48-906. Establishment of district; dismissal of proceedings; costs; addition or elimination of certain areas

A. Upon the hearing, if it appears after consideration of all objections that the petition is signed by the requisite number of owners of real property, and that the public convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted by the establishment of the district, the board of supervisors by formal order shall declare its findings, establish the boundaries and declare the improvement district organized under a corporate name by which it shall be known in all proceedings. Thereafter the district shall be a body corporate with the powers of a municipal corporation for the purposes of carrying out this article.

B. If the board finds that the territory set out in the petition should not be incorporated into an improvement district, it shall dismiss the proceedings and tax the costs against the signers of the petition, and may collect the costs on the bond of the petitioners. If the district is established, certified bills covering the costs of the board of supervisors and the disbursements of the petitioners shall be presented to the board of directors of the district and paid from the funds of the district.

C. If it appears to the board of supervisors at the hearing that territory not included in the petition should be included within the improvement district, the real property owners in the additional territory shall be notified in like manner as provided in connection with the original hearing, and a subsequent hearing shall be held on the question of including the additional territory. In establishing the improvement district, the board shall eliminate any territory described in the petition which it finds will not be benefited by the establishment of the district.

D. Additions to and alterations of an improvement district shall be made as follows:

1. A petition addressed to the district governing board requesting the addition or alteration may be filed with the clerk of the governing body, if signed by a majority of the persons owning property and by the owners of fifty-one per cent or more of the assessed valuation of the property within the limits of the proposed addition or alteration.

2. A petition with the required number of signatures shall not be declared void on account of any alleged defect, but the governing body shall allow the petition to be amended in form and substance to conform to the requirements of this article. One or more similar petitions, or copies of the same petition with additional signatures, for the addition to or alteration of the improvement district may be filed before the time of the hearing on the first petition, and shall be considered as though filed with the first petition. The petition shall be presumed to contain the signatures of the persons whose signatures appear on the petition, unless the contrary is proved.

3. The petition shall set forth:

(a) The name of the improvement district to which the addition or alteration is proposed.

(b) The necessity for the proposed addition or alteration.

(c) That the public convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted by the addition or alteration of the district and that the property to be included in the district will be benefited.

(d) The boundaries of the proposed addition or alteration.

4. Each copy of the petition shall be verified by one of the petitioners and shall be accompanied by a plat or sketch indicating the approximate area and boundaries of the district.

5. On receipt of a petition for an addition or alteration of a district, the governing body shall set a date for a hearing on the petition not later than forty days after presentation of the petition. At the hearing all interested property owners may appear and be heard on any matter relating to the addition to or alteration of the district. Any person wishing to object to the addition or alteration may file, before the date set for the hearing, the person's objections with the clerk of the governing body.

6. Notice announcing the hearing and stating the boundaries of the proposed addition or alteration shall be published twice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county within which the district is located. The publications shall be one week apart, and the first publication shall be not less than ten days before the date of the hearing. The notice shall also be mailed by first class mail at least twenty days before the hearing to the property owners within the area of the proposed addition or alteration according to the names and addresses that appear on the most recent property tax assessment roll.

7. Notice announcing the hearing and stating boundaries of the proposed addition or alteration shall be mailed by first class mail at least twenty days before the hearing to the corporation commission, if the petition requests an addition or alteration of a district for the purposes described in section 48-909, subsection A, paragraph 5 or 6 and the boundaries of the proposed addition or alteration to a district are wholly or partially within either of the following:

(a) The boundaries of the existing service territory of a public service corporation that provides domestic water or wastewater services as defined by a certificate of convenience and necessity issued by the corporation commission.

(b) The boundaries of the proposed service territory of a public service corporation that provides domestic water or wastewater services as defined in an application for a certificate of convenience and necessity that is pending before the corporation commission or that has been considered by the commission within one year before the date the petition for an addition or alteration of a district is filed with the clerk of the governing board.

8. At the hearing, if it appears after consideration of all objections that the petition is signed by the requisite number of property owners, and that the public convenience, necessity or welfare will be promoted by the addition to or alteration of the district, the governing body by formal order shall declare its findings and order the addition to or alteration of the district.

9. If the governing board finds that the public convenience, necessity or welfare will not be promoted by the addition to or alteration of the district, the governing body by formal order shall declare its findings.

E. Notwithstanding subsection D of this section, any property owner whose land is within a county that contains an improvement district and whose land is adjacent to the boundaries of the improvement district may request in writing that the governing body of the district amend the district boundaries to include that property owner's land. If the governing body determines that the inclusion of that property will benefit the district and the property owner, the boundary change may be made by order of the governing body and is final on the recording of the governing body's order that includes a legal description of the property that is added to the district. A petition is not required for an amendment to an improvement district's boundaries made pursuant to this subsection.

F. On approval of any boundary change of the district, the district board may order the successful petitioners or requester to pay all of the costs of the boundary change.