Eastern Municipal Water District v. City of Moreno Valley

Eastern Municipal Water District (District), plaintiff below, appeals from a trial court judgment entered after the court refused to enjoin enforcement of a local ordinance enacted by defendant City of Moreno Valley (City) which placed on the District the obligation to collect from its customers and remit to the City a 6 percent utility user’s tax on the services provided by the District to City residents. We affirm.

Facts and Procedural History

The essential facts of this case have been agreed to by stipulation of the parties and are not in dispute. Plaintiff District is a municipal water district organized under the Municipal Water District Law of 1911. (Wat. Code, § 71000 et seq.) The District provides domestic and other water and sewer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers located within the District boundaries. The District boundaries overlap the city limits of defendant City, and a certain number of the District’s customers live within the city limits.

Defendant City is located in Riverside County and is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of California. Thus, it is a general law city, and not a charter city…