(1) The
boundaries of a special district, except health service districts, may be altered by
the exclusion of real property by the fee owner or owners of one hundred percent of
any real property situate in the special district filing with the board a petition
requesting that such real property of the fee owner or owners be excluded and
taken from the special district. The petition shall set forth a legal description of the
property, shall state that assent to the exclusion of the property from the special
district is given by the fee owner or owners thereof, and shall be acknowledged by
the fee owner or owners in the same manner as required for conveyance of land.
The petition shall be accompanied by a deposit of money sufficient to pay all costs
of the exclusion proceedings.
(1.5) (a) In addition to the procedure specified in subsection (1) of this section,
the board, through adoption of a resolution, may alter the boundaries of a fire
protection district through the exclusion of real property from the district if the
property to be excluded will be provided with the same service by another fire
protection district or by a county fire improvement district and the board or
governing body of that district has agreed by resolution to include the property into
the district immediately after the effective date of the exclusion order.
(b) (I) Not more than forty-five days nor less than thirty days prior to a
meeting of the board to consider final adoption of a resolution proposing property
to be excluded, the secretary of the fire protection district shall send letter
notification to the fee owner or owners of one hundred percent of all proposed real
property to be excluded from the district as listed on the records of the county
assessor on the date requested.
(II) The letter notification shall indicate that it is a notice of a meeting
required to be held pursuant to subsection (2) of this section concerning the
exclusion of the property from the district, shall indicate the date, time, and
location of the meeting, and shall contain both a reference to the fire protection
district or county fire improvement district proposed for inclusion and the current
mill levy of the district, if any.
(III) The mailing of the letter notification to all addresses or post office box
addresses within the area proposed to be excluded from the district shall constitute
a good-faith effort to comply with this section, and failure to so notify all fee
owners shall not provide grounds for a challenge to the meeting being held.
(2) The board shall hear the petition or resolution at a public meeting after
publication of notice of the filing of the petition or preliminary adoption of the
resolution, the place, time, and date of the meeting, the names and addresses of the
petitioners, if applicable, a general description of the area proposed for exclusion,
and notice that all persons interested shall appear at the designated time and place
and show cause in writing why the petition should not be granted or the resolution
should not be finally adopted. The board may continue the hearing to a subsequent
meeting. There shall be no withdrawal from a petition after publication of notice by
the board without the consent of the board. The failure of any person in the existing
special district to file a written objection shall be taken as an assent on his or her
part to the exclusion of the area described in the notice.
(3) The board shall take into consideration and make a finding regarding all
of the following factors when determining whether to grant or deny the petition or
to finally adopt the resolution or any portion thereof:
(a) The best interests of all of the following:
(I) The property to be excluded;
(II) The special district from which the exclusion is proposed;
(III) The county or counties in which the special district is located;
(b) The relative cost and benefit to the property to be excluded from the
provision of the special district's services;
(c) The ability of the special district to provide economical and sufficient
service to both the property to be excluded and all of the properties within the
special district's boundaries;
(d) Whether the special district is able to provide services at a reasonable
cost compared with the cost that would be imposed by other entities in the
surrounding area to provide similar services in the surrounding area or by the fire
protection district or county fire improvement district that has agreed to include
the property to be excluded from the special district;
(e) The effect of denying the petition on employment and other economic
conditions in the special district and surrounding area;
(f) The economic impact on the region and on the special district,
surrounding area, and state as a whole if the petition is denied or the resolution is
finally adopted;
(g) Whether an economically feasible alternative service may be available;
and
(h) The additional cost to be levied on other property within the special
district if the exclusion is granted.
(4) (a) (I) Except as provided in subparagraph (II) of this paragraph (a) and if
the board, after considering all of the factors set forth in subsection (3) of this
section, determines that the property described in the petition or resolution or some
portion thereof should be excluded from the special district, it shall order that the
petition be granted or that the resolution be finally adopted, in whole or in part.
(II) (A) If the property to be excluded from the special district will be served
by a special district not yet organized, the board shall not order that the petition be
granted or that the resolution be finally adopted until the special district has been
organized pursuant to part 3 of this article.
(B) If the property to be excluded from the special district will be served by a
fire protection district or county fire improvement district as provided in subsection
(1.5) of this section, the board shall not order that the petition be granted or that the
resolution be finally adopted until the fire protection district or county fire
improvement district has adopted a resolution agreeing to include the property in
the district immediately after the effective date of the exclusion order and has filed
the resolution with the court.
(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, the
property to be excluded may be included within the boundaries of the proposed
special district.
(b) Upon granting the petition or finally adopting the resolution, the board
shall file a certified copy of the order of the board excluding the property from the
district with the clerk of the court, and, except as provided in paragraph (c) of this
subsection (4), the court shall order the property to be excluded from the special
district and, if applicable, included into the fire protection district or county fire
improvement district that has previously agreed to include the property as provided
in subsection (1.5) of this section.
(c) (I) If the property to be excluded from the special district will be served
by a fire protection district or county fire improvement district that has previously
agreed to include the property as provided in subsection (1.5) of this section and
that has a higher mill levy than the special district and after the certified copy of
the order of the board excluding the property from the district is filed with the clerk
of the court, the court shall direct the question of excluding the area from the
special district and including it in the fire protection district or county fire
improvement district with a higher mill levy to the eligible electors of the area
sought to be excluded. The court shall order the secretary to give published notice,
as provided in part 2 of article 5 and article 13.5 of title 1, of the time and place of
the election and of the question to be submitted, together with a summary of any
conditions attached to the proposed exclusion. The election shall be held within the
area sought to be excluded and shall be held and conducted, and the results
thereof determined, in the manner provided in article 13.5 of title 1. The ballot shall
be prepared by the designated election official and shall contain the following
words:
Shall the following described area be excluded from the ____________
district, which has a current mill levy of ____________, and become a part of the
_____________ district, which has a current mill levy of ____________, and upon the
following conditions, if any?
(Insert general description of area)
(Insert accurate summary of conditions)
For exclusion from __________ district and inclusion
in __________ district ______
Against exclusion from __________ district _____
(II) If a majority of the votes cast at the election pursuant to subsection
(4)(c)(I) of this section are in favor of exclusion to become a part of another district
and the court determines the election was held in accordance with article 13.5 of
title 1, the court shall enter an order with any conditions so prescribed excluding
the area from the special district and including it in the fire protection district or
county fire improvement district with a higher mill levy. The validity of the exclusion
to become a part of another district may not be questioned directly or indirectly in
any suit, action, or proceeding, except as provided in article 11 of title 1.
(d) The order of exclusion entered pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of this
subsection (4) shall recite in the findings a description of any bonded indebtedness
in existence immediately preceding the effective date of the order for which the
excluded property is liable and the date that the bonded indebtedness is then
scheduled to be retired. After July 1, 1993, failure of the order for exclusion to recite
the existence and scheduled retirement date of the indebtedness, when due to
error or omission by the special district, shall not constitute grounds for correction
of the omission of a levy on the excluded property from the assessment roll
pursuant to section 39-5-125, C.R.S.
(5) (a) If the board, after considering all of the factors set forth in subsection
(3) of this section, determines that the property described in the petition or
resolution should not be excluded from the special district, it shall order that the
petition be denied or that the resolution be rescinded.
(b) (I) Any petition that is denied or resolution that is finally adopted may be
appealed to the board of county commissioners of the county in which the special
district's petition for organization was filed for review of the board's decision. The
appeal shall be taken no later than thirty days after the decision.
(II) Upon appeal, the board shall consider the factors set forth in subsection
(3) of this section and shall make a determination whether to exclude the properties
mentioned in the petition or resolution based on the record developed at the
hearing before the special district board.
(c) (I) Any decision of the board of county commissioners may be appealed
for review to the district court of the county which has jurisdiction of the special
district pursuant to section 32-1-303 within thirty days of such board's decision.
(II) On appeal, the court shall review the record developed at the hearing
before the special district board and, after considering all of the factors set forth in
subsection (3) of this section, shall make a determination whether to exclude the
properties mentioned in the petition or resolution.