SECTIONS 27291-27302 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 27291-27302

27291. The provisions of this article are alternative to any other
provisions for the exclusion of territory from the district.

27292. Any time after the defeat of a bond issue by the voters of
the district any city or unincorporated territory, a majority of
whose voters voting on a district bond issue proposition voted
against said proposition, may be excluded by order of the board upon
receipt by the board of a verified petition of ten percent (10%) of
the total vote cast in the territory proposed to be excluded, or of a
resolution adopted by the city council or board of supervisors
having jurisdiction of the territory. However, no city shall be
divided and not less than one-half of the territory under the
jurisdiction of the board of supervisors and then remaining within
the district shall be included in any petition or resolution or
combination thereof filed simultaneously, nor shall any territory be
excluded by any petition or resolution or combination thereof which
creates areas of noncontiguous territory or will be entirely
surrounded by the remainder of the district.

27293. The petition or resolution shall state the reasons for the
proposed exclusion and that the area will not be benefited by
inclusion in the district, shall define the boundaries of the area
proposed to be excluded, and request that the area be excluded.

27294. (a) If the exclusion is initiated by a city council or a
board of supervisors, such legislative body shall hold a public
hearing on the proposal to adopt the resolution. A notice of the
hearing shall be published once in a newspaper of general circulation
published in the area proposed to be excluded, or in a newspaper
published within the city and county the legislative body of which
has initiated the proceedings, in the event that a newspaper is not
published in the area.
(b) The notice of the hearing shall be entitled "Proposal to
Exclude the ________ Territory from the ________ Transit District."
The territory shall be designated by an appropriate name descriptive
of the area proposed to be excluded. The notice shall also contain a
description of the area, state the time and place for a hearing by
the legislative body, and shall state that all persons interested in
the exclusion may attend and be heard. The hearing shall be held not
less than 10 days after publication of the required notice.
(c) The legislative body shall conduct the hearing and at its
conclusion, or at the conclusion of a further hearing to which
adjournment has been made, may adopt the resolution and transmit it
to the board.

27295. Within 60 days after the receipt of a petition for
exclusion, the board shall hear the petition or resolution at a
regular or adjourned meeting of the board. Notice of the filing of
the petition or resolution shall be given by publication of the
petition or resolution in a newspaper of general circulation,
published in the district and selected by the board. The notice shall
also state the date of the filing of the petition or resolution and
that it will be considered by the board, and shall state the time and
place of the hearing. The time fixed for the hearing shall not be
less than 20 days from the date of the first publication of the
notice. The property to be excluded may or may not be specifically
described in the notice, but if not described, the notice shall refer
to the petition or resolution on file for purposes of a particular
description of the property sought to be excluded and shall make
reference to the property by a descriptive name.

27296. Any landowner or taxpayer within the district may appear at
the hearing, either in behalf of or in opposition to the granting of
the petition or resolution.

27297. The petition or resolution shall be heard by the board at
the time and place specified in the notice of the hearing.

27298. If, upon the hearing the board determines that it is in the
best interests of the district that the lands mentioned in the
petition or resolution, or some portion of them, be excluded from the
district, or if it appears that the lands, or some portion of them,
will not be benefited by their continued inclusion in the district,
the board shall make an order that the lands, or some portion of
them, as the board may determine, be excluded from the district,
describing specifically the lands excluded.

27299. In the event that the board shall not make the order
excluding all of the area proposed to be excluded within 10 days
after the hearing on the petition or resolution for exclusion, the
board shall within 120 days thereof order and conduct an election
within the area proposed to be excluded upon the question of whether
the area shall be excluded from the district, however, if a general
election is to be held within the territory proposed to be excluded
within six months after the petition or resolution is filed with the
secretary of the district the board may consolidate the election
requested by this article with the general election. All resident
electors of the area shall be eligible to vote at the election. The
cost of the election shall be borne by the district.

27300. In the event that a majority of the votes cast at the
election are in favor of the exclusion, the board, upon completion of
the canvass, shall make an order excluding the area from the
district. In the event that a majority of the votes cast at the
election are opposed to the exclusion, the measure fails and no
proceedings for exclusion of the area may be subsequently initiated
within one year.

27301. A copy of the order of exclusion, certified by the secretary
of the district, shall be recorded in the office of the county
recorder of the county in which the lands are situated. The record of
the certified copy shall be prima facie evidence of the exclusion
from the district of the lands which are purported to be excluded
thereby.

27302. Subsequent to the making and recording of the order of
exclusion, the lands excluded shall no longer be a part of the
district.
The order of exclusion does not invalidate, in any manner, taxes
or assessments previously levied or assessed against the lands
excluded, nor relieve the property excluded from any outstanding
bonds which are a lien upon the excluded property at the time of
exclusion or from any taxes imposed to pay the principal or interest
on the bonds.