§ 41-3-721 — Petition for creation; conditions affecting inclusion of city or city and county

Wyoming § 41-3-721

• Jurisdiction: Wyoming
• Title 41: Water
• Ch. 3: WATER RIGHTS; ADMINISTRATION AND CONTROL
• Art. 7: WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICTS

Text

(a) Before any water conservancy district shall be
established under this act, a petition shall be filed in the
office of the clerk of the court vested with jurisdiction, in a
county in which all or part of the lands embraced in such
proposed water conservancy district are situated, signed by not
fewer than twenty-five percent (25%) of the owners or entrymen
on having not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the
irrigated lands or lands susceptible of irrigation under the
works proposed for construction, to be included in the district,
but not embraced within the incorporated limits of a city or
town; and each tract (or tracts), of land shall be listed
opposite the name of the signer, each such tract (or tracts),
together with the improvements thereon, to have an assessed
valuation of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00); and be
also signed by not fewer than five percent (5%) of the owners
owning not less than five percent (5%) of nonirrigated land
and/or lands embraced in the incorporated limits of a city or
town, all situated in the proposed district; and each tract (or
tracts) of land shall be listed opposite the name of the signer,
each such tract (or tracts), together with improvements thereon,
to have an assessed valuation of not less than one hundred
dollars ($100.00).
(b) In the event a petitioner shall sign such petition
both as owner of irrigated or irrigable and nonirrigated land or
lands situated within a municipality, his name shall be counted
only as an owner of irrigated or irrigable lands. A signing
petitioner shall not be permitted, after filing a petition, to
withdraw his name therefrom.
(c) No city, or city and county, of the first class as
now, or hereafter defined, by the laws of the state of Wyoming,
shall be included within such district unless by and with the
written consent of the chief executive officer of such city, or
city and county, with the approval of the legislative body of
such municipality, and such consent may specify that the rate of
taxation on the assessed valuation of property within said city,
or city and county, under W.S. 41-3-771 shall not exceed a
maximum rate which may be less than the rates set out in W.S.
41-3-771, and in such case the district shall not have power to
levy assessment on the property in said city, or city and
county, at a greater rate than that specified in said consent.
(d) The petition shall set forth:
(i) The proposed name of said district;
(ii) That property within the proposed district will
be benefited by the accomplishment of the purposes enumerated in
W.S. 41-3-720;
(iii) A general description of the purpose of the
contemplated improvement, and of the territory to be included in
the proposed district. Said description need not be given by
metes and bounds or by legal subdivision, but it shall be
sufficient to enable a property owner to ascertain whether his
property is within the territory proposed to be organized as a
district. Said territory need not be contiguous, provided it is
so situated that the organization of a single district of the
territory described is calculated to promote one (1) or more of
the purposes enumerated in W.S. 41-3-720;
(iv) The assessed value of all irrigated land within
the boundaries of the proposed district;
(v) A general designation of divisions of the
district and the number of directors of the district proposed
for each subdivision;
(vi) Said petition shall pray for the organization of
the district by the name proposed.
(e) No petition with the requisite signatures shall be
declared null and void on account of alleged defects, but the
court may at any time permit the petition to be amended to
conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the description
of the territory, or in any other particular. However, similar
petitions or duplicate copies of the same petition for the
organization of the same district may be filed and shall
together be regarded as one (1) petition. All such petitions
filed prior to the hearing on the first petition filed, shall be
considered by the court the same as though filed with the first
petition placed on file.
(f) In determining whether the requisite number of
landowners have signed the petition, the court shall be governed
by the names as they appear upon the assessment records which
shall be prima facie evidence of such ownership.