Chapter 669
AN ACT
HB 3013
Relating to incorporation of city; creating
new provisions; and amending ORS 221.031, 221.035 and 221.040.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. (1) ORS 221.034 and 221.036 are added to and
made a part of ORS 221.031 to 221.061.
(2) Section 2 of this
2007 Act is added to and made a part of ORS 221.031 to 221.061.
SECTION 2. After a person files a petition for
incorporation under ORS 221.031, a city or district may not commence annexation
proceedings for any part of the area that is included in the boundaries of the
area proposed to be incorporated until after a county court removes that part
of the area from within the boundaries of the proposed city or the later of the
following:
(1) The county court
rejects the petition; or
(2) The voters do not
approve the question of incorporation at an election called by the county
court.
SECTION 3. ORS 221.031 is amended to read:
221.031. (1) Before circulating a petition to incorporate unincorporated
territory as a city, the petitioners shall file a petition for incorporation
in a form prescribed by rule of the Secretary of State with:
(a) The county clerk of the county in which the
proposed city lies; or[, should it lie]
(b) If the proposed
city lies in more than one county, [to]
the county clerk of the county in which the largest part of its territory lies.
[, a petition for incorporation in a form
prescribed by rule of the Secretary of State. If the economic feasibility
statement required by ORS 221.035 is submitted with the petition,]
(2) The county
clerk shall immediately date and time stamp the prospective petition and shall
authorize the circulation of the petition when the economic feasibility
statement required by ORS 221.035 is filed with the county clerk. The
county clerk shall retain the prospective petition and economic feasibility
statement and shall immediately send two copies of the prospective petition to
the appropriate county court.
[(2)] (3) A petition for incorporation filed with the county
clerk under subsection (1) of this section shall designate the name and
residence address of not more than three persons as chief petitioners, who
shall be electors registered within the boundaries of the proposed city. The
petition shall contain the name of the proposed city. The petition shall also
include a proposed permanent rate limit for operating taxes that would generate
operating tax revenues sufficient to support an adequate level of municipal
services. The tax rate limit shall be expressed in dollars per thousand dollars
of assessed value. The tax rate limit shall be calculated for the latest tax
year for which the assessed value of the proposed city is available. There
shall be attached to the cover sheet of the petition a map indicating the
exterior boundaries of the proposed city. The map shall not exceed 14 inches by
17 inches in size and shall be used in lieu of a metes and bounds or legal
description of the proposed city. If the territory proposed to be incorporated
is within the jurisdiction of a local government boundary commission, the
petition shall be accompanied by the economic feasibility analysis required
under ORS 199.476 (1). Notwithstanding subsection [(1)] (2) of this section, unless the economic feasibility
analysis is approved by the local government boundary commission as provided in
ORS 199.522, the county clerk shall not authorize the circulation of the
petition.
[(3)] (4) Each sheet of signatures
shall be attached to a full and correct copy of the petition for incorporation.
Not more than 20 signatures on each sheet of the petition for incorporation
shall be counted. The circulator shall certify on each signature sheet that the
individuals signed the sheet in the presence of the circulator and that the
circulator believes each individual is an elector registered in the county. If
the territory proposed to be incorporated is within the jurisdiction of a local
government boundary commission, each signature sheet shall contain a statement
that the economic feasibility analysis for the proposed city was approved by
the boundary commission, that the analysis is available for inspection at the
offices of the boundary commission and that subsequent to the gathering of the
petitions the boundary commission must review and finally approve the proposal
prior to submission at an election.
SECTION 4. ORS 221.035 is amended to read:
221.035. (1) If a person
intends to file a petition for incorporation under ORS 221.031 (1), the person
may file a notice of intent to prepare an economic feasibility statement with
the county clerk of the county in which the proposed city lies or, should it
lie in more than one county, with the county clerk of the county in which the
largest part of its territory lies.
(2) When a petition for
incorporation is filed under ORS 221.031 (1), an economic feasibility statement
concerning the proposed city described in the petition shall also be filed with
the county clerk. The economic feasibility statement shall be prepared by the
persons designated as the chief petitioners and shall form the basis for the
proposed permanent rate limit for operating taxes required by ORS 221.031 [(2)] (3). The economic
feasibility statement shall contain:
(a) A description of the
services and functions to be performed or provided by the proposed city;
(b) An analysis of the
relationship between those services and functions and other existing or needed
government services; and
(c) Proposed first and
third year budgets for the
SECTION 5. ORS 221.040 is amended to read:
221.040. (1) When a
petition for incorporation described in ORS 221.031 is signed by 20 percent or,
in a county with a population over 300,000, by 10 percent, of the electors
registered in the area proposed to be incorporated, the petition shall be filed
with the county court of the county in which the proposed petition was filed
under ORS 221.031. A petition shall not be accepted for filing unless all the
signatures on the petition were obtained within the six-month period
immediately following the date on which the petitions were filed under ORS
221.031. Upon the filing of the petition, the county court shall fix the time
and place for the hearing of such petition and shall give notice thereof by
publication once each week for two successive weeks in a newspaper published in
the county where the petition is filed and of general circulation within the
boundaries, and by posting the notice for the same period of time in three
public places in the area proposed to be incorporated. The notice shall state
the time and place of the hearing, describe the boundaries set forth in the
petition and state the purpose of the petition. If any portion of the proposed
incorporation of a city lies within another county or counties, then the notice
shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in each of the
counties and in the same time and manner.
(2) At the time and
place fixed for the hearing, or at any time and place at which the hearing may
be continued or postponed, any person interested may appear and present oral or
written objections to the granting of the petition, the forming of the proposed
incorporated city or the estimated rate of taxation set forth in the petition.
The court may alter the boundaries as set forth in the petition to include all
territory which may be benefited by being included within the boundaries of the
proposed incorporated city, but shall not modify boundaries so as to exclude
any land which would be benefited by the formation of the proposed city. No
land shall be included in the proposed city which will not, in the judgment of
the court, be benefited. If the court determines that any land has been
improperly omitted from the proposed city and the owner has not appeared at the
hearing, it shall continue the hearing and shall order notice given to the
nonappearing owner requiring the owner to appear before it and show cause, if
any the owner has, why the owner’s land should not be included in the proposed
city. The notice shall be given by publication and posting in the same manner
as the original notice for hearing and for the same period. For the purposes of
this subsection, “owner” means the legal owner of record except that if there
is a vendee under a duly recorded contract, the vendee shall be deemed to be
the owner.
(3) Upon the final
hearing of the petition, the court, if it approves the petition as originally
presented or in an altered form, shall provide by order for the holding of an
election relating to the incorporation of the proposed city. The order calling
the election shall fix the date of the election on the date of the next primary
election or general election that is not sooner than the 90th day after the
date of the order. The order shall contain:
(a) A description of the
exterior boundaries of the proposed city as determined by the court. The
description shall be a metes and bounds or legal description prepared by the
county surveyor or county assessor. The description prepared under this
paragraph shall accurately describe the exterior boundaries of the proposed
city as indicated on the map filed under ORS 221.031 [(2)] (3) unless those boundaries were altered by the county
court, in which case the description shall accurately describe the boundaries as
altered;
(b) A provision
requiring the county official in charge of elections to include on the ballot
for the election a description of the boundaries of the proposed city using
streets and other generally recognized features and a statement of the proposed
permanent rate limit for operating taxes included in the petition for
incorporation of the proposed city as required by ORS 221.031, which statement
shall comply with the requirements of ORS 250.035; and
(c) The date on which
the election will be held in the proposed city.
Approved by the Governor June 27, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 27, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
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