City of Fresno v. Pinedale County Water District

Pinedale County Water District (District) appeals from a judgment permanently enjoining it from providing solid waste collection services to citizens residing both within its boundaries and those of the City of Fresno (City). The issue on appeal is one of first impression— whether City’s annexation of District’s territory terminates District’s authority to provide solid waste collection service to the annexed territory after expiration of the five-year “phase-out term” to which City consented. We will conclude that it does and affirm the judgment.

Facts

The facts are undisputed. City is a municipal corporation and charter city organized under the Constitution and laws of the State of California. It is empowered to provide solid waste management services, including trash collection, to its citizens.

District is a limited power county water district organized under Water Code section 30000 et seq. District is also empowered tó provide trash collection services to its residents.

In recent years City has expanded by annexing land. Some of these annexations have included territory which is also within District. In fact, more than 80 percent of the area District is…