In Orange Citizens for Parks and Recreation v. Superior Court, the Supreme Court today holds that the City of Orange wrongly interpreted its general plan as allowing a 39-unit housing development that would replace public open space. Stating that judicial “deference has limits,” the unanimous opinion by Justice Goodwin Liu concludes “no reasonable person” would agree with the City’s interpretation, especially after the City’s voters passed a referendum to reject a general plan amendment that would have allowed the development.
The court reverses the Fourth District, Division Three, Court of Appeal.