Regents of University of California v. City of Los Angeles

Opinion

FLEMING, J.

The Regents of the University of California appeal a judgment in favor of the City of Los Angeles upholding the imposition of a “sewage facilities charge” against the Regents.

The ordinance establishing a “sewage facilities charge” for all users of the city sewer system was enacted by the city in 1970 to provide funding for public sewer construction in Los Angeles. Payment of the charge, whose amount is scaled to anticipated use by each user is required before any connection to the public sewer can be made. Additionally, users of the city sewer system must pay (1) a “sewer con

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nection charge,” which covers the cost of services in making the initial physical connection to the sewer system, and (2) a “monthly sewer service charge,” which covers the cost of processing the sewage.

In 1975 the city collected the “sewage facilities charge” from the Regents before allowing them to connect a new alumni center building at the University’s Los Angeles campus to the city sewer system. The Regents paid the charge under protest and then filed this action to declare the charge invalid, to obtain a refund, and to enjoin the city from collecting a “sewage facilities charge” from the Regents in the future.

The trial court ruled that because the charge is required of all users of the system based upon anticipated use, the Regents were properly required to contribute their fair share toward the capital costs of sewer construction, On appeal, the Regents argue that the charge is a special assessment from which they are constitutionally exempt. We agree.

A special assessment is generally defined as a charge imposed on property owners within a limited area to help pay the cost of a local improvement designed to enhance the value of the property within that area.

(Northwestern etc. Co.

v.

St. Bd. Equal.

(1946) 73 Cal.App.2d 548, 552 [166 P.2d 917];

County of San Bernardino