SECTIONS 61000-61009 - California Statutes

GOVERNMENT CODE

SECTION 61000-61009

61000. This division shall be known and may be cited as the
Community Services District Law.

61001. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The differences among California's communities reflect the
broad diversity of the state's population, geography, natural
resources, history, and economy.
(2) The residents and property owners in California's diverse
communities desire public facilities and services that promote the
public peace, health, safety, and welfare.
(3) Responding to these communities' desires, the Legislature
enacted the Community Services District Law in 1951, and reenacted
the Community Services District Law in 1955.
(4) Between 1955 and 2005, the voters in more than 300 communities
have formed community services districts to achieve local
governance, provide needed public facilities, and supply public
services.
(5) Since then, the Legislature has amended the Community Services
District Law in many ways, resulting in a statute that can be
difficult for residents, property owners, and public officials to
understand and administer.
(6) There is a need to revise the Community Services District Law
to achieve statutory clarity and provide a framework for local
governance that California's diverse communities can adapt to their
local conditions, circumstances, and resources.
(7) The enactment of this division is necessary for the public
peace, health, safety, and welfare.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares that for many communities,
community services districts may be any of the following:
(1) A permanent form of governance that can provide locally
adequate levels of public facilities and services.
(2) An effective form of governance for combining two or more
special districts that serve overlapping or adjacent territory into a
multifunction special district.
(3) A form of governance that can serve as an alternative to the
incorporation of a new city.
(4) A transitional form of governance as the community approaches
cityhood.
(c) In enacting this division, it is the intent of the
Legislature:
(1) To continue a broad statutory authority for a class of
limited-purpose special districts to provide a wide variety of public
facilities and services.
(2) To encourage local agency formation commissions to use their
municipal service reviews, spheres of influence, and boundary powers,
where feasible and appropriate, to combine special districts that
serve overlapping or adjacent territory into multifunction community
services districts.
(3) That residents, property owners, and public officials use the
powers and procedures provided by the Community Services District Law
to meet the diversity of the local conditions, circumstances, and
resources.

61002. Unless the context requires otherwise, as used in this
division, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "At large" means the election of members of the board of
directors all of whom are elected by the voters of the entire
district.
(b) "Board of directors" means the board of directors of a
district that establishes policies for the operation of the district.
(c) "By divisions" means the election of members of the board of
directors who are residents of the division from which they are
elected only by voters of the division.
(d) "District" means a community services district created
pursuant to this division or any of its statutory predecessors.
(e) "From divisions" means the election of members of the board of
directors who are residents of the division from which they are
elected by the voters of the entire district.
(f) "General manager" means the highest level management appointee
who is directly responsible to the board of directors for the
implementation of the policies established by the board of directors.
(g) "Graffiti abatement" means the power to prevent graffiti on
public or private property, receive reports of graffiti on public or
private property, provide rewards not to exceed one thousand dollars
($1,000) for information leading to the arrest and conviction of
persons who apply graffiti on public or private property, abate
graffiti as a public nuisance pursuant to Section 731 of the Code of
Civil Procedure, remove graffiti from public or private property, and
use the services of persons ordered by a court to remove graffiti.
(h) "Latent power" means those services and facilities authorized
by Part 3 (commencing with Section 61100) that the local agency
formation commission has determined, pursuant to subdivision (i) of
Section 56425, that a district did not provide prior to January 1,
2006.
(i) "President" or "chair" means the presiding officer of the
board of directors.
(j) "Principal county" means the county having all or the greatest
portion of the entire assessed valuation, as shown on the last
equalized assessment roll of the county or counties, of all taxable
property in the district.
(k) "Secretary" means the secretary of the board of directors.
(l) "Voter" means a voter as defined by Section 359 of the
Elections Code.
(m) "Zone" means a zone formed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 61140) of Part 3.

61003. (a) This division provides the authority for the
organization and powers of community services districts. This
division succeeds the former Division 3 (commencing with Section
61000) as added by Chapter 1746 of the Statutes of 1955, as
subsequently amended, and any of its statutory predecessors.
(b) Any community services district organized or reorganized
pursuant to the former Division 3 or any of its statutory
predecessors which was in existence on January 1, 2006, shall remain
in existence as if it had been organized pursuant to this division.
(c) Any improvement district of a community services district
formed pursuant to the former Chapter 5 (commencing with Section
61710) of the former Part 5 or any of its statutory predecessors
which was in existence on January 1, 2006, shall be deemed to be a
zone as if it had been formed pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 61140) of Part 3.
(d) Any zone of a community services district formed pursuant to
the former Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 61770) of the former
Part 6 or any of its statutory predecessors which was in existence on
January 1, 2006, shall remain in existence as if it had been
organized pursuant to this division.
(e) Any indebtedness, bond, note, certificate of participation,
contract, special tax, benefit assessment, fee, election, ordinance,
resolution, regulation, rule, or any other action of a district taken
pursuant to the former Division 3 or any of its statutory
predecessors which was taken before January 1, 2006, shall not be
voided solely because of any error, omission, informality, misnomer,
or failure to comply strictly with this division.
(f) Any approval or determination, including, but not limited to,
terms and conditions made with respect to a district by a local
agency formation commission prior to January 1, 2006, shall remain in
existence.

61004. This division shall be liberally construed to effectuate its
purposes.

61005. If any provision of this division or the application of any
provision of this division in any circumstance or to any person,
county, city, special district, school district, the state, or any
agency or subdivision of the state is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications of this division
that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application
of the invalid provision, and to this end the provisions of this
division are severable.

61006. (a) Any action to determine the validity of the organization
of a district shall be brought pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing
with Section 860) of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(b) Any action to determine the validity of any bonds, warrants,
contracts, obligations, or evidences of indebtedness of a district
shall be brought pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 860)
of Title 10 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(c) Any judicial action to compel performance of an action by a
district, its officers, or its directors shall be brought pursuant to
Section 1084 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(d) Any judicial review of any administrative act taken after a
hearing by a district shall be brought pursuant to Section 1094.5 of
the Code of Civil Procedure.

61007. (a) Territory, whether incorporated or unincorporated,
whether contiguous or noncontiguous, whether in one or more counties,
may be included in a district.
(b) Except as provided in this part, the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg
Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, Division 3 (commencing
with Section 56000) of Title 5, shall govern any change of
organization or reorganization of a district. In the case of any
conflict between that division and this division, the provisions of
this division shall prevail.
(c) A district shall be deemed an "independent special district,"
as defined by Section 56044, except when a county board of
supervisors or a city council is the board of directors.

61008. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this division, districts
are subject to the Uniform District Election Law, Part 4 (commencing
with Section 10500) of Division 10 of the Elections Code.
(b) A board of directors may require that the election of members
to the board of directors shall be held on the same day as the
statewide general election pursuant to Section 10404 of the Elections
Code.
(c) A district may conduct any election by all-mailed ballots
pursuant to Division 4 (commencing with Section 4000) of the
Elections Code.
(d) A district may hold advisory elections pursuant to Section
9603 of the Elections Code.

61009. Whenever the boundaries of a district or a zone change, the
district shall comply with Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 54900)
of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5.