Mills

Following enactment of article XIII A of the California Constitution (Prop. 13 on the June 6, 1978, ballot, commonly known as the Jarvis-Gann initiative), the Trinity County Board of Supervisors adopted resolution No. 73-78 providing both increased and new fees for county services in processing subdivision, zoning, and other land-use applications. Plaintiff Mills then brought this action in the superior court against the county and its board challenging the constitutionality of the resolution and seeking to bar its enforcement through mandate and declaratory and injunctive relief. The trial court sustained plaintiffs claim that as a matter of law the new and increased fees under resolution No. 73-78 constitute a “special tax” within the meaning of article XIII A and thus cannot be imposed without a two-thirds affirmative vote of the electors of Trinity County. Since the board of supervisors had adopted the resolution without submitting it to the county electorate for approval, the court ordered summary judgment in plaintiffs favor and issued a peremptory writ of mandate. The writ ordered defendants to “desist and refrain from enforcing the provisions of Resolution Number…