Chapter 258 Oregon Laws 2001

AN ACT

HB 2795

Relating to water control districts; creating new provisions; and amending ORS 553.310.

Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:

SECTION 1. ORS 553.310 is amended to read:

553.310. (1) Whenever the owners of more than 50 percent of the acreage, exclusive of state and federally owned land, in [any contiguous] a body of land located within a district desire to have the district undertake the construction or purchase of works and facilities for purposes as set forth in ORS 553.020 which will benefit their lands, they shall petition the board for the creation of a subdistrict. The petition shall state the boundaries proposed for the subdistrict; the name and address of each person signing the petition; a brief general statement as to the works the petitioners desire to have constructed or purchased; and a prayer asking that the lands described be organized as a subdistrict. The description of the boundaries of the proposed subdistrict shall be certified to as a complete and sufficient legal description by a qualified engineer or land surveyor and such certificate shall be filed with the board at the time the petition is filed. The petition shall be considered by the board at its next meeting, and if it meets with the approval of the board, the board shall adopt an order creating the subdistrict in which shall be described the boundaries of the subdistrict. A subdistrict may include all or any part of the lands within a district. A copy of the order shall be recorded in each county in which lands within the subdistrict are located.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, a subdistrict created under provisions of this chapter can be formed in the formation proceedings if:

(a) The petition for formation states the purposes for which the petitioners request formation of both the district and subdistrict;

(b) The boundaries of both the district and subdistrict are coterminous;

(c) The description of the boundaries of the proposed subdistrict are certified as to complete and sufficient legal description by a qualified engineer or surveyor; and

(d) Owners of more than 50 percent of the acreage of the land in the proposed district and subdistrict sign the petition to form the water control district and subdistrict.

(3) After the creation of a subdistrict as provided by this chapter, the boundaries thereof may be changed by the inclusion of lands outside of the subdistrict upon the petition of the owners of 50 percent of the lands desiring to be included in the subdistrict. The lands to be added to the subdistrict must be [contiguous to the subdistrict and] within the boundaries of the district. The petition shall state the boundaries of the lands to be included in the subdistrict, the reason for adding the lands to the subdistrict, the names and addresses of each person signing the petition and a prayer asking that the lands described by the petition be annexed to the subdistrict. The petition shall be filed with the board of directors. A certificate containing a description of the boundaries of the subdistrict after the proposed addition, certified to as a complete and sufficient legal description of the subdistrict after the proposed annexation by a certified engineer or land surveyor, shall be filed with the board at the time the petition is filed. The board of directors shall enter an order fixing a time and place for a hearing on the petition and shall either give notice by publication of the hearing or a notice by mail to all landowners within the boundaries of the lands proposed for inclusion in the subdistrict. At the hearing or at any time and place to which the hearing may be adjourned, the board shall determine what lands proposed to be included within the subdistrict will be benefited by inclusion in the subdistrict, and the new boundaries of the subdistrict shall be described by the order.

SECTION 2. The amendments to ORS 553.310 by section 1 of this 2001 Act apply only to petitions for the creation of a subdistrict filed on or after the effective date of this 2001 Act.

Approved by the Governor May 30, 2001

Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 30, 2001

Effective date January 1, 2002

__________