WATSONVILLE — Millions of dollars and a series of water projects are in jeopardy in the Pajaro Valley after the 6th District Court of Appeals in San Jose ruled Monday that the water agency here hiked fees without getting the proper approval from landowners.
The same appellate court last summer ruled that the water fees imposed on farmers and households throughout the Watsonville area by the Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency were constitutional.
But on Monday, after nine months of deliberating, the appellate court reversed its decision, saying the 2003 hike was property-related and therefore subject to the provisions of Proposition 218, which calls for a vote by landowners.
"We're talking about millions of dollars in fees that have been collected when they shouldn't have been," said Omar James, one of two lawyers for the plaintiffs. "We've been waiting on this case for quite some time. Most lawyers wouldn't even have petitioned the court to reconsider. They would have given up. But we knew that this was about real people out there spending their hard-earned money on water hikes that essentially were illegal. We knew that something had to be done, and finally it looks like they're going to be vindicated"
The appellate court's decision, delivered by a three-judge panel, hinged largely on a similar Central Valley case involving the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency.
James and lawyer Robert Johnson asked the appellate court in August to reconsider the merits of their case based on the facts in the 2002 Bighorn case.
The appellate court's ruling Monday related only to a 2003 hike that saw a special fee imposed by the Pajaro Valley agency since the late 1990s go from $80 to $120 per acre foot of water. But it's likely to affect the outcome of other litigation related to the fee.
An acre-foot of water is roughly enough water to sustain two acres of crops per year.
| Now the water agency has one of two options: It can either ask the same appellate court to reconsider its opinion, or it can file an appeal with the California Supreme Court, said Tony Condotti, the water agency's general counsel. |
Bruce Laclergue, general manager for the water agency, said the nearly $8 million raised annually from the water fees represents more than a third of the agency's $21 million operating budget. The purpose of the fees is to help pay for water projects that are designed to shore up the Pajaro Valley's underground fresh water supply, which is being contaminated with saltwater from the ocean.
One of the biggest projects is the planned construction of a 23-mile pipeline that would deliver fresh water to coastal farmers who are suffering the most from the salty wells.
"This is a significant portion of our budget, Laclergue said. "It's going to affect all agency operations. In the worse case scenario, we're going to have to reduce our budget"
Contact Tom Ragan at tragan@santacruzsentinel.com.
