instead of subservience to a master. The right to legislate must include the right to augment, to repeal and to amend as well as to enact. And the right of a city as a legal entity to contract should, as in the case of any other individual, natural or corporate, include the right to rescind on equitable grounds, or to breach and be subject to a suit for specific performance or to an action for ensuing damage liability.
The city of Los Angeles and the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles are, respectively, separate corporate entities. They entered into a contract and a dispute has arisen between them as to the performance of that contract. Their reciprocal rights and obligations and liabilities should be determined by the same judicial processes and by the same general laws as are applicable to other contracting parties.
The holding in the preceding mandate proceeding is in my view inherently contrary to sound public policy and in some respects I think it trenches on our most fundamental governmental and political institutions. I think that inevitably, if the theory that the people can by contract irrevocably surrender to an entity their right to legislate or otherwise govern themselves is persisted in and expanded (as politicians and sometimes courts are wont to do with attractively garbed theories) this seemingly isolated departure from accepted standards and procedures can prove to be a sorry breach in our constitutional dike.1 But since the judgment in that case has become final, whether I like it or not, if it has any
If I assume for the prior judgment the full scope of validity, and give it all the virtue which its learned and respected author attributes to it, then I agree with that author as he dissents today in protest against the monstrosity which has been made of his opinion. That the mandamus opinion as construed and applied by the majority here seems monstrous to its author is evidenced by his dissent. That it should be so regarded by any lover and defender of our traditional constitutional processes is to me made apparent by the majority and concurring opinions. Such opinions, directly or impliedly, hold that:
a. The members of the council of the city of Los Angeles, although elected by the citizens as their representatives, have by contract with a corporation abdicated all legislative power within the field of the contract.
b. Within the contractual field the councilmen are bound to consider not the interests or will of the people but instead to obey implicitly the command of the contracting corporation.
c. The contract is irrevocable on the part of the citizens. Hence, the corporate dynasty has perpetual power.
d. The territory affected is not confined to the city of Los Angeles. The contracting and subservient city may be compelled to annex territory from other jurisdictions. (Whether the area of annexation may extend beyond county or state or national lines is not stated.)
e. If the councilmen dare to respect the will of the people who elected them, and disobey the orders of the corporate master, they shall be fined or imprisoned.
f. Within the field of contract the city must perpetually “co-operate” with the contracting corporation. And “cooperate,” as used by the majority, means implicitly obey.
It is regrettable that in the affairs of men good ends are sometimes sought by unwise means. Here, no one questions
Whether we agree with the original mandate judgment or not, this proceeding should be dismissed.