Rodeo Sanitary District v. Board of Supervisors

In these consolidated appeals, the appellant sanitary districts contend the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, within which the districts lie, could not forbid them from continuing to carry out their traditional function of collecting and- disposing of solid waste. The dispositive issues presented are (1) whether the county’s actions were a proper exercise of its police power, and (2) whether its actions were authorized by the California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 (Pub. Resources Code, § 40000 et seq.). The sanitary districts’ contentions have merit, and we therefore reverse the trial court’s judgment.

I. Facts and Procedural History

The Rodeo Sanitary District and the Mt. View Sanitary District (the districts) are public corporations organized under the provisions of the Sanitary District Act of 1923 (the 1923 Act) (Health & Saf. Code, § 6400 et seq.). The districts have operated for at least the past 50 years, collecting and disposing of garbage within their respective district boundaries, which lie within unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County (the county). In 1985 and 1986, both districts entered into long-term, exclusive garbage…