70th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--1999 Regular Session
Enrolled
House Bill 2650
Sponsored by Representative WELSH (at the request of Oregon Water
Resources Congress)
CHAPTER ................
AN ACT
Relating to certain improvements made by irrigation districts.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + Sections 2 to 4 of this 1999 Act are added to
and made a part of ORS chapter 545. + }
SECTION 2. { + (1) Subdistricts within an irrigation district
may be created as provided in this section.
(2) When the owners of more than 50 percent of the acreage in
any contiguous tracts of land situated within a district and
subject to the charges or assessments of the district desire to
have the district undertake the construction of works for
irrigation of their land or provide for the reconstruction,
betterment, extension, purchase, operation or maintenance of
works already constructed that will benefit their lands, they may
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 provided 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 as a
complete and sufficient legal description by a qualified engineer
or land surveyor and the 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. If the board
approves the petition, the board shall adopt an order creating
the subdistrict. The order shall contain a description of 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.
(3) A subdistrict may also be created under this section by
resolution of the board.
(4) After the creation of a subdistrict under this section, the
boundaries of the subdistrict may be changed by the inclusion of
lands outside of the subdistrict. A proceeding under this
subsection may be initiated by petition of the owners of more
than 50 percent of the lands sought to be included in the
subdistrict. The lands to be included in 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
Enrolled House Bill 2650 (HB 2650-A) Page 1
to the subdistrict, the name and address of each person signing
the petition and a prayer asking that the lands described by the
petition be included in the subdistrict. The petition shall be
filed with the board. The description of the boundaries of the
subdistrict after the proposed addition shall be certified as a
complete and sufficient legal description by a qualified engineer
or land surveyor and the certificate 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 publish notice of the hearing or mail a
notice of the hearing 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. The board shall adopt an order for inclusion of
the benefited lands in the subdistrict and the new boundaries of
the subdistrict shall be described in the order.
(5) A subdistrict created under this section may be designated
'Subdistrict No. __ of the _____ Irrigation District. '
(6) A subdistrict created under this section may be an
electoral district for purposes of district elections under ORS
545.167.
(7) The district board of the main district is the governing
board of each subdistrict of the district.
(8) Except as otherwise provided in sections 2 to 4 of this
1999 Act, after the creation of a subdistrict, proceedings
relating to a subdistrict shall conform to provisions of this
chapter applicable to districts. In all other matters affecting
only a subdistrict, provisions of this chapter applicable to a
district apply to the subdistrict as though the subdistrict were
a district. + }
SECTION 3. { + After the creation of a subdistrict, the board
may develop an engineering plan for the improvements requested in
the petition for the creation of the subdistrict or proposed by
the board. The board may make an engineering plan for the
subdistrict or may adopt as an engineering plan any plan made by
any department or agency of the federal government or the State
of Oregon or a project work plan proposed for any soil and water
conservation district in which lands within the subdistrict are
located. Upon completion of the plan, the board shall give notice
of the plan to the owners of the tracts of land within the
subdistrict and shall permit the inspection of the plan at the
office of the subdistrict by the landowners. The notice may be
given by mail or by publication, as may be determined by the
board. The notice shall fix a time and place for a hearing at
which objections to the plan may be heard by the board. The
hearing shall be held not less than 20 nor more than 30 days
after the date of mailing or the date of the last publication of
the notice. At the hearing, the board may make changes in the
engineering plan that the board considers necessary after
reviewing objections or suggestions made by any person at the
hearing. After the hearing, the board may approve the plan, as
corrected or changed, by adopting an order of approval. However,
if the owners of more than 50 percent of the lands within the
subdistrict subject to the charges or assessments of the district
file written objections to the order approving the engineering
plan with the secretary of the district within 15 days after the
date of the order, no further action shall be taken under the
order and the plan shall be considered to have been rejected by
Enrolled House Bill 2650 (HB 2650-A) Page 2
the landowners. When an engineering plan for a subdistrict is
rejected by the landowners, the board may obtain a new
engineering plan and present it to the landowners in the manner
provided in this section. + }
SECTION 4. { + The cost of constructing, purchasing,
operating, maintaining and improving the works described in an
engineering plan for a subdistrict shall be charged to the owners
of the lands, or assessed against the lands, benefited by the
works in proportion to the benefits to be received by each tract
of land. The charges or assessments shall be in addition to the
regular charges or assessments of the district under ORS 545.471.
Only the lands or owners within a subdistrict shall be liable
for, charged with or in any manner assessed for the payment of
judgments, claims, damages, costs, expenses, debts or other
liabilities of or against a district that arise out of or are
incurred in the constructing, purchasing, operating, maintaining
or improving of the works of the subdistrict. + }
----------
Passed by House March 24, 1999
...........................................................
Chief Clerk of House
...........................................................
Speaker of House
Passed by Senate May 25, 1999
...........................................................
President of Senate
Enrolled House Bill 2650 (HB 2650-A) Page 3
Received by Governor:
......M.,............., 1999
Approved:
......M.,............., 1999
...........................................................
Governor
Filed in Office of Secretary of State:
......M.,............., 1999
...........................................................
Secretary of State
Enrolled House Bill 2650 (HB 2650-A) Page 4