Article 1. Petition And Hearing of California Harbors And Navigation Code >> Division 8. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 1. >> Article 1.

A district may be organized pursuant to this part. It shall include one municipal corporation and any contiguous unincorporated territory in any one county but a municipal corporation shall not be divided in the formation of a district. Territory which may be annexed to a municipal corporation, which is in a district, is by virtue of the annexation a part of the district.

The formation of a district is initiated by a petition presented at a regular meeting of the board of supervisors of the county in which the proposed district is situated. The petition shall be signed by a number of registered voters, residing within the proposed district, equal to not less than five per cent of the number of registered voters, residing in the district, who voted at the last preceding general State election at which a Governor was elected. The petition may consist of any number of instruments.

The petition shall state the name of the proposed district, and describe the proposed boundaries and it shall pray that the territory included be created a district pursuant to this part.

Upon presentation, the petition shall be filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors, and upon filing, or at its next regular meeting, the board of supervisors shall fix a time for hearing it, which shall not be less than thirty nor more than sixty days from the date of filing.

A notice of the time and place of the hearing of the petition, including a copy of the petition, excepting the names thereon, shall be published at least four times in a newspaper of general circulation published in the territory included within the proposed district, and in case no such newspaper is published in the territory, then in a newspaper published in the county in which the proposed district is situated.

At the hearing of the petition, the board of supervisors shall hear those appearing in support, and all protests or objections. The hearing may be adjourned from time to time, not exceeding sixty days in all.

If the board of supervisors finds that protests have been made, prior to its final determination for formation of the district, by the owners of real property within the proposed district the assessed value of which, as shown by the last equalized assessment roll, constitutes more than one-half of the total assessed value of the real property within the proposed district, the proceeding shall terminate. The board of supervisors shall order the proceeding terminated when such protests are received.

The board of supervisors may make such changes in the proposed boundaries of the district as are advisable, and it shall define and establish the boundaries. If the board of supervisors deems it proper to include any territory not included within the boundaries proposed in the petition, it shall first give notice of its intention so to do, by publication of notice in a newspaper published in the county in which the district is located, for two times. The hearing on a proposed inclusion of additional territory shall not be continued beyond sixty days after the board determines to give notice of its intention to increase the boundaries. Within ten days of the final hearing of the matter, the board of supervisors shall make its order fixing the boundaries of the district.

The boundaries of any district shall be fixed by the board of supervisors so as not to include more than fifty square miles of unincorporated territory. This area shall have a frontage upon the waterway which it is contemplated will be improved, and the board of supervisors shall only include within the boundaries land which will be benefited by the creation and operation of the district.

At the time of making its order fixing the boundaries of the district the board of supervisors shall call an election to determine whether the proposed district shall be organized. A defect in the contents of the petition or in the title to or in the form or publication of the notice shall not vitiate any proceedings thereon, if the petition has a sufficient number of qualified signatures.