257.040. Petition for organization, number of signers, contents--consolidation of petitions.
Petition for organization, number of signers, contents--consolidationof petitions.
257.040. 1. To initiate proceedings for establishing ariver basin conservancy district, a petition shall be filed inthe office of the clerk of the court, the petitioners to beresidents, and may be public corporations, of a county which iswithin or partly within the river basin generally described andproposed to be organized into a district, their signatures to berequired as follows:
(1) In the case of a district proposed for a river basinlying within or partly within more than two counties, thepetition shall be signed by one hundred or more petitioners ineach of a majority of such counties;
(2) In the case of a district proposed for a river basinlying within or partly within two counties, the petition shallbe signed by fifty or more petitioners in each county;
(3) In the case of a district proposed for a river basinlying wholly within one county the petition shall be signed bytwenty-five or more petitioners in such county.
2. In the case of a public corporation as a petitioner, thepetition shall be signed by the appropriate person or personsafter due and proper action by the governing body of such publiccorporation.
3. The petition shall set forth:
(1) The name of the proposed district, the first word ofthe title being the name of the river followed by the words"Conservancy District"; or, in the event of the proposeddistrict being a river basin constituting an unnamed area asdescribed in this chapter, the name of the river to be usedshall be the name of the principal stream or one of theprincipal streams within the proposed district;
(2) That the creation of a district for the area describedwill be conducive to the public health, safety, convenience orgeneral welfare, or for public use or benefit; and may set forthany other pertinent purpose and condition as conform to theprovisions of this chapter;
(3) A general description of the territory to be includedin the proposed district, which territory shall be a primarydrainage basin, a secondary drainage basin, a tributary drainagearea, or an unnamed drainage area, as defined in this chapter;
(4) That the owners of real estate and other property whosenames are subscribed to the petition are willing to and doobligate themselves, in the manner hereinafter provided for, topay the expense of the proceedings, whether the proposeddistrict is organized or the proceedings dismissed;
(5) A prayer for an order by the court declaring thepetition and its purpose to be worthy and valid, and furtherordering a referendum as such is provided for in this chapter.
4. Several similar petitions or duplicate copies of thesame petition for the organization of the same district may befiled and shall together be regarded as one petition. Allpetitions filed prior to the hearing on the petition shall beconsidered by the court the same as though filed with the firstpetition placed on file. The court may at any time permit thepetition to be amended in form and substance to conform to thefacts. In determining when a requisite number of freeholdershave signed the petition, the court shall be governed by thenames as they appear upon the tax records, which shall be primafacie evidence of ownership.
(L. 1959 S.B. 199 § 4, A.L. 1990 H.B. 1070)