California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Russian Hill Imp. Ass'n v. Board of Permit Appeals of City and County of San Francisco, 423 P.2d 824, 56 Cal.Rptr. 672, 66 Cal.2d 34 (Cal. 1967):
Finally, by holding that a permit is not 'lawfully granted' until all administrative action with respect to the permit application has been completed, we preserve municipal power to prevent the circumvention of newly enacted zoning laws. 'Given the objective of zoning to eliminate nonconforming uses, courts throughout the country generally follow a strict [66 Cal.2d 44] policy against their extension or enlargement (footnote omitted).' (County of San Diego v. McClurken, supra, 37 Cal.2d 683, 687, 234 P.2d 972.) 23 In light of this basic policy, we are loathe to extend the lure of statutory immunity to all who would obtain the permit bureau's preliminary approval during the inevitable interval between the enactment of a zoning ordinance and its effective date. Yet the interpretation of section 150 espoused by defendants would hold out precisely that promise of protection and would thus encourage eleventh-hour evasions of the zoning laws.
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