Higgins v. City of Santa Monica

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment in favor of defendants in an action to obtain an adjudication as to the validity of Santa Monica Initiative Ordinance 703, insofar as such ordinance prohibits drilling or prospecting for oil, gas, and other hydrocarbon substances upon the tidelands and submerged lands granted in 1917 by the State of California to the City of Santa Monica.

The case was submitted upon stipulated facts and stipulated issues, after which the trial court rendered judgment upholding the validity and enforceability of the ordinance and the legality of any expenditure of municipal…