SECTIONS 8451-8465 - California Statutes

FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL CODE

SECTION 8451-8465

8451. Proceedings for the formation of a district within any county
shall be commenced by a petition which is signed by the owners of
not less than 51 percent by area of the land in the proposed district
within the county devoted exclusively to the growing of citrus
fruits. The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board
of supervisors of the county.

8452. 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.

8453. Signatures to the petition may be withdrawn at any time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 which states
that it is the intention of the petitioner to withdraw his signature
from the petition.

8454. (a) The petition shall state the name of the proposed
district and shall set forth its boundaries or describe the lands to
be included in it.
(b) It is a sufficient designation of the boundaries of a proposed
district to recite that all the citrus acreage in the county is to
be included in the district, or that all the citrus 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, if the district
is formed pursuant to this part.

8455. Upon the presentation and filing of a petition, the board of
supervisors shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the
petition and shall refer the petition to the commissioner for
investigation and report.
The hearing shall not be less than 20 days, nor more than 40 days
after such presentation and filing.

8456. 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.

8457. 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 eradication and control of citrus pests.
(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.

8458. Notice of the hearing shall be given by publication in a
newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the
district.

8459. The notice shall be published once a week for two successive
weeks prior to the date set for the hearing.

8460. At the hearing, the report of the commissioner shall be
received and protests may be made orally or in writing by any person
interested in the formation of the proposed district. Any protest
which 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 exceeding 60 days.

8461. At the hearing, any owner of citrus 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, and
any owner of citrus acreage outside the proposed district may present
to the board of supervisors a request in writing for inclusion of
the land in, the proposed district.

8462. 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 the right to present a new petition covering
the same matter. A finding by the board of supervisors in favor of
the genuineness and 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.

8463. (a) If the board of supervisors determines that the project
is feasible and in the interest of the citrus 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 8465, it is a sufficient description of the
territory to describe the boundaries in substantially the same way
as they are described in the petition. 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.

8464. Any district formed prior to March 2, 1961, in which the
order of the board of supervisors adopted the description in general
terms as it appears in the petition is hereby validated.

8465. (a) In determining the boundaries of the district, the board
of supervisors shall exclude from the district any citrus acreage
which it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project, and it
may include in the district any lands which it finds will be
benefited if it also finds it will be to 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
it.
(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.