Bonander

Under the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913 (Sts. & Hy. Code, § 10000 et seq.), an assessment district may be formed and assessments may be levied on real property for various purposes, including moving overhead utility wires underground, as occurred here. Under article XIII D of the state Constitution, however, any assessment on real property must be in proportion to the special benefit conferred on that property. (See Silicon Valley Taxpayers’ Assn., Inc. v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority (2008) 44 Cal.4th 431, 443 [ 79 Cal.Rptr.3d 312 , 187 P.3d 37 ].) When a lawsuit challenges the assessments imposed on specific parcels of real property for (among other things) noncompliance with article XIII D, must the plaintiff comply with the requirements governing validation proceedings brought under Code of Civil Procedure sections 860 through 870.5? We conclude that the answer is “no.” Because the Court of Appeal reached the opposite conclusion, we reverse its judgment.

I

In May 2003, owners of 116 parcels in the Town of Tiburón (hereafter the Town) in Marin County petitioned the Town to create an assessment district in Del Mar Valley to install underground utility…