Court Opinion

ID: 9747524
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 15:19:19.453748+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:24.297391
License: Public Domain

BAUER, J.,* Concurring.
I write separately to express a divergent view about some of the textual analysis in the majority opinion, but I ultimately agree with the result reached in this case, for the reasons expressed below.
The majority has rejected the possibility that the constitutional system governing business improvement districts requires that the assessments levied against the many parcels within such a district reflect a consistent districtwide proportionality between levies and benefits. The task here requires a parsing of article XIH D, section 4, subdivision (f) of the California Constitution, which states that in any action contesting the validity of an assessment by a public improvement district (as in the present case), the district must demonstrate “that the amount of any contested assessment is proportional to, and no greater than, the benefits conferred on the property or properties in question.” The majority has found this provision to be “not a model of precise draftsmanship” and has therefore undertaken some extensive “interpretative work” (maj. opn., ante, at p. 718) involving a review of several other sections of this article. My study has been simpler; I hope not simplistic. But I feel compelled to respect the constitutional mandate that a challenged agency demonstrate “that the amount of any contested assessment is proportional to, and no greater than, the benefits conferred on the property or properties in question.” (Italics added.) I cannot dismiss the proportionality language as a mere procedural guideline, as the majority does. While the result of the majority’s analysis is essentially to strike the language requiring proportionality, I believe that both of these requirements (“proportional to” and “no greater than”) can be given life. There are at least three reasons why I prefer the reading that requires proportionality. First, an analysis that eliminates a portion of a constitutional provision should be avoided wherever possible. Second, it seems unlikely that this law would mandate proof of something— e.g., proportionality—that is not required. Third, I perceive that the concept of proportionality is at the heart of this entire plan, with property owners expected to pay pro rata for the special benefits they receive.
I readily accept the majority’s reasonable definition of “proportional” as meaning no greater and no less than the benefits conferred. This leads us both *727to the concern that a discounted assessment on one parcel (i.e., less than its proportional rate) could lead to assessments on other parcels that exceed the reasonable cost of the special benefits conferred on those parcels. This would necessarily be true if the district is a “closed” system, with no infusion of funds from any outside source, such as the city’s general revenues. Indeed, there are at least two places in the record that indicate that the Downtown Pomona Property and Business Improvement District (PBED) is a system with no outside funding. The resolution adopting this plan states “The assessments shall pay for the improvements and activities specified in Section 2. No bonds shall be issued.” The same resolution further states “The activities and improvements to be provided within the District will be funded by the levy of assessments.” It therefore seems inevitable that an assessment against any parcel that is disproportionately low in relation to the benefits conferred thereon (that is, a discount) would lead to an impermissibly high assessment against one or more other parcels. This would be a fatal flaw in such a system.
As a peripheral point, I find the use of the term “discount” troublesome. This term often connotes a payment that reflects less than value received. The first standard dictionary definition of the word is “a reduction made from the gross amount or value of something.” (Webster’s New Collegiate Dict. (1979) p. 323.) Proportionality in a closed system would prohibit this form of discount.1 However, any term that merely identifies a reduced charge for a reduced benefit would be acceptable. Thus, when churches and residences within the PBID have little interest in, or benefit derived from, street fairs and other business development activities, their reduced levy is not a “discount” in the normal sense, but is simply a proper adjustment to reflect that limited value is received. There are many terms other than “discount” that would better reflect this correct approach.
This leads to yet another point of full agreement with the majority opinion. The failure of Dahms’? evidentiary showing ultimately must lead to the rejection of his claim. While the district bears the initial burden of showing proportionality (which means not too high and not too low), they presented the 40-40-20 plan as a plausible starting point for their assessments, taking *728into account certain physical features of each parcel. They then adjusted this basic plan to reflect identified specific uses of parcels within the district (for example, residences and nonprofits). This categorical approach to assessments on parcels should generally be adequate to meet the district’s burden of showing proportionality. In response, Dahms has protested and complained, but he has done little more. The majority’s correct analysis of his “evidence” need not be repeated here. Dahms’s inadequate showing simply leads to the conclusion that the better evidence in the record supports the PBID. I therefore join in the majority’s conclusion that the decision of the trial court must be affirmed.
A petition for a rehearing was denied June 8, 2009, and the opinion was modified to read as printed above. Appellant’s petition for review by the Supreme Court was denied July 22, 2009, S174096. George, C. J., did not participate therein.

Judge of the Orange Superior Court, assigned by the Chief Justice pursuant to article VI, section 6 of the California Constitution.

 In an “open” system, where district assessments might be augmented by general tax revenues, all parcels within the district could be assessed less than the cost of their respective benefits. If such reductions were applied proportionately (e.g., a 5 percent reduction for each parcel), the system would pass muster. It is the “open” system that justifies the additional requirement that a contested assessment be “proportional to, and no greater than, the benefits conferred on the property or properties in question.” (Cal. Const., art. XIII D, § 4, subd. (f), italics added.) Without that mandate, all parcels could be overassessed in an “open” system, with the excess revenues given to a city’s general fund. This is prohibited. Assessments must be “proportional to” and “no greater than” the benefits conferred, but they can be less than the benefits conferred, if the reductions are proportional.