Modesto Irrigation District v. City of Modesto

The Modesto Irrigation District has appealed from a judgment in declaratory relief holding valid a City of Modesto ordinance regulating the location of overhead utilities and denying an injunction to permanently enjoin the city from enforcing said ordinance.

District, plaintiff and appellant herein, is engaged in the business of transmitting, distributing and selling electric power pursuant to specific statutory authorization embodied in the Water Code of California, division 11, part 5, chapter 1, article 3, sections 22115 et seq. The city ordinance in question, requiring the location of overhead utilities on lot easements rather than along city streets, with certain exceptions, was enacted pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act, Business and Professions Code sections 11500 et seq. Section 11525 provides, in part, that “Every county and city shall adopt an ordinance regulating and controlling the design and improvement of subdivisions.”

District’s main contentions are that the location of power lines is a matter of statewide concern, that the State of California has exclusive jurisdiction over the franchise of power lines in cities, that the ordinance in question is an attempt by…