Dale J. Bellamah Corp. v. City of Santa Fe

The City of Santa Fe, by a 3 to 2 council vote, with two councilmen not voting, purportedly passed ordinance 1973-25 on July 11, 1973. § 14-16-3 N.M.S.A. 1953 (Repl. Vol. 3) requires that a majority of all the members of the governing body vote in favor of adopting an ordinance or resolution. The ordinance, if properly passed, would have re-zoned Plaintiffs property from R-1 to SC-1, allowing Plaintiff to build a shopping center on property previously zoned residential. The mayor signed the ordinance, and it was filed in the office of the city clerk on July 11, 1973, and was published pursuant to law on July 16, 1973. On August 8, 1973, the city council voted to reconsider ordinance 1973-25, whereupon Plaintiff filed its complaint requesting the trial court to enjoin Defendants from taking any action to reconsider the ordinance and requesting the trial court to declare the actions in reconsidering the ordinance null and void.