SECTIONS 6210-6223 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 6210-6223

6210. Proceedings for the formation of a district within any county
shall be commenced by a petition that is either of the following:
(a) Signed by 50 percent or more of the growers who own 65 percent
or more of the affected land.
(b) Signed by 65 percent or more of the growers who own 50 percent
or more of the affected land.
The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board of
supervisors of the county.

6211. The petition may be filed in sections, each of which shall
comply with all the requirements for a petition, except that a
section need not contain the total number of signatures required for
the petition.

6212. Signatures to the petition may be withdrawn at any time
before it has been acted upon by filing with the clerk of the board
of supervisors a declaration signed by the petitioner that states
that it is the intention of the petitioner to withdraw his or her
signature from the petition.

6213. (a) The petition shall state the name of the proposed
district and shall set forth its boundaries or describe the lands to
be included.
(b) It is a sufficient designation of the boundaries of a proposed
district to recite that all the grape acreage in the county is to be
included in the district, or that all the grape acreage in a
designated area within the county is to be included in the district.
(c) If either designation is used, the outside boundary of the
area so designated is the boundary of the district, and the district
shall include all area within the outside boundary.

6214. (a) Upon the presentation and filing of a petition, the board
of supervisors shall refer the petition to the county agricultural
commissioner for the preparation of a register of owners of winegrape
acreage within the proposed district, and for an investigation and
report.
(b) The agricultural commissioner shall create a register of all
winegrape acreage owners within the proposed district describing the
net acreage of land devoted to the growing of winegrapes by each
grower. The commissioner shall file with the register a report and
recommendation to the board of supervisors on whether conditions of
the phylloxera or other pest or disease warrant the board of
supervisors proceeding with the organization of the district.

6215. (a) The board of supervisors shall fix a time and place for
the hearing of the petition.
(b) The hearing shall not be less than 20 days, or more than 40
days, after the filing of the petition with the board of supervisors.
(c) The board of supervisors shall order the clerk of the board of
supervisors to give notice of the time and place fixed for the
hearing upon the petition.

6216. The notice of hearing shall do all of the following:
(a) State the name of the district and that it is being formed for
the control of winegrape pests and diseases.
(b) State the petition is available for inspection at the office
of the clerk of the board of supervisors.
(c) Designate the boundaries of the proposed district in
substantially the same way that they are described in the petition.
(d) State the time and place for the hearing.
(e) State that at the hearing protests will be considered by the
board of supervisors.
(f) State that requests in writing for the exclusion of lands
from, or the inclusion of lands in, the proposed district, will be
heard and considered by the board of supervisors.

6217. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.

6218. The notice shall be published once a week for two successive
weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.

6219. At the hearing, the report of the county agricultural
commissioner shall be received. Protests may be made orally or in
writing by any person interested in the formation of the proposed
district. Any protest that pertains to the regularity or sufficiency
of the proceedings shall be in writing and shall clearly set forth
the irregularities and defects to which objection is made. All
written protests shall be filed with the clerk of the board of
supervisors on or before the time fixed for the final hearing. The
hearing may be continued from time to time, not to exceed 60 days.

6220. At the hearing, any owner of winegrape acreage in the
proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request,
in writing, for the exclusion of that land or any part of that land
from the proposed district upon a showing that the land or part of
that land will not be benefited by the activities of the proposed
district. Factors that the board of supervisors may consider in its
determination to exclude shall include an affidavit from the
landowner stating that the land has already been affected by
phylloxera or other winegrape plant pests or diseases and the
winegrape plants have been removed from the land, that more than 66
percent of the subject parcel is planted with non-vinifera-crossed
rootstock, including, but not limited to, St. George, S04, 5C, or 5BB
rootstock, or that the subject parcel does not have a pest or
disease problem that can be controlled by the district. Any owner of
winegrape acreage outside the proposed district may present to the
board of supervisors a request in writing for inclusion of that land
in the proposed district.

6221. If the board of supervisors determines that the petition does
not comply with the requirements of law, the matter may be dismissed
without prejudice to present a new petition covering the same
matter. A finding by the board of supervisors in favor of the
sufficiency of the petition and notice is final and conclusive
against all persons except the state in a proceeding brought by the
Attorney General within one year of the date of the making of the
order establishing and describing the boundaries of the district.

6222. (a) If the board of supervisors determines that the project
is feasible and in the interest of the winegrape growers of the
county, the board of supervisors shall, by order entered in its
minutes, declare the district duly organized under the name
designated in the petition for the formation of the district.
(b) The order shall describe the territory included in the
district and, if the board of supervisors does not exclude or include
land pursuant to Section 6223, it is a sufficient description of the
territory to describe the boundaries in substantially the same way
as they are described in the petition.
(c) A copy of the order duly certified by the clerk of the board
of supervisors shall be filed for record in the office of the county
recorder of the county in which the district is situated.

6223. (a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the board
of supervisors shall exclude from the district any winegrape acreage
that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project, and it
may include in the district any lands that it finds will be benefited
if it also finds it will be in the interest of the district to
include these lands. The inclusion may be upon application of the
owner or, without the owner's application, upon giving the owner
notice of the proposed inclusion and an opportunity for a hearing on
the inclusion.
(b) Notice of inclusion shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the
clerk of the board of supervisors, to the address of the owner of the
land as shown by the last equalized county assessment roll, and to
any person that has filed with the clerk that person's name and
address and description of land in which he or she has either a legal
or equitable interest. The notice shall describe the land proposed
to be included, and shall state the time and place at which
objections to the inclusion will be heard.