Citizens Utilities Co. v. San Lorenzo Valley County Water District

This is an appeal from a judgment declaring valid certain revenue bonds authorized at an election held August 13, 1957. The case was submitted to the trial court on an agreed statement of facts. It appears that appellant is a public utility water corporation operating water distribution systems in various parts of California, one of them being in Santa Cruz County. Respondent is a water district in that county organized under the County Water District Law (Wat. Code, div. 12, §§ 30000-33901, inclusive).

With the idea of acquiring appellant’s property, the directors of respondent district, acting under the County Water District Law, held elections on March 27, 1945 and December 3, 1946, to secure authority to issue general obligation bonds. Both elections ended in failure. A third attempt was made by an election held February 8, 1955, under the Revenue Bond Law of 1941. This also failed.

Effective October 1, 1949, sections 31416 and 32858 of the Water Code were added to the County Water District Law. These sections provide as follows:

On the same date, October 1; 1949, the Revenue Bond Law was amended and, appellant claims, thereby made sections 31416 and 32858 applicable to…