Azzaro v. Board of Supervisors

STONE, J. The Board of Supervisors of the County of Fresno initiated proceedings to form an improvement district under the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 10000 et seq.) in connection with the widening of East Tulare Street between Winery Avenue on the west and Clovis Avenue on the east. Protests were filed by a number of owners, and this appeal followed a ruling as to the area included within the district.

Tulare Street runs through the City of Fresno to Clovis Avenue, a county highway; both are heavily traveled thoroughfares. About one year before commencing formation of the district, the county undertook to simply widen East Tulare Street between Winery and Clovis, and the only improvements then contemplated were concrete curbs, gutters, driveway approaches and drainage facilities. The county entered into right of way contracts with all but eight property owners along the entire mile and a half between Winery and Clovis. The contracts provided that each owner pay for curbs, gutters, driveway approaches and drainage facilities for his property, and each deposited the money to cover the cost thereof.

Later, it was decided to form an improvement district and, while the street was torn up, to also install water and sewer lines. However, the segment of East Tulare Street between Peach and Helm Avenues already had sewer and water lines, so only concrete curbs, gutters, driveway approaches and drainage facilities needed to be constructed. The areas on each side (west and east) of the Helm-Peach segment of the street had no water or sewer lines and consequently, in addition to concrete curbs, gutters, driveway approaches and drainage [18]facilities, it was planned to install sewer and water lines, and owners who had not signed contracts were assessed according to the cost of all improvements. The property of owners other than those between Helm and Peach, who had signed contracts, was assessed at an amount necessary to pay the additional cost of sewer and water lines, over and above the cost of curbs, gutters, etc., for which money had been already deposited. The land of owners between Peach and Helm, where sewer and water lines were already installed and who had also advanced the cost of their improvements by contract, was assessed, at zero.

To summarize, there were three different bases for assessment : where money to cover all improvements to be placed on the property was on deposit, property was assessed at zero; where money to cover part of the improvements was on deposit, assessment was according to the cost of the remainder of the improvements; where no money was on deposit, assessment was for total cost of the improvements.