§ 130A-48. Procedure for incorporating district. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 130A‑48.  Procedurefor incorporating district.

A sanitary district shall beincorporated as follows. Either fifty‑one percent (51%) or more of theresident freeholders within a proposed sanitary district or fifty‑onepercent (51%) or more of the freeholders within a proposed sanitary district,whether or not the freeholders are residents of the proposed sanitary district,may petition the county board of commissioners of the county in which all orthe largest portion of the land of the proposed district is located. Thispetition shall set forth the boundaries of the proposed sanitary district andthe objectives of the proposed district. For the purposes of this Part, theterm "freeholder" shall mean a person holding a deed to a tract ofland within the district or proposed district, and also shall mean a person whohas entered into a contract to purchase a tract of land within the district orproposed district, is making payments pursuant to a contract and will receive adeed upon completion of the contractual payments. The contracting purchaser,rather than the contracting seller, shall be deemed to be the freeholder. Thecounty tax office shall be responsible for checking the freeholder status ofthose persons signing the petition. That office shall also be responsible forconfirming the location of the property owned by those persons. Upon receipt ofthe petition, the county board of commissioners, through its chairperson, shallnotify the Department and the chairperson of the county board of commissionersof any other county or counties in which any portion of the proposed districtlies of the receipt of the petition. The chairperson shall request that theDepartment hold a joint public hearing with the county commissioners of all thecounties in which a portion of the district lies concerning the creation of theproposed sanitary district. The Secretary and the chairperson of the countyboard of commissioners shall name a time and place within the proposed districtto hold the public hearing. The chairperson of the county board ofcommissioners shall give prior notice of the hearing by posting a notice at thecourthouse door of the county and also by publication at least once a week forfour successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county. In the event thehearing is to be before a joint meeting of the county boards of commissionersof more than one county, or in the event the land to be affected lies in morethan one county, publication and notice shall be made in each of the affectedcounties. In the event that all matters pertaining to the creation of thissanitary district cannot be concluded at the hearing, the hearing may becontinued at a time and place within the proposed district named by theDepartment. (1927,c. 100, ss. 2‑4; 1951, c. 178, s. 1; 1957, c. 1357, s. 1; 1959, c. 1189,s. 1; 1965, c. 135; 1967, c. 24, s. 21; 1973, c. 476, s. 128; 1975, c. 536;1983, c. 891, s. 2; 2002‑159, s. 55(f).)