Local Ordinance Inimical to State Law Example

In Mobilepark West Homeowners Assn. v. Escondido Mobilepark West (1995) 35 Cal. App. 4th 32, the City Council of Escondido enacted an ordinance which purported to clarify and implement a portion of a state law which exempted certain leases from rent control. The court found that the state law set standards for exempting certain leases from rent control, and the local government was preempted from imposing further requirements on owners in order to qualify for the exemption. (35 Cal. App. 4th at pp. 46-47.) Not only did the court find that the state law fully occupied the area of exempting leases from local rent control laws. It also found that by adding standards for an owner to qualify for the exemption, the local ordinance was inimical to the terms of the state law. Both factors supported the court's conclusion that the local ordinance was preempted by state law. (Ibid.)