Suit challenges hospital election Suit challenges hospital election (March 25, 2005)

Case could delay construction plans

By Julie O'Shea

The same man who is challenging the legality of Mountain View-Whisman School District's parcel tax is now suing El Camino Hospital over its 2003 bond election, claiming it too was illegal.

If Saratoga resident Aaron Katz succeeds in both efforts, El Camino officials said there will likely be a delay in the hospital's construction plans. And Mountain View-Whisman would be forced to reimburse taxpayers millions of dollars, which would be fiscally devastating to the cash-strapped district.

In addition to suing the school district and the hospital, Katz, an independent attorney who is representing himself in the case, is also suing the Campbell Union High School District and West Valley-Mission Community College District. He is claiming these organizations' tax and bond elections were unconstitutional because not all owners of properties in those areas were allowed to cast a vote.

Katz, who declined comment for this story, owns property within all four districts. He owns 10 condos in Mountain View through a partnership but couldn't vote in El Camino's or Mountain View-Whisman's elections because he is not a resident within their boundaries.

The trial date in the case against Mountain View-Whisman has been pushed back until May 2, when a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge will consider consolidating the case with the hospital's.

Both the hospital and the school district said they plan to fight Katz's claims. Mountain View-Whisman officials have called the lawsuit "frivolous" and have already spent more than $50,000 in litigation fees.

The school district's Measure J, a $1.6 million annual parcel tax, won with 69 percent of the vote last March. It costs the average property owner $75 a year. Measure D, the hospital's $148 million bond, won with 70 percent of the vote in November 2003. Homeowners are charged $12.90 per $100,000 assessed value of their property annually.
E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

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