Glendale Coalition etc. v. City of Glendale CA2/5
Defendant, appellant, and cross-respondent City of Glendale appeals from portions of a judgment in favor of plaintiff, respondent, and cross-appellant Glendale Coalition for Better Government in this case challenging the City’s water rates. On appeal, the City contends the water rates properly (1) included a public fire protection fee; (2) allocated variable base costs to residential ratepayers in tiers based on volume of use; and (3) distinguished between outdoor water use by residential and irrigation ratepayers. We conclude: The public fire protection fee provided through hydrants is not a service available to the general public in substantially the same manner as it is to the property owners who pay the fee. Charging the fire protection fee to property owners, therefore, did not violate article XIII D, section 6, of the California Constitution. The City failed to support that its tiered rates for residential ratepayers were proportional to the cost of its base services. The
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