STATE STATUTES & CODES
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CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 56010-56081
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 56010-56081
56010. Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this chapter govern the construction of this division. The definition of a word applies to any of that word's variants. 56011. "Affected city" means any city that satisfies either of the following conditions: (a) It contains, or its sphere of influence contains, territory for which a change of organization is proposed or ordered either singularly or as part of a reorganization. (b) It would contain the territory described in subdivision (a) as a result of proceedings for a change of organization or reorganization taken pursuant to this division. 56012. "Affected county" means each county which contains, or would contain, any territory for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or ordered or which contains all or any part of a district for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or ordered with respect to territory outside that county. 56013. "Affected district" means a special district, as defined by Section 56036, which contains, or whose sphere of influence contains, any territory for which a reorganization or a change of organization is proposed or ordered. 56014. "Affected local agency" means any local agency which contains, or would contain, or whose sphere of influence contains, any territory within any proposal or study to be reviewed by the commission. 56015. "Affected territory" means any territory for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or ordered. 56016. "Agricultural lands" means land currently used for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity for commercial purposes, land left fallow under a crop rotational program, or land enrolled in an agricultural subsidy or set-aside program. 56017. "Annexation" means the annexation, inclusion, attachment, or addition of territory to a city or district. 56018. "Benefit district" means a district, containing lands which are, or will be, benefited by their inclusion within the district, the owners of those lands being entitled, under state or federal statutes or the California Constitution or the United States Constitution, to notice by mail or personal service and hearing prior to the inclusion of the lands within the district. 56019. "Board of directors" means the legislative body or governing board of a district. 56020. "Board of supervisors" means the board of supervisors of a county. 56020.5. "Certificate of completion" means the document prepared by the executive officer and recorded with the county recorder that confirms the final successful resolution of a change of organization or reorganization. 56020.7. "Certificate of termination of proceedings" means the document prepared by the executive officer and retained by the commission that indicates that a proposal for a change of organization or reorganization was terminated because of a majority written protest or rejection by voters in an election. 56021. "Change of organization" means any of the following: (a) A city incorporation. (b) A district formation. (c) An annexation to, or detachment from, a city or district. (d) A disincorporation of a city. (e) A district dissolution. (f) A consolidation of cities or special districts. (g) A merger or establishment of a subsidiary district. (h) A proposal for the exercise of new or different functions or classes of services, or divestiture of the power to provide particular functions or classes of services, within all or part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district. 56023. "City" means any chartered or general law city, including any city the name of which includes the word "town." 56024. "City council" means the city council or legislative body of a city. 56025. "City officer" means the mayor or a member of the city council. 56026. "Clerk" means the clerk or secretary of a commission, county, city, or district, or the clerk or secretary of the legislative body of a county, city, or district. Where the office of county clerk is separate from the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors, "clerk" means the clerk of the board of supervisors. Where the office of county clerk is separate from the office of the registrar of voters, "clerk" means the registrar of voters with respect to all duties pertaining to the conduct of elections and the county clerk with respect to all other duties. 56027. "Commission" means a local agency formation commission. 56028. "Commission proceedings" means proceedings which are taken by a commission pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 56650). 56029. "Conducting authority" means the commission of the principal county of the entity proposing a change of organization or reorganization, unless another conducting authority is specified by law. 56030. "Consolidation" means the uniting or joining of two or more cities located in the same county into a single new successor city or two or more districts into a single new successor district. 56031. (a) "Contiguous" means both of the following: (1) In the case of annexation, territory adjacent to, or territory adjoining territory within, the local agency to which annexation is proposed. (2) In the case of consolidation, territory of a local agency or agencies which is adjacent to, or adjoining the territory of, the consolidating local agency or to the territory of another local agency which is contiguous to the consolidating local agency and to be consolidated with the consolidating local agency. (b) Territory is not contiguous if the only contiguity is based upon a strip of land more than 300 feet long and less than 200 feet wide, that width to be exclusive of highways. 56032. "County officer" means a member of the board of supervisors. 56033. "Detachment" means the detachment, deannexation, exclusion, deletion, or removal from a city or district of any portion of the territory of that city or district. 56034. "Disincorporation" means the disincorporation, dissolution, extinguishment, and termination of the existence of a city and the cessation of its corporate powers, except for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the city. 56035. "Dissolution" means the dissolution, disincorporation, extinguishment, and termination of the existence of a district and the cessation of all its corporate powers, except as the commission may otherwise provide pursuant to Section 56886 or for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the district. 56036. (a) "District" or "special district" means an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries. "District" or "special district" includes a county service area, but excludes all of the following: (1) The state. (2) A county. (3) A city. (4) A school district or a community college district. (5) A special assessment district. (6) An improvement district. (7) A community facilities district formed pursuant to the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 53311) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5). (8) A permanent road division formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 1160) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code. (9) An air pollution control district or an air quality maintenance district. (10) A zone of any special district including, but not limited to, the following: (A) A fire protection district. (B) A mosquito abatement and vector control district. (C) A public cemetery district. (D) A recreation and park district. (E) A community services district. (F) A county service area. (b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1), each of the entities listed in paragraph (1) is a "district" or a "special district" for the purposes of this division. (1) For the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 57000) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 57176), inclusive, of Part 4 or Part 5 (commencing with Section 57300), none of the following entities is a "district" or a "special district": (A) A unified or union high school library district. (B) A bridge and highway district. (C) A joint highway district. (D) A transit or rapid transit district. (E) A metropolitan water district. (F) A separation of grade district. (2) Any proceedings pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 57000) for a change of organization involving an entity described in paragraph (1) shall be conducted pursuant to the principal act authorizing the establishment of that entity. (c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1), each of the entities listed in paragraph (1) is a "district" or "special district" for purposes of this division. (1) For the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 57000) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 57176), inclusive, of Part 4 or Part 5 (commencing with Section 57300), none of the following entities is a "district" or "special district" if the commission of the principal county determines, in accordance with Sections 56127 and 56128, that the entity is not a "district" or "special district": (A) A flood control district. (B) A flood control and floodwater conservation district. (C) A flood control and water conservation district. (D) A conservation district. (E) A water conservation district. (F) A water replenishment district. (G) The Orange County Water District. (H) A California water storage district. (I) A water agency. (J) A county water authority or a water authority. (2) If the commission determines that an entity described in paragraph (1) is not a "district" or "special district," any proceedings pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 57000) for a change of organization involving the entity shall be conducted pursuant to the principal act authorizing the establishment of that entity. 56037. "District of limited powers" means an airport district, community services district, municipal utility district, public utilities district, fire protection district, harbor district, port district, recreational harbor district, small craft harbor district, resort improvement district, library district, local hospital district, local health district, municipal improvement district formed pursuant to any special act, municipal water district, police protection district, recreation and park district, garbage disposal district, garbage and refuse disposal district, sanitary district, county sanitation district, public cemetery district, California water district, county water district, county waterworks district, or irrigation district. 56037.2. "Divestiture of power" means the termination of the power and authority to provide particular functions or classes of services within all or part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district. 56037.5. "Elections official" shall have the same meaning as in Section 320 of the Elections Code. 56038. "Executive officer" means the executive officer appointed by a commission. 56038.5. "Feasible" means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, legal, social, and technological factors. 56039. "Formation" means the formation, incorporation, organization, or creation of a district. 56040. "Function" means any power granted by law to a local agency or a county to provide designated governmental or proprietary services or facilities for the use, benefit, or protection of persons or property. 56041. "Improvement district" means a district, area, or zone formed for the sole purpose of designating an area which is to bear a special tax or assessment for an improvement benefiting that area. 56042. "Include," except when used in relation to the inclusion of land, does not necessarily exclude matters not enumerated. 56043. "Incorporation" means the incorporation, formation, creation, and establishment of a city with corporate powers. Any area proposed for incorporation as a new city shall have at least 500 registered voters residing within the affected area at the time commission proceedings are initiated. 56044. "Independent special district" includes any special district having a legislative body all of whose members are elected by registered voters or landowners within the district, or whose members are appointed to fixed terms, and excludes any special district having a legislative body consisting, in whole or in part, of ex officio members who are officers of a county or another local agency or who are appointees of those officers other than those who are appointed to fixed terms. "Independent special district" does not include any district excluded from the definition of district contained in Section 56036. 56045. "Independent special district officer" means the presiding officer or a member of the legislative body of an independent special district. 56046. "Inhabited territory" means territory within which there reside 12 or more registered voters. The date on which the number of registered voters is determined is the date of the adoption of a resolution of application by the legislative body pursuant to Section 56654, if the legislative body has complied with subdivision (b) of that section, or the date a petition or other resolution of application is accepted for filing and a certificate of filing is issued by the executive officer. All other territory shall be deemed "uninhabited." 56047. "Initiate" or "initiation" means the acceptance for filing and the issuance of a certificate of filing by the executive officer. 56047.5. "Interested agency" means each local agency which provides facilities or services in the affected territory that a subject agency would provide. 56048. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), "landowner" or "owner of land" means all of the following: (1) Any person shown as the owner of land on the most recent assessment roll being prepared by the county at the time the proponent adopts a resolution of application pursuant to Section 56654 or files a notice of intention to circulate a petition with the executive officer pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 56700.4, except where that person is no longer the owner. Where that person is no longer the owner, the landowner or owner of land is any person entitled to be shown as owner of land on the next assessment roll. (2) Where land is subject to a recorded written agreement of sale, any person shown in the agreement as purchaser. (3) Any public agency owning land. (b) "Landowner" or "owner of land" does not include a public agency which owns highways, rights-of-way, easements, waterways, or canals. 56049. "Landowner-voter" means any person entitled to vote in a landowner-voter district, or the legal representative of that person or, in the case of an election, the proxy of that person. 56050. "Landowner-voter district" means a district whose principal act provides that owners of land within the district are entitled to vote upon the election of district officers, the incurring of bonded indebtedness, or any other district matter. 56051. "Last equalized assessment roll" means the last equalized assessment roll or book used by a county, city, or district for the purpose of the annual levy and collection of any taxes or assessments imposed by the county, city, or district. This section does not require the use of the supplemental roll prepared pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 75) of Part 0.5 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. 56052. "Legal representative" means an officer of a corporation duly authorized, by the bylaws or a resolution of the board of directors of the corporation, to sign for, and on behalf of, the corporation. Legal representative also includes a guardian, conservator, executor, administrator, or other person holding property in a trust capacity under appointment of a court, when authorized by an order of the court. The order of the court may be made without notice. 56053. "Legislative body" means the legislative body or governing board of a city, special district, or county. 56054. "Local agency" means a city, county, or district. 56055. "Member district" means any district which is included, in whole or in part, within another district, a metropolitan water district, or any of the entities enumerated in subdivision (c) of Section 56036, all or any part of the first-mentioned district being entitled, under the provisions of the principal act of the second-mentioned district or entity, to receive or be furnished with any governmental or proprietary service or commodity by the second-mentioned district or entity. 56056. "Merger" means the extinguishment, termination, and cessation of the existence of a district of limited powers by the merger of that district with a city as a result of proceedings taken pursuant to this division. 56057. "Next equalized assessment roll" means the next assessment roll or book to be equalized and used by a city, county, or district for the purpose of the annual levy and collection of any taxes or assessments imposed by the city, county, or district. 56058. "Notice" means any matter authorized or required by this division to be published, posted, or mailed. 56059. "Open space" means any parcel or area of land or water which is substantially unimproved and devoted to an open-space use, as defined in Section 65560. 56060. "Open-space use" means any use as defined in Section 65560. 56061. "Overlap" or "overlapping territory" means territory which is included within the boundaries of two or more districts or within one or more districts and a city or cities. 56062. "Parent district" means any district, a metropolitan water district, or any of the entities enumerated in subdivision (c) of Section 56036, which includes all or any part of another district, the first-mentioned district or entity being obligated, under the provisions of the principal act of the first-mentioned district or entity, to provide and furnish any governmental or proprietary service or commodity to the second-mentioned district. 56063. "Plan of reorganization" means a plan or program for effecting a reorganization and which contains a description of all changes of organization included in the reorganization and setting forth all terms, conditions, and matters necessary or incidental to the effectuation of that reorganization. 56064. "Prime agricultural land" means an area of land, whether a single parcel or contiguous parcels, that has not been developed for a use other than an agricultural use and that meets any of the following qualifications: (a) Land that qualifies, if irrigated, for rating as class I or class II in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service land use capability classification, whether or not land is actually irrigated, provided that irrigation is feasible. (b) Land that qualifies for rating 80 through 100 Storie Index Rating. (c) Land that supports livestock used for the production of food and fiber and that has an annual carrying capacity equivalent to at least one animal unit per acre as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture in the National Range and Pasture Handbook, Revision 1, December 2003. (d) Land planted with fruit or nut-bearing trees, vines, bushes, or crops that have a nonbearing period of less than five years and that will return during the commercial bearing period on an annual basis from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant production not less than four hundred dollars ($400) per acre. (e) Land that has returned from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant products an annual gross value of not less than four hundred dollars ($400) per acre for three of the previous five calendar years. 56065. "Principal act" means, in the case of a district, the law under which the district was formed and, in the case of a city, the general laws or a charter, as the case may be. 56066. "Principal county" means the county having all or the greater portion of the entire assessed value, as shown on the last equalized assessment roll of the county or counties, of all taxable property within a district or districts for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed. 56067. "Proceeding," "proceeding for a change of organization," or "proceeding for a reorganization" means proceedings taken by the commission for a proposed change of organization or reorganization pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 57000). 56068. "Proponent" means the person or persons who file a notice of intention to circulate a petition with the executive officer pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 56700.4, or the affected local agency or agencies that adopt a resolution of application pursuant to Section 56654. 56069. "Proposal" means a request or statement of intention made by petition or by resolution of application of a legislative body or of a school district proposing proceedings for the change of organization or reorganization described in the request or statement of intention. 56070. "Public agency" means the state or any state agency, board, or commission, any city, county, city and county, special district, or other political subdivision, or any agency, board, or commission of the city, county, city and county, special district, or other political subdivision. 56071. "Registered voter" means any elector registered under, and pursuant to, the Elections Code. 56072. "Registered-voter district" means a district whose principal act provides that registered voters residing within the district are entitled to vote for the election of district officers, incurring of bonded indebtedness, or any other district matter. 56073. "Reorganization" means two or more changes of organization initiated in a single proposal. 56074. "Service" means a class established within, and as a part of, a single function, as provided by regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 56821) of Part 3. 56075. "Special assessment district" means an area fixed, established, and formed by a city, county, district, or the state, pursuant to general law, special act, or charter, that is specially benefited by, and assessed, or to be assessed, to pay the costs and expenses of, acquiring any lands or rights-of-way, acquiring or constructing any public improvements, maintaining or operating any public improvement, or lighting any public street, highway, or place. 56075.5. "Special reorganization" means a reorganization that includes the detachment of territory from a city or city and county and the incorporation of that entire detached territory as a city. 56076. "Sphere of influence" means a plan for the probable physical boundaries and service area of a local agency, as determined by the commission. 56077. "Subject agency" means each district or city for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or provided in a plan of reorganization. 56078. "Subsidiary district" means a district of limited powers in which a city council is designated as, and empowered to act as, the ex officio board of directors of the district. 56079. "Sufficient petition" means a petition which, upon its filing and certification, requires the commission to hold a hearing and make determinations with respect to the proposal contained in the petition. 56080. "Urban service area" means developed, undeveloped, or agricultural land, either incorporated or unincorporated, within the sphere of influence of a city, which is served by urban facilities, utilities, and services or which are proposed to be served by urban facilities, utilities, and services during the first five years of an adopted capital improvement program of the city if the city adopts that type of program for those facilities, utilities, and services. The boundary around an urban area shall be called the "urban service area boundary" and shall be developed in cooperation with a city and adopted by a commission pursuant to policies adopted by the commission in accordance with Sections 56300, 56301, and 56425. 56081. "Voter" means a landowner-voter or a registered voter.
SECTION 56010-56081
56010. Unless the provision or context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this chapter govern the construction of this division. The definition of a word applies to any of that word's variants. 56011. "Affected city" means any city that satisfies either of the following conditions: (a) It contains, or its sphere of influence contains, territory for which a change of organization is proposed or ordered either singularly or as part of a reorganization. (b) It would contain the territory described in subdivision (a) as a result of proceedings for a change of organization or reorganization taken pursuant to this division. 56012. "Affected county" means each county which contains, or would contain, any territory for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or ordered or which contains all or any part of a district for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or ordered with respect to territory outside that county. 56013. "Affected district" means a special district, as defined by Section 56036, which contains, or whose sphere of influence contains, any territory for which a reorganization or a change of organization is proposed or ordered. 56014. "Affected local agency" means any local agency which contains, or would contain, or whose sphere of influence contains, any territory within any proposal or study to be reviewed by the commission. 56015. "Affected territory" means any territory for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or ordered. 56016. "Agricultural lands" means land currently used for the purpose of producing an agricultural commodity for commercial purposes, land left fallow under a crop rotational program, or land enrolled in an agricultural subsidy or set-aside program. 56017. "Annexation" means the annexation, inclusion, attachment, or addition of territory to a city or district. 56018. "Benefit district" means a district, containing lands which are, or will be, benefited by their inclusion within the district, the owners of those lands being entitled, under state or federal statutes or the California Constitution or the United States Constitution, to notice by mail or personal service and hearing prior to the inclusion of the lands within the district. 56019. "Board of directors" means the legislative body or governing board of a district. 56020. "Board of supervisors" means the board of supervisors of a county. 56020.5. "Certificate of completion" means the document prepared by the executive officer and recorded with the county recorder that confirms the final successful resolution of a change of organization or reorganization. 56020.7. "Certificate of termination of proceedings" means the document prepared by the executive officer and retained by the commission that indicates that a proposal for a change of organization or reorganization was terminated because of a majority written protest or rejection by voters in an election. 56021. "Change of organization" means any of the following: (a) A city incorporation. (b) A district formation. (c) An annexation to, or detachment from, a city or district. (d) A disincorporation of a city. (e) A district dissolution. (f) A consolidation of cities or special districts. (g) A merger or establishment of a subsidiary district. (h) A proposal for the exercise of new or different functions or classes of services, or divestiture of the power to provide particular functions or classes of services, within all or part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district. 56023. "City" means any chartered or general law city, including any city the name of which includes the word "town." 56024. "City council" means the city council or legislative body of a city. 56025. "City officer" means the mayor or a member of the city council. 56026. "Clerk" means the clerk or secretary of a commission, county, city, or district, or the clerk or secretary of the legislative body of a county, city, or district. Where the office of county clerk is separate from the office of the clerk of the board of supervisors, "clerk" means the clerk of the board of supervisors. Where the office of county clerk is separate from the office of the registrar of voters, "clerk" means the registrar of voters with respect to all duties pertaining to the conduct of elections and the county clerk with respect to all other duties. 56027. "Commission" means a local agency formation commission. 56028. "Commission proceedings" means proceedings which are taken by a commission pursuant to Part 3 (commencing with Section 56650). 56029. "Conducting authority" means the commission of the principal county of the entity proposing a change of organization or reorganization, unless another conducting authority is specified by law. 56030. "Consolidation" means the uniting or joining of two or more cities located in the same county into a single new successor city or two or more districts into a single new successor district. 56031. (a) "Contiguous" means both of the following: (1) In the case of annexation, territory adjacent to, or territory adjoining territory within, the local agency to which annexation is proposed. (2) In the case of consolidation, territory of a local agency or agencies which is adjacent to, or adjoining the territory of, the consolidating local agency or to the territory of another local agency which is contiguous to the consolidating local agency and to be consolidated with the consolidating local agency. (b) Territory is not contiguous if the only contiguity is based upon a strip of land more than 300 feet long and less than 200 feet wide, that width to be exclusive of highways. 56032. "County officer" means a member of the board of supervisors. 56033. "Detachment" means the detachment, deannexation, exclusion, deletion, or removal from a city or district of any portion of the territory of that city or district. 56034. "Disincorporation" means the disincorporation, dissolution, extinguishment, and termination of the existence of a city and the cessation of its corporate powers, except for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the city. 56035. "Dissolution" means the dissolution, disincorporation, extinguishment, and termination of the existence of a district and the cessation of all its corporate powers, except as the commission may otherwise provide pursuant to Section 56886 or for the purpose of winding up the affairs of the district. 56036. (a) "District" or "special district" means an agency of the state, formed pursuant to general law or special act, for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries. "District" or "special district" includes a county service area, but excludes all of the following: (1) The state. (2) A county. (3) A city. (4) A school district or a community college district. (5) A special assessment district. (6) An improvement district. (7) A community facilities district formed pursuant to the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 53311) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5). (8) A permanent road division formed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 1160) of Chapter 4 of Division 2 of the Streets and Highways Code. (9) An air pollution control district or an air quality maintenance district. (10) A zone of any special district including, but not limited to, the following: (A) A fire protection district. (B) A mosquito abatement and vector control district. (C) A public cemetery district. (D) A recreation and park district. (E) A community services district. (F) A county service area. (b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1), each of the entities listed in paragraph (1) is a "district" or a "special district" for the purposes of this division. (1) For the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 57000) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 57176), inclusive, of Part 4 or Part 5 (commencing with Section 57300), none of the following entities is a "district" or a "special district": (A) A unified or union high school library district. (B) A bridge and highway district. (C) A joint highway district. (D) A transit or rapid transit district. (E) A metropolitan water district. (F) A separation of grade district. (2) Any proceedings pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 57000) for a change of organization involving an entity described in paragraph (1) shall be conducted pursuant to the principal act authorizing the establishment of that entity. (c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1), each of the entities listed in paragraph (1) is a "district" or "special district" for purposes of this division. (1) For the purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 57000) to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 57176), inclusive, of Part 4 or Part 5 (commencing with Section 57300), none of the following entities is a "district" or "special district" if the commission of the principal county determines, in accordance with Sections 56127 and 56128, that the entity is not a "district" or "special district": (A) A flood control district. (B) A flood control and floodwater conservation district. (C) A flood control and water conservation district. (D) A conservation district. (E) A water conservation district. (F) A water replenishment district. (G) The Orange County Water District. (H) A California water storage district. (I) A water agency. (J) A county water authority or a water authority. (2) If the commission determines that an entity described in paragraph (1) is not a "district" or "special district," any proceedings pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 57000) for a change of organization involving the entity shall be conducted pursuant to the principal act authorizing the establishment of that entity. 56037. "District of limited powers" means an airport district, community services district, municipal utility district, public utilities district, fire protection district, harbor district, port district, recreational harbor district, small craft harbor district, resort improvement district, library district, local hospital district, local health district, municipal improvement district formed pursuant to any special act, municipal water district, police protection district, recreation and park district, garbage disposal district, garbage and refuse disposal district, sanitary district, county sanitation district, public cemetery district, California water district, county water district, county waterworks district, or irrigation district. 56037.2. "Divestiture of power" means the termination of the power and authority to provide particular functions or classes of services within all or part of the jurisdictional boundaries of a special district. 56037.5. "Elections official" shall have the same meaning as in Section 320 of the Elections Code. 56038. "Executive officer" means the executive officer appointed by a commission. 56038.5. "Feasible" means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, legal, social, and technological factors. 56039. "Formation" means the formation, incorporation, organization, or creation of a district. 56040. "Function" means any power granted by law to a local agency or a county to provide designated governmental or proprietary services or facilities for the use, benefit, or protection of persons or property. 56041. "Improvement district" means a district, area, or zone formed for the sole purpose of designating an area which is to bear a special tax or assessment for an improvement benefiting that area. 56042. "Include," except when used in relation to the inclusion of land, does not necessarily exclude matters not enumerated. 56043. "Incorporation" means the incorporation, formation, creation, and establishment of a city with corporate powers. Any area proposed for incorporation as a new city shall have at least 500 registered voters residing within the affected area at the time commission proceedings are initiated. 56044. "Independent special district" includes any special district having a legislative body all of whose members are elected by registered voters or landowners within the district, or whose members are appointed to fixed terms, and excludes any special district having a legislative body consisting, in whole or in part, of ex officio members who are officers of a county or another local agency or who are appointees of those officers other than those who are appointed to fixed terms. "Independent special district" does not include any district excluded from the definition of district contained in Section 56036. 56045. "Independent special district officer" means the presiding officer or a member of the legislative body of an independent special district. 56046. "Inhabited territory" means territory within which there reside 12 or more registered voters. The date on which the number of registered voters is determined is the date of the adoption of a resolution of application by the legislative body pursuant to Section 56654, if the legislative body has complied with subdivision (b) of that section, or the date a petition or other resolution of application is accepted for filing and a certificate of filing is issued by the executive officer. All other territory shall be deemed "uninhabited." 56047. "Initiate" or "initiation" means the acceptance for filing and the issuance of a certificate of filing by the executive officer. 56047.5. "Interested agency" means each local agency which provides facilities or services in the affected territory that a subject agency would provide. 56048. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), "landowner" or "owner of land" means all of the following: (1) Any person shown as the owner of land on the most recent assessment roll being prepared by the county at the time the proponent adopts a resolution of application pursuant to Section 56654 or files a notice of intention to circulate a petition with the executive officer pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 56700.4, except where that person is no longer the owner. Where that person is no longer the owner, the landowner or owner of land is any person entitled to be shown as owner of land on the next assessment roll. (2) Where land is subject to a recorded written agreement of sale, any person shown in the agreement as purchaser. (3) Any public agency owning land. (b) "Landowner" or "owner of land" does not include a public agency which owns highways, rights-of-way, easements, waterways, or canals. 56049. "Landowner-voter" means any person entitled to vote in a landowner-voter district, or the legal representative of that person or, in the case of an election, the proxy of that person. 56050. "Landowner-voter district" means a district whose principal act provides that owners of land within the district are entitled to vote upon the election of district officers, the incurring of bonded indebtedness, or any other district matter. 56051. "Last equalized assessment roll" means the last equalized assessment roll or book used by a county, city, or district for the purpose of the annual levy and collection of any taxes or assessments imposed by the county, city, or district. This section does not require the use of the supplemental roll prepared pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 75) of Part 0.5 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. 56052. "Legal representative" means an officer of a corporation duly authorized, by the bylaws or a resolution of the board of directors of the corporation, to sign for, and on behalf of, the corporation. Legal representative also includes a guardian, conservator, executor, administrator, or other person holding property in a trust capacity under appointment of a court, when authorized by an order of the court. The order of the court may be made without notice. 56053. "Legislative body" means the legislative body or governing board of a city, special district, or county. 56054. "Local agency" means a city, county, or district. 56055. "Member district" means any district which is included, in whole or in part, within another district, a metropolitan water district, or any of the entities enumerated in subdivision (c) of Section 56036, all or any part of the first-mentioned district being entitled, under the provisions of the principal act of the second-mentioned district or entity, to receive or be furnished with any governmental or proprietary service or commodity by the second-mentioned district or entity. 56056. "Merger" means the extinguishment, termination, and cessation of the existence of a district of limited powers by the merger of that district with a city as a result of proceedings taken pursuant to this division. 56057. "Next equalized assessment roll" means the next assessment roll or book to be equalized and used by a city, county, or district for the purpose of the annual levy and collection of any taxes or assessments imposed by the city, county, or district. 56058. "Notice" means any matter authorized or required by this division to be published, posted, or mailed. 56059. "Open space" means any parcel or area of land or water which is substantially unimproved and devoted to an open-space use, as defined in Section 65560. 56060. "Open-space use" means any use as defined in Section 65560. 56061. "Overlap" or "overlapping territory" means territory which is included within the boundaries of two or more districts or within one or more districts and a city or cities. 56062. "Parent district" means any district, a metropolitan water district, or any of the entities enumerated in subdivision (c) of Section 56036, which includes all or any part of another district, the first-mentioned district or entity being obligated, under the provisions of the principal act of the first-mentioned district or entity, to provide and furnish any governmental or proprietary service or commodity to the second-mentioned district. 56063. "Plan of reorganization" means a plan or program for effecting a reorganization and which contains a description of all changes of organization included in the reorganization and setting forth all terms, conditions, and matters necessary or incidental to the effectuation of that reorganization. 56064. "Prime agricultural land" means an area of land, whether a single parcel or contiguous parcels, that has not been developed for a use other than an agricultural use and that meets any of the following qualifications: (a) Land that qualifies, if irrigated, for rating as class I or class II in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service land use capability classification, whether or not land is actually irrigated, provided that irrigation is feasible. (b) Land that qualifies for rating 80 through 100 Storie Index Rating. (c) Land that supports livestock used for the production of food and fiber and that has an annual carrying capacity equivalent to at least one animal unit per acre as defined by the United States Department of Agriculture in the National Range and Pasture Handbook, Revision 1, December 2003. (d) Land planted with fruit or nut-bearing trees, vines, bushes, or crops that have a nonbearing period of less than five years and that will return during the commercial bearing period on an annual basis from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant production not less than four hundred dollars ($400) per acre. (e) Land that has returned from the production of unprocessed agricultural plant products an annual gross value of not less than four hundred dollars ($400) per acre for three of the previous five calendar years. 56065. "Principal act" means, in the case of a district, the law under which the district was formed and, in the case of a city, the general laws or a charter, as the case may be. 56066. "Principal county" means the county having all or the greater portion of the entire assessed value, as shown on the last equalized assessment roll of the county or counties, of all taxable property within a district or districts for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed. 56067. "Proceeding," "proceeding for a change of organization," or "proceeding for a reorganization" means proceedings taken by the commission for a proposed change of organization or reorganization pursuant to Part 4 (commencing with Section 57000). 56068. "Proponent" means the person or persons who file a notice of intention to circulate a petition with the executive officer pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 56700.4, or the affected local agency or agencies that adopt a resolution of application pursuant to Section 56654. 56069. "Proposal" means a request or statement of intention made by petition or by resolution of application of a legislative body or of a school district proposing proceedings for the change of organization or reorganization described in the request or statement of intention. 56070. "Public agency" means the state or any state agency, board, or commission, any city, county, city and county, special district, or other political subdivision, or any agency, board, or commission of the city, county, city and county, special district, or other political subdivision. 56071. "Registered voter" means any elector registered under, and pursuant to, the Elections Code. 56072. "Registered-voter district" means a district whose principal act provides that registered voters residing within the district are entitled to vote for the election of district officers, incurring of bonded indebtedness, or any other district matter. 56073. "Reorganization" means two or more changes of organization initiated in a single proposal. 56074. "Service" means a class established within, and as a part of, a single function, as provided by regulations adopted by the commission pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 56821) of Part 3. 56075. "Special assessment district" means an area fixed, established, and formed by a city, county, district, or the state, pursuant to general law, special act, or charter, that is specially benefited by, and assessed, or to be assessed, to pay the costs and expenses of, acquiring any lands or rights-of-way, acquiring or constructing any public improvements, maintaining or operating any public improvement, or lighting any public street, highway, or place. 56075.5. "Special reorganization" means a reorganization that includes the detachment of territory from a city or city and county and the incorporation of that entire detached territory as a city. 56076. "Sphere of influence" means a plan for the probable physical boundaries and service area of a local agency, as determined by the commission. 56077. "Subject agency" means each district or city for which a change of organization or reorganization is proposed or provided in a plan of reorganization. 56078. "Subsidiary district" means a district of limited powers in which a city council is designated as, and empowered to act as, the ex officio board of directors of the district. 56079. "Sufficient petition" means a petition which, upon its filing and certification, requires the commission to hold a hearing and make determinations with respect to the proposal contained in the petition. 56080. "Urban service area" means developed, undeveloped, or agricultural land, either incorporated or unincorporated, within the sphere of influence of a city, which is served by urban facilities, utilities, and services or which are proposed to be served by urban facilities, utilities, and services during the first five years of an adopted capital improvement program of the city if the city adopts that type of program for those facilities, utilities, and services. The boundary around an urban area shall be called the "urban service area boundary" and shall be developed in cooperation with a city and adopted by a commission pursuant to policies adopted by the commission in accordance with Sections 56300, 56301, and 56425. 56081. "Voter" means a landowner-voter or a registered voter.
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