This is an appeal from a judgment directing the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate ordering the appellants, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (hereafter referred to as Valley District), organized pursuant to the Municipal Water District Act of 1911 as amended (hereafter referred to as Act of 1911) 1 and its board of directors, to terminate its proceedings for the annexation of lands underlying Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino County.
The facts are as follows:
Respondents, Bud Puller et al., were proponents for the formation of a municipal water district in the County of San Bernardino, to be known as Big Bear Municipal Water District (hereafter referred to as New District), pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 1911. The boundaries of the proposed district included lands underlying Big Bear Lake. After receiving a favorable report from the County Boundary Commission, respondents circulated and on August 15,1961, filed a petition for formation of the New District with the county clerk. On August 17, 1961, the registrar of voters certified that the peti *55 tion was signed by the requisite number of voters, and on September 5, 1961, the clerk presented it to the board of supervisors. Before any action could be taken by the board, it was served with a restraining order in Yribarne v. County of San Bernardino, et al. (Sup. Ct. No. 107244) wherein Yribarne, whose land was included in the proposed district, challenged the constitutionality of the Act of 1911 on grounds that it failed to provide a hearing on the question of benefits to his land and unlawfully delegated to the proponents the power to fix the boundaries. By virtue of the restraining order and subsequent preliminary injunction the board of supervisors was enjoined from calling an election on the question of formation of the New District pending final disposition of the action. 2 Respondents herein were granted leave to file an answer in intervention in the Yribarne case and participated therein both in the trial and appellate courts.
On December 13, 1961, the board of directors of Valley District adopted a resolution initiating proceedings for the annexation of the lands underlying Big Bear Lake, but on January 3,1962, it ordered the proceedings postponed pending the Yribarne appeal. On January 9, 1962, the County Boundary Commission reported that the territory sought to be annexed was included in the boundaries of the proposed New District and recommended that Valley District not initiate annexation until the formation proceedings had been concluded or terminated. It reported, however, that the boundaries submitted were definite and certain.
On September 23,1963, following the filing of the remittitur in the Yribarne case, the board of supervisors adopted a resolution finding that the petition filed on August 15, 1961, for the formation of the New District complied with the requirements of the Act of 1911 and ordered a formation election to be held on January 7,1964.
On October 16, 1963, the Valley District board adopted a resolution declaring that it would not accept the January 9, *56 1962, boundary commission recommendation and reinitiated annexation proceedings fixing November 6, 1963, as the date for hearing protests. 3 Respondents thereupon filed this action and obtained an alternative writ directing Valley District to show cause why it should not terminate the annexation proceedings and restraining it from taking further action thereon pending the hearing. As a return, Valley District filed an answer and a transcript of the annexation proceedings. The petition and return raised the following legal issues:
1. Were petitioners beneficially interested within the meaning of sections 1069 and 1086 of the Code of Civil Procedure ?
2. Did Valley District lack jurisdiction to annex the territory in question by virtue of the prior pending proceedings for the formation of the New District ?
3. Did section 58862 of the Government Code relating to the resubmission of proposals for change of boundaries to the County Boundary Commission apply to proceedings for the annexation of territory to a municipal water district ?
On November 19, 1963, the trial court rendered its decision in favor of petitioners on all issues and a judgment directing the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate was entered on November 22, 1963. On that date appellants filed a notice of appeal and adopted an ordinance annexing the disputed territory.
The parties are in agreement that the issues on this appeal are the same as those presented to the trial court.
Were Respondents Parties Beneficially Interested?
Appellants contend that respondents, as proponents of the New District, have not shown a sufficient beneficial interest to maintain this action.
Section 1069 (writ of review) and section 1086 (writ of mandate) of the Code of Civil Procedure provide that an application for a writ of review or writ of mandate must be by “. . . the party beneficially interested.” A private individual may apply for the writ only where he has some special interest to be subserved or some particular right to be preserved or protected independent of that which he holds in common with the public at large.
(Parker
v.
Bowron,
40
*57
Cal.2d 344, 351 [
Among those who have been held to have a sufficient beneficial interest to apply for a writ of review or mandate to contest an annexation proceeding are a property owner within the territory sought to be annexed
(American Distilling Co.
v.
City Council,
Appellants contend that respondents do not have a sufficient beneficial interest in that they are neither property owners within the territory sought to be annexed by Valley District nor even property owners with the District. They argue that
American Distilling Co.
v.
City Council, supra,
American Distilling Co.
v.
City Council, supra,
simply held that the fact of property ownership in the territory sought to he annexed constituted a sufficient showing of beneficial interest. In
Potter
v.
City Council, supra,
In this case respondents have shown a special interest independent of that which they hold in common with taxpayers generally. In addition to being property owners in the proposed New District, they were the moving force in fixing its boundaries, securing boundary commission approval, and circulating and filing the petition for formation with the board of supervisors. Significantly, under the Act of 1911, the boundaries fixed by the proponents are not subject to modification by the board of supervisors.
(Yribarne
v.
County of San Bernardino,
Although the beneficial interest need not be pecuniary,
(Johnson
v.
City of San Pablo, supra; Baroldi
v.
Denni,
Appellants argue that respondents’ interests are too remote and indirect. They say
Parker
v.
Bowron, supra,
Appellants also rely upon
Linden
v.
Board of Supervisors of Alameda County,
We conclude that respondents made a sufficient showing of beneficial interest to maintain this action.
Did the Board of Supervisors Have Priority of Jurisdiction to Conduct the Formation Proceedings of the New District?
It is the respondents’ position that since proceedings for the formation of the New District were validly pending when Valley District initiated annexation proceedings, the board of supervisors had jurisdiction to complete the formation proceedings to the exclusion of the subsequent attempted Valley District annexation. Appellants reply that the rule of priority is not applicable to quasi-municipal corporations such as a municipal water district.
It has long been the law in California that as between conflicting city annexations or an annexation and incorporation proceedings, the first to be validly instituted has priority to the exclusion of the later.
(People
ex rel.
City of Pasadena
v.
City of Monterey Park,
The common-law rule conferring priority to the proceeding first instituted was derived from the settled legal principle that as between courts of concurrent jurisdiction, the tribunal first assuming jurisdiction retains it to the exclusion of all other tribunals in which the action might have been initiated. See
Scott
v.
Industrial Acc. Com.,
In
Taylor
v.
City of Ft. Wayne,
“Having acquired jurisdiction, it is their duty to retain it, and proceed to a final hearing and disposition of the application. [Citations.]
“It is a clear principle of jurisprudence that, when there exist two tribunals possessing concurrent and complete jurisdiction of a subject matter, the jurisdiction becomes exclusive in the one before which proceedings are first instituted, and which thus acquires jurisdiction of the subject. ’ ’
Appellants contend, however, that with respect to cities the rule of prior jurisdiction necessarily follows from the fact that two cities cannot exercise jurisdiction over the same territory at the same time. They maintain, however, that with respect to quasi-municipal corporations, such as municipal water districts, overlapping territory has long been sanctioned by the Legislature. They point particularly to the following provision of section 33 of the Act of 1911, added in 1941 (Stats. 1941, eh. 26, p. 463, § 12) : “The inclusion in, or annexation or addition to, a municipal water district, of the corporate area of any public corporation or public agency, shall not destroy the identity or legal existence or impair the powers of any such public corporation or public agency, notwithstanding the identity of purpose, or substantial identity of purpose, of such municipal water district. ’ ’
In 1955, however, section 33 was amended by the addition of *63 the following provision (Stats. 1955, eh. 1318, p. 2401 § 9) : ‘ ‘ Except for formation proceedings commenced before the effective date of the amendments to this act made by the 1955 Regular Session of the Legislature, no public corporation or public agency having identity of purpose or substantial identity of purpose shall be formed partly or entirely within a municipal water district existing under this act without the consent of such municipal water district.” 4
Thus, since 1955 consent is a condition precedent to the formation of a new district containing in whole or in part territory of an existing district or of the annexation by a district of a portion of another district. Absent such consent the proceedings are void.
(Hidden Valley Municipal Water Dist.
v.
Calleguas Municipal Water Dist.,
Appellants contend that the consent requirement does not give rise to a conflict in the instant ease because it is required only of an existing district; that there is no provision requiring consent to annex territory of a proposed district. To accept appellants’ interpretation in the circumstances here presented would mean that formation of the New District, at least to the extent of the overlapping territory, would be void.
(Hidden Valley Municipal Water Dist.
v.
Calleguas Municipal Water Dist., supra,
The Legislature having made consent a condition precedent to the overlap of district boundaries, to permit both proeeed
*64
ings to go forward to conclusion would give rise to conflict and confusion. The reasons expressed in
People
v.
City of Monterey Park, supra,
Appellants contend that the existence of detailed provisions in the Act of 1911 prescribing the effect of conflicting annexation and incorporation proceedings between cities and municipal water districts (now §§ 71070-71081, Wat. Code) implies the absence of any general rule of priority between conflicting district proceedings. The argument is not persuasive. A city may annex territory or be incorporated without the consent of any quasi-municipal corporation whose territory may be affected. Any unincorporated territory, with certain qualifications not here relevant, may be annexed to a city or be incorporated.
We conclude that when a valid petition for the formation of a municipal water district is filed with the board of supervisors, it has jurisdiction to complete the proceedings to the exclusion of a subsequently initiated municipal water district annexation proceeding affecting any of the same territory. We need not determine whether the Valley District annexation would have been valid if the formation election had failed. The common-law rule of priority which we apply here may not require the same result as the statutory rule contained in section 35308 of the Government Code relating to cities which expressly prohibits the filing of a subsequent petition after the valid initiation of an incorporation or annexation proceeding.
It should be noted that by virtue of legislation enacted in 1965, the recurrence of the problem giving rise to this litigation is unlikely. (§54773 et seq., Gov. Code.) Section 54798 (Stats. 1965, §21.1 eh. 2045, p. 4780) relating to the local agency formation commission, provides that “If two or more proceedings affect any of the same territory or are in any way inconsistent with each other, as among or between said proceedings, priority of the right to proceed shall be determined *65 by the order in which said proceedings were initiated. . . .” It is also noted that although the consent requirement of section 71033 of the Water Code relating to municipal water districts was repealed in 1965, the District Reorganization Act of 1965 (Gov. Code, § 56000 et seq.) now makes that requirement applicable to all special 'districts, unless otherwise provided by the principal Act. (Gov. Code, § 56004.)
Did Valley District Comply With the Requirement of the County Boundary Commission Law?
The Valley District board submitted its annexation proposal to the County Boundary Commission in 1961. On January 9, 1962, the commission reported on the proposal but no further action was taken by Valley District until October 16, 1963, when it adopted a resolution determining not to follow the commission recommendation and reinitiated annexation proceedings. Respondents contend that the annexation proceeding was invalid because appellants failed to resubmit their proposal to the commission in compliance with section 58862 of the Government Code which provided as follows : 5 “If a proposal for a change of boundaries or incorporation of a new city or formation of a new district has been submitted to and a report made by the county boundary commission, and no further action has been taken by the proponents of the proposals for one year after- such submission, the proposal shall be resubmitted to the commission before further proceedings may be conducted, in the same manner as if no submission to the commission had been made. ’ ’
Appellants contend that the section applies only to proposals for the “formation of a new district” and not to a change of boundaries of a district. In any event, they argue that the requirement is merely directory, citing
Forest Lawn Co.
v.
City Council,
While the language of the section is somewhat ambiguous, the construction sought to be placed upon it by appellants is contrary to the obvious intent of the Legislature. The law required a proposal for a change of boundaries of a district as *66 well as for formation to be submitted to the boundary commission. (Former Gov. Code, § 58853.) We perceive no reasonable basis for concluding that the Legislature intended resubmission to be required only of a formation proposal, and none has been suggested.
Forest Lawn Co.
v.
City Council, supra,
We conclude that section 58862 of the Government Code required Valley District to resubmit to the County Boundary Commission its proposal for annexation.
For the foregoing reasons, judgment is affirmed.
Kerrigan, Acting P. J., concurred.
Notes
(Stats. 1911, ch. 671, p. 1290; West’s Wat. Code-App. 20-1 et seq. [Deering’s Wat. Code, Act 5243].) The Act was codified in 1963 as division 20 of the Water Code (§ 71000 et seq.) and named “Municipal Water District Law of 1911.”
On December 5, 1961, the
Yribarne
case was tried and a decision, was rendered in favor of the county, holding that the Act of 1911 was constitutional. The injunction was maintained in effect, however, to afford Yribarne an opportunity to appeal. On July 17, 1963, the judgment was affirmed with directions to the trial court to dissolve the injunction.
(Yribarne
v.
County of San Bernardino,
A resolution reinitiating annexation proceedings was adopted by the Valley District board on October 2, 1963, but that resolution was rescinded presumably because the board had not theretofore adopted a resolution determining that it would not follow the recommendation of the boundary commission. Such a determination was required by section 58859 of the Government Code.
In 1963 the first sentence of section 33, added in 1941, was codified as section 71032 of the Water Code and the second sentence, added in 1955, was codified as section 71033.
Seetion 58862 of the Government Code (Stats. 1961, ch. 550, p. 1661, § 1) was repealed in 1965 hut see Government Code section 54799.2 enacted at the same session relating to local Agency Formation Commission proceedings.
