BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Claim by Great Oaks Water Company Against the Santa Clara Valley Water District for Refund of Groundwater Production Charges.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Deny the claim.
Body
SUMMARY:
On September 20, 2017, Great Oaks Water Company presented the Santa Clara Valley
Water District with a written claim demanding that the District refund $5,568,893.05 plus
interest in groundwater production charges collected from Great Oaks for the 2016-17 fiscal year. Great Oaks also demands a refund of any charges that the District will collect from Great Oaks for the 2017-18 fiscal year. We recommend that the District reject Great Oaks' claim in its entirety. A "Notice of Rejection of Claim" letter is attached to this memo as Exhibit A.
This claim is the most recent in a line of similar claims seeking a refund of groundwater
production charges that Great Oaks has submitted each year since 2005. The District has denied all of Great Oaks' previous claims, and Great Oaks has filed a lawsuit following each denial. There are currently twelve such lawsuits involving Great Oaks and a thirteenth case involving three other parties.
In this claim, Great Oaks reiterates the arguments it has been asserting in its other claims and lawsuits against the District:
a. That the charges are property-related fees under Article XIII D, section 6 of the
California Constitution (Proposition 218) that were not adopted in compliance
with the procedural and substantive requirements of Article XIII D, section 6.
b. That the charges are assessments under Article XIII D, section 4 of the California Constitution (Proposition 218) that were not adopted in compliance with the procedural and substantive requirements of Article XIII D, section 4.
c. That the charges do not qualify as fees under Article XIII C, section 1(e) of the
California Constitution (Proposition 26) and therefore are taxes that were not
appr...
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