Article 7. Consolidation of California Food And Agricultural Code >> Division 4. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 12. >> Article 7.

Any two or more districts organized or existing under this chapter may be consolidated, whether or not the boundaries are coterminous, and whether or not the districts are located in the same county.

The board of directors may adopt a resolution that recites the fact of receipt and the willingness of the district to consolidate, and shall then send copies of the resolution to the board of directors of each of the other districts. The board shall send a certified copy of the resolution to the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage of the proposed consolidated district, and a copy of the resolution to the board of supervisors of each of the other counties in which is located any part of the proposed consolidated district.

The board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage of the proposed consolidated district shall fix a time and place for hearing the proposal. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed for the formation of a district pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 6210).

If the board of supervisors determines that consolidation is feasible and in the best interests of the winegrape growers of the respective districts, it shall, by resolution duly adopted, declare the districts consolidated into one district, giving the consolidated district a name that includes the term "consolidated." Certified copies of the resolution shall be filed with the Secretary of State and, for record, with the county recorder of each county in which is located any part of the consolidated district. Upon the filing, the districts are consolidated into a single consolidated district with all the rights, privileges, and powers of a district. The consolidated district shall succeed to all the funds and other property, and is subject to all the indebtedness, bonded and otherwise, of the districts consolidated. Each district that is included in the consolidated district shall continue in existence for the purpose of representation on the board of the consolidated district, and for the purpose of levying, assessing, and collecting assessments for district purposes. The board of the consolidated district is, however, the board of each district that is included in the consolidated district.

Upon the adoption of a resolution consolidating two or more districts, the board of supervisors of the county in which is located the largest area of winegrape acreage shall immediately appoint a board of directors of at least five members, including at least one member from each of the districts that are included in the consolidated district, and at least two members from each county, if districts located in more than one county are included in the consolidated district. If any of the districts that are included in the consolidated district includes more than 15,000 acres of winegrape acreage, the board of directors shall be increased by one additional director for each 10,000 acres, or fraction of 10,000 acres, in any one district that is included in the consolidated district. If the consolidated districts are located in more than two counties, the board of directors of the consolidated district shall have at least seven members.

The board of a consolidated district has all the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities, and jurisdiction of the board of any other district organized pursuant to this chapter. The members of the consolidated board shall be appointed in the same manner and serve for the same term as the directors of any other district organized pursuant to this chapter.

Any district that has been included in a consolidated district may withdraw from the consolidated district and be reconstituted as a separate district by filing with the board of directors of the consolidated district a petition for withdrawal that is signed by the owners of not less than 51 percent, by area, of winegrape land in the district. The board of directors of the consolidated district shall send the original petition to the board of supervisors of the county in which the withdrawing district is located, and a copy of the petition to the board of supervisors of each of the other counties in which is located any part of the consolidated district. Upon receipt of a petition for withdrawal, the board of supervisors of the county in which the withdrawing district is located shall fix a time and place for hearing the petition. Notice shall be given and the hearing conducted in the same manner and with the same effect as prescribed for the formation of a district under Article 2 (commencing with Section 6210). Upon withdrawal of a district, all moneys collected from the district for the use of the consolidated district, and all property purchased with these moneys, shall remain the property of the consolidated district.