Jose Edward Valentin, et al. v. California

This case raises important questions of law potentially affecting more than 35,000 renters and housing providers in the City of Santa Monica. This zoning ordinance encompasses all private and corporate party irrespective of the ownership interest in the residential rental property. The statute in question is the Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.51.020 (A)(1)(e) “Group Residential”, as interpreted by the City of Santa Monica in the pending criminal case against Petitioners criminalizes any oral offer made by either an owner or tenant to anyone else to share his or her living quarter. The Questions Presented are as follows:

1. Whether Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.51.020 (A)(1)(e), which prohibits Group Residential use, is unconstitutional under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because it fails to give adequate guidance to those who would be law-abiding and to guide courts in trying those who are accused.

2. Whether Santa Monica Municipal Code Section 9.51.020 (A)(1)(e) that provides for misdemeanor charges by means of intruding into private homes of individuals who are not family members and deny certain benefits that family members enjoy is constitutional.