AN
ACT Relating to conservation district deannexation of municipalities,
dissolution, and liability; amending RCW 89.08.020, 89.08.080, 89.08.110,
89.08.130, 89.08.150, 89.08.180, 89.08.220, 89.08.350, 89.08.360, and
89.08.370; adding a new section to chapter 89.08 RCW; and repealing RCW
89.08.380.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
89.08.020 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless
the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used in this chapter:
"Commission"
and "state conservation commission" means the agency created
hereunder. All former references to "state soil and water conservation
committee", "state committee" or "committee" shall be
deemed to be references to the "state conservation commission";
"District",
or "conservation district" means a governmental subdivision of this
state and a public body corporate and politic, organized in accordance with the
provisions of ((this 1973 amendatory act)) chapter 184, Laws of 1973
1st ex. sess., for the purposes, with the powers, and subject to the
restrictions set forth in this chapter. All districts created under ((this
1973 amendatory act)) chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. shall
be known as conservation districts and shall have all the powers and duties set
out in ((this 1973 amendatory act)) chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex.
sess. All references in ((this 1973 amendatory act)) chapter
184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. to "districts", or "soil and
water conservation districts" shall be deemed to be reference to
"conservation districts";
"Board"
and "supervisors" mean the board of supervisors of a conservation
district;
"Land
occupier" or "occupier of land" includes any person, firm,
political subdivision, government agency, municipality, public or private
corporation, copartnership, association, or any other entity whatsoever which
holds title to, or is in possession of, any lands lying within a district
organized under the provisions of ((this 1973 amendatory act)) chapter
184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess., whether as owner, lessee, renter, tenant,
or otherwise;
"District
elector" or "voter" means a ((qualified county elector
occupying land)) registered voter in the county where the district is
located who resides within the district boundary or in the area affected
by a petition;
"Due
notice" means a notice published at least twice, with at least six days
between publications, in a publication of general circulation within the
affected area, or if there is no such publication, by posting at a reasonable
number of public places within the area, where it is customary to post notices
concerning county and municipal affairs. Any hearing held pursuant to due
notice may be postponed from time to time without a new notice;
"Renewable
natural resources", "natural resources" or "resources"
includes land, air, water, vegetation, fish, wildlife, wild rivers, wilderness,
natural beauty, scenery and open space;
"Conservation"
includes conservation, development, improvement, maintenance, preservation,
protection and use, and alleviation of floodwater and sediment damages, and the
disposal of excess surface waters.
"Farm
and agricultural land" means either (a) land in any contiguous ownership
of twenty or more acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses; (b) any parcel
of land five acres or more but less than twenty acres devoted primarily to
agricultural uses, which has produced a gross income from agricultural uses
equivalent to one hundred dollars or more per acre per year for three of the
five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under
this chapter; or (c) any parcel of land of less than five acres devoted
primarily to agricultural uses which has produced a gross income of one
thousand dollars or more per year for three of the five calendar years
preceding the date of application for classification under this chapter.
Agricultural lands shall also include farm woodlots of less than twenty and
more than five acres and the land on which appurtenances necessary to
production, preparation or sale of the agricultural products exist in
conjunction with the lands producing such products. Agricultural lands shall
also include any parcel of land of one to five acres, which is not contiguous,
but which otherwise constitutes an integral part of farming operations being
conducted on land qualifying under this section as "farm and agricultural
lands".
Sec.
2. RCW
89.08.080 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
To
form a conservation district, ((twenty-five or more persons occupying land))
twenty percent of the voters within the area to be affected may file a
petition with the commission asking that the area be organized into a district.
The
petition shall give the name of the proposed district, state that it is needed
in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, give a general
description of the area proposed to be organized and request that the
commission determine that it be created, and that it define the boundaries
thereof and call an election on the question of creating the district.
If
more than one petition is filed covering parts of the same area, the commission
may consolidate all or any of them.
Sec.
3. RCW
89.08.110 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
If
the commission finds that the district is needed, it shall then determine
whether it is practicable. To assist the commission in determining this
question, it shall, within a reasonable time, submit the proposition to a vote
of the ((land occupiers)) district electors in the proposed
district.
The
commission shall fix the date of the election, designate the polling places,
fix the hours for opening and closing the polls, and appoint the election
officials. The election shall be conducted, the vote counted and returns
canvassed and the results published by the commission.
Sec.
4. RCW
89.08.130 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
The
commission shall give due notice of the election, which shall state generally
the purpose of the election, the date thereof, the place and hours of voting,
and set forth the boundaries of the proposed district.
Only
qualified district electors within the proposed district as determined
by the commission may vote at the election. Each voter shall vote in the
polling place nearest ((his)) the voter's residence. ((If he
resides outside the district, he shall vote at the nearest polling place of the
district.))
Sec.
5. RCW
89.08.150 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
If
a majority of the votes cast at the election are against the creation of the
district, the commission shall deny the petition. If a majority favor the
district, the commission shall determine the practicability of the project.
In
making such determination, the commission shall consider the attitude of the ((land
occupiers)) voters of the district; the number of eligible voters
who voted at the election; the size of the majority vote; the wealth and income
of the land occupiers; the probable expense of carrying out the project; and
any other economic factors relevant thereto.
If
the commission finds that the project is impracticable it shall enter an order
to that effect and deny the petition. When the petition has been denied, no
new petition covering the same or substantially the same area may be filed
within six months therefrom.
Sec.
6. RCW
89.08.180 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:
Territory
may be added to an existing district upon filing a petition as in the case of
formation with the commission by ((occupiers of the lands)) twenty
percent of the voters of the affected area to be included. The same
procedure shall be followed as for the creation of the district.
As
an alternate procedure, the commission may upon the petition of a majority of
the ((land occupiers)) voters in any one or more districts or in
unorganized territory adjoining a conservation district change the boundaries
of a district, or districts, if such action will promote the practical and
feasible administration of such district or districts.
Upon
petition of the boards of supervisors of two or more districts, the commission
may approve the combining of all or parts of such districts and name the
district, or districts, with the approval of the name by the secretary of
state. A public hearing and/or a referendum may be held if deemed necessary or
desirable by the commission in order to determine the wishes of ((land
occupiers)) the voters.
When
districts are combined, the joint boards of supervisors will first select a
chairman, secretary and other necessary officers and select a regular date for
meetings. All elected supervisors will continue to serve as members of the
board until the expiration of their current term of office, and/or until the
election date nearest their expiration date. All appointed supervisors will
continue to serve until the expiration of their current term of office, at
which time the commission will make the necessary appointments. In the event
that more than two districts are combined, a similar procedure will be set up
and administered by the commission.
When
districts are combined or territory is moved from one district to another, the
property, records and accounts of the districts involved shall be distributed
to the remaining district or districts as approved by the commission. A new
certificate of organization, naming and describing the new district or
districts, shall be issued by the secretary of state.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 7. A
new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:
The
local governing body of any city or incorporated town within an existing
district may approve by majority vote a petition to withdraw from the
district. The petition shall be submitted to the district for its approval.
If approved by the district, the petition shall be sent to the commission. The
commission shall approve the petition and forward it to the secretary of state
and the boundary of the district shall be adjusted accordingly. If the
petition is not approved by the district, the district shall adopt a resolution
specifying the reasons why the petition is not approved. The petition and the
district's resolution shall be sent to the commission for its review. The
commission shall approve or reject the petition based upon criteria it has
adopted for the evaluation of petitions in dispute. If the commission approves
the petition, it shall forward the petition to the secretary of state and the
boundaries of the district shall be adjusted accordingly. The criteria used by
the commission to evaluate petitions which are in dispute shall be adopted as
rules by the commission under chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative procedure
act.
Sec.
8. RCW
89.08.220 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 23 are each amended to read as follows:
A
conservation district organized under the provisions of this 1973 amendatory
act shall constitute a governmental subdivision of this state, and a public
body corporate and politic exercising public powers, but shall not levy taxes
or issue bonds and such district, and the supervisors thereof, shall have the
following powers, in addition to others granted in other sections of this 1973
amendatory act:
(1)
To conduct surveys, investigations, and research relating to the conservation
of renewable natural resources and the preventive and control measures and
works of improvement needed, to publish the results of such surveys,
investigations, or research, and to disseminate information concerning such
preventive and control measures and works of improvement: PROVIDED, That in
order to avoid duplication of research activities, no district shall initiate
any research program except in cooperation with the government of this state or
any of its agencies, or with the United States or any of its agencies;
(2)
To conduct educational and demonstrational projects on any lands within the
district upon obtaining the consent of the occupier of such lands and such
necessary rights or interests in such lands as may be required in order to
demonstrate by example the means, methods, measures, and works of improvement
by which the conservation of renewable natural resources may be carried out;
(3)
To carry out preventative and control measures and works of improvement for the
conservation of renewable natural resources, within the district including, but
not limited to, engineering operations, methods of cultivation, the growing of
vegetation, changes in use of lands, and the measures listed in RCW 89.08.010,
on any lands within the district upon obtaining the consent of the occupier of
such lands and such necessary rights or interests in such lands as may be
required;
(4)
To cooperate or enter into agreements with, and within the limits of
appropriations duly made available to it by law, to furnish financial or other
aid to any agency, governmental or otherwise, or any occupier of lands within
the district in the carrying on of preventive and control measures and works of
improvement for the conservation of renewable natural resources within the
district, subject to such conditions as the supervisors may deem necessary to
advance the purposes of this 1973 amendatory act. For purposes of this
subsection only, land occupiers who are also district supervisors are not
subject to the provisions of RCW 42.23.030;
(5)
To obtain options upon and to acquire in any manner, except by condemnation, by
purchase, exchange, lease, gift, bequest, devise, or otherwise, any property,
real or personal, or rights or interests therein; to maintain, administer, and
improve any properties acquired, to receive income from such properties and to
expend such income in carrying out the purposes and provisions of this 1973
amendatory act; and to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of any of its property
or interests therein in furtherance of the purposes and the provisions of this
act;
(6)
To make available, on such terms, as it shall prescribe, to land occupiers
within the district, agricultural and engineering machinery and equipment,
fertilizer, seeds, seedlings, and such other equipment and material as will
assist them to carry on operations upon their lands for the conservation of
renewable natural resources;
(7)
To prepare and keep current a comprehensive long-range program recommending the
conservation of all the renewable natural resources of the district. Such
programs shall be directed toward the best use of renewable natural resources
and in a manner that will best meet the needs of the district and the state,
taking into consideration, where appropriate, such uses as farming, grazing,
timber supply, forest, parks, outdoor recreation, potable water supplies for
urban and rural areas, water for agriculture, minimal flow, and industrial
uses, watershed stabilization, control of soil erosion, retardation of water
run-off, flood prevention and control, reservoirs and other water storage,
restriction of developments of flood plains, protection of open space and
scenery, preservation of natural beauty, protection of fish and wildlife,
preservation of wilderness areas and wild rivers, the prevention or reduction
of sedimentation and other pollution in rivers and other waters, and such
location of highways, schools, housing developments, industries, airports and
other facilities and structures as will fit the needs of the state and be
consistent with the best uses of the renewable natural resources of the state.
The program shall include an inventory of all renewable natural resources in the
district, a compilation of current resource needs, projections of future
resource requirements, priorities for various resource activities, projected
timetables, descriptions of available alternatives, and provisions for
coordination with other resource programs.
The
district shall also prepare an annual work plan, which shall describe the
action programs, services, facilities, materials, working arrangements and
estimated funds needed to carry out the parts of the long-range programs that
are of the highest priorities.
The
districts shall hold public hearings at appropriate times in connection with
the preparation of programs and plans, shall give careful consideration to the
views expressed and problems revealed in hearings, and shall keep the public
informed concerning their programs, plans, and activities. Occupiers of land
shall be invited to submit proposals for consideration to such hearings. The
districts may supplement such hearings with meetings, referenda and other
suitable means to determine the wishes of interested parties and the general
public in regard to current and proposed plans and programs of a district.
They shall confer with public and private agencies, individually and in groups,
to give and obtain information and understanding of the impact of district
operations upon agriculture, forestry, water supply and quality, flood control,
particular industries, commercial concerns and other public and private
interests, both rural and urban.
Each
district shall submit to the commission its proposed long-range program and
annual work plans for review and comment.
The
long-range renewable natural resource program, together with the supplemental
annual work plans, developed by each district under the foregoing procedures
shall have official status as the authorized program of the district, and it
shall be published by the districts as its "renewable resources
program". Copies shall be made available by the districts to the
appropriate counties, municipalities, special purpose districts and state agencies,
and shall be made available in convenient places for examination by public land
occupier or private interest concerned. Summaries of the program and selected
material therefrom shall be distributed as widely as feasible for public
information;
(8)
To administer any project or program concerned with the conservation of
renewable natural resources located within its boundaries undertaken by any
federal, state, or other public agency by entering into a contract or other
appropriate administrative arrangement with any agency administering such
project or program;
(9)
Cooperate with other districts organized under this 1973 amendatory act in the
exercise of any of its powers;
(10)
To accept donations, gifts, and contributions in money, services, materials, or
otherwise, from the United States or any of its agencies, from this state or
any of its agencies, or from any other source, and to use or expend such
moneys, services, materials, or any contributions in carrying out the purposes
of this act;
(11)
To sue and be sued in the name of the district; to have a seal which shall be
judicially noticed; have perpetual succession unless terminated as hereinafter
provided; to make and execute contracts and other instruments, necessary or
convenient to the exercise of its powers; to borrow money and to pledge,
mortgage and assign the income of the district and its real or personal
property therefor; and to make, amend rules and regulations not inconsistent
with this 1973 amendatory act and to carry into effect its purposes;
(12)
Any two or more districts may engage in joint activities by agreement between
or among them in planning, financing, constructing, operating, maintaining, and
administering any program or project concerned with the conservation of
renewable natural resources. The districts concerned may make available for
purposes of the agreement any funds, property, personnel, equipment, or
services available to them under this 1973 amendatory act;
Any
district may enter into such agreements with a district or districts in
adjoining states to carry out such purposes if the law in such other states
permits the districts in such states to enter into such agreements.
The
commission shall have authority to propose, guide, and facilitate the
establishment and carrying out of any such agreement;
(13)
Every district shall, through public hearings, annual meetings, publications,
or other means, keep the general public, agencies and occupiers of land within
the district, informed of the works and activities planned and administered by
the district, of the purposes these will serve, of the income and expenditures
of the district, of the funds borrowed by the district and the purposes for
which such funds are expended, and of the results achieved annually by the district;
and
(14)
The supervisors of conservation districts may designate an area, state, and
national association of conservation districts as a coordinating agency in the
execution of the duties imposed by this chapter, and to make gifts in the form
of dues, quotas, or otherwise to such associations for costs of services
rendered, and may support and attend such meetings as may be required to
promote and perfect the organization and to effect its purposes.
Sec.
9. RCW
89.08.350 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 25 are each amended to read as follows:
At
any time after five years from the organization of a district, ((one hundred
land occupiers)) twenty percent of the voters in the district may
file with the commission a petition, praying that the district be dissolved.
The commission may hold public hearings thereon, and within sixty days from
receipt of the petition, shall give due notice of an election on the question
of dissolution. It shall provide appropriate ballots, conduct the election,
canvass the returns, and declare the results in the same manner as for
elections to create a district.
All
district electors may vote at the election. No informality relating to the
election shall invalidate it if notice is substantially given and the election
is fairly conducted.
Sec.
10. RCW
89.08.360 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:
If
a majority of the votes cast at the election are for dissolution, the district
shall be dissolved. ((If two-thirds of the votes are against dissolution,
the commission shall determine whether the continuance of the district is
practicable. In making the determination it shall consider all the factors
considered by it in determining that the district was practicable originally.
If it finds that further operation of the district is impracticable it shall
order it dissolved and certify its determination to the supervisors.))
Sec.
11. RCW
89.08.370 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:
If
the district is ordered dissolved, the supervisors shall forthwith terminate
the affairs of the district and dispose of all district property at public
auction, and pay the proceeds therefrom to pay any debts of the district and
any remaining balance to the state treasurer.
They
shall then file a verified application with the secretary of state for the
dissolution of the district, accompanied by a certificate of the commission
reciting the determination that further operation of the district is
impracticable. The application shall recite that the property of the district
has been disposed of, that the proceeds therefrom have been used to pay any
debts of the district and any remaining balance paid to the treasurer, and
contain a full accounting of the property and proceeds. Thereupon the
secretary shall issue to the supervisors a certificate of dissolution and file
a copy thereof in his or her records.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. RCW
89.08.380 (Effect of dissolution--Commission substituted) and
1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 28 & 1955 c 304 s 28 are each repealed.
