Title 14, Local Government

(a) The commission shall publish the result of the referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine whether the operation of the district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible. (b) If the commission shall determine that the operation of …

(a) If the commission shall determine that the operation of the proposed district within the defined boundaries is administratively practicable and feasible, it shall appoint two (2) directors to act, with the three (3) directors elected as provided hereinafter, as the governing …

After six (6) months shall have expired from the date of entry of a determination by the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission that operation of a proposed district is not administratively practicable and feasible, and denial of a petition pursuant to the determination,…

(a) Petitions for including additional territory within an existing district may be filed with the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and the proceedings herein provided for in the case of petitions to organize a district shall be observed in the case of petitions f…

(a) In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of, or relating to, any contract, proceeding, or action of the district, the district shall be deemed to have been established in accordance with the provisions of this chapter upon proof of the issuance…

(a) (1) The governing body of the district shall consist of five (5) directors, elected or appointed pursuant to this chapter.(2) The three (3) elected directors shall be qualified electors residing in the district.(3) Two (2) directors shall be appointed by the elected directors…

(a) Within thirty (30) days after the date of issuance by the Secretary of State of a certificate of organization of a conservation district, nominating petitions may be filed with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission to nominate candidates for directors of the district. (b)…

(a) A soil and water conservation district organized under the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a governmental subdivision of this state, and a public body, corporate and politic, exercising public powers. The district and the directors thereof shall have the following…

The directors may delegate to their chairman, to one (1) or more directors, or to one (1) or more agents or employees such powers and duties as they may deem proper.

(a) The directors may employ technical experts, whose qualifications shall be approved by the commission, and such other employees as they may require, and shall determine their qualifications, duties, and compensations. (b) The directors may call upon the commission's attorney o…

The directors shall furnish to the commission, upon request, copies of such rules, regulations, orders, contracts, forms, and other documents as they shall adopt or employ and such other information concerning their activities as it may require in the performance of its duties un…

(a) The directors may invite the legislative body of any municipality or county located within or near the territory comprised within the district to designate a representative to advise and consult with the directors of the district on all questions of program and policy which m…

The directors of any two (2) or more districts organized under the provisions of this chapter may cooperate with one another in the exercise of any or all powers conferred in this chapter.

(a) The board of directors shall have control of the construction of the works provided for in the improvement plan. (b) It may advertise in local or state papers or papers published in other states for proposals for doing any work by contract. No work exceeding one thousand doll…

(1) The directors shall provide for:(1) The execution of surety bonds for all employees and officers who shall be entrusted with funds or property;(2) The keeping of a full and accurate record of all proceedings and of all resolutions, regulations, and orders issued or adopted; a…

(a) The board of directors shall keep a complete record of all financial transactions relating to the carrying out of the approved plan for works of improvement in a project area. (b) (1) On or before March 1 of each year, the board shall file with the clerk of the court a sworn …

Conservation district employees are deemed to be state employees for the purpose of participating in group health insurance programs.

Any district or districts organized under the provisions of this chapter may be divided, or combined with any other district or districts, or divided and combined with any other district or districts in the manner set out in §§ 14-125-402 — 14-125-409.

(a) At least twenty-five (25) landowners of each district affected by the proposed division or combination shall sign and file with the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission a petition requesting that the district or districts, as the case may be, and the operations the…

(a) Within sixty (60) days after a petition has been filed with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission pursuant to § 14-125-402, the commission shall give due notice of the holding of a referendum, shall supervise and conduct the referendum, and shall issue appropriate rules g…

(a) The commission shall publish the results of the referendum and shall thereafter consider and determine whether the division or combination requested in the petition is administratively practicable and feasible. (b) If the commission shall determine that the division or combin…

(a) If the commission shall determine that the proposed division or combination is practicable and feasible in its entirety, it shall appoint for each district to result from the proposed division or combination two (2) directors to act with three (3) directors to be elected in a…

(a) Upon receiving the property, assets, and rights to which they shall be entitled under the division or combination decided upon in the above manner, the directors of each resulting district shall file an application, duly verified, with the Secretary of State, for the completi…

The Secretary of State shall examine the applications, shall receive and file them, and shall record them in the book for the recording of applications for the organization of districts. The old districts shall cease to exist as districts, and the resulting districts shall consti…

(a) Upon the issuance of the certificate of due constitution of each such district under the provisions of this chapter, all ordinances and regulations theretofore adopted and in force within the former districts shall be of no further force and effect. (b) All contracts, agreeme…

The district constituted by the division or combination, and the directors thereof, shall have the same powers and be subject to the same restrictions as districts organized under §§ 14-125-201 — 14-125-209 and the directors thereof.

(a) The name of any soil and water conservation district may be changed with the approval of the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission upon:(1) The adoption of a resolution by a majority of the board of directors of the district; and(2) The filing of a certified copy of…

(a) The directors of any district may formulate regulations governing the use of lands within the district in the interest of conserving soil and soil resources and preventing and controlling soil erosion. (b) The directors may conduct public meetings and public hearings upon ten…

(a) The regulations to be adopted by the directors under the provisions of this subchapter may include:(1) Provisions requiring the carrying out of necessary engineering operations, including the construction of terraces, terrace outlets, check dams, dikes, ponds, ditches, and ot…

(a) The directors shall not have authority to enact such land-use regulations into law until after:(1) They shall have caused due notice to be given of their intention to conduct a referendum for submission of the regulations to the owners of lands lying within the boundaries of …

(a) The question shall be submitted by ballots, upon which the words “FOR approval of proposed ordinance No., prescribing land-use regulations for conservation of soil and prevention of erosion” and “AGAINST approval of proposed ordinance No. prescribing land-use regulations for …

(a) The directors shall not have authority to enact the proposed ordinance into law unless at least three-fourths (¾) of the votes cast in the referendum shall have been cast for approval of the proposed ordinance. (b) The approval of the proposed ordinance by three-fourths (¾) o…

Copies of land-use regulations adopted under the provisions of this subchapter shall be printed and made available to all occupiers of lands lying within the district.

Land-use regulations prescribed in ordinances adopted pursuant to the provisions of this subchapter by the directors of any district shall have the force and effect of law in the district and shall be binding and obligatory upon all owners of lands within the district.

(a) Where the directors of any district shall find that any of the provisions of land-use regulations prescribed in an ordinance adopted in accordance with the provisions of §§ 14-125-501 — 14-125-507 and 14-125-509 are not being observed on particular lands and that the nonobser…

(a) Any owner of land within the district may at any time file a petition with the directors asking that any or all of the land-use regulations prescribed in any ordinance adopted by the directors under the provisions of this subchapter shall be amended, supplemented, or repealed…

(a) The board of directors of a district may from time to time, on its own motion, and upon the filing of a petition by a majority in number of the owners of the lands or the owners of a majority in value of the lands, as shown by the last assessment of real property within a pro…

(a) Upon its adoption of a proposed improvement plan for an improvement project area, a copy of the plan shall be submitted to appropriate federal and state agencies for comment and the board of directors shall file the plan with the clerk of the chancery court of the county in w…

(a) If the plan adopted by the board and filed with the clerk of the court is based on, and accompanied by, a preliminary survey and report prepared with the assistance of a federal or state agency, which sets forth the purpose of the plan, delineates the area to be benefited, de…

All costs and expenses incurred in the preparation, adoption, and approval of an improvement plan shall be paid by the district out of its general funds, but all such costs and expenses paid by the district, upon the approval of the improvement plan, shall be repaid to the genera…

(a) The order of the court approving the improvement plan as provided in § 14-125-602 or the final improvement plan as provided in § 14-125-603, and establishing the improvement project area described therein, shall have all the force and effect of a judgment. (b) Any landowner w…

(a) (1) If a proposed improvement plan for an improvement project area includes land in more than one (1) soil and water conservation district, the districts involved, after adoption of the plan by the respective boards of directors of each district, may jointly petition the chan…

(a) The board of directors may at any time alter the plan for works of improvement, but, before constructing the work according to the changed plan, the changed plan shall be filed with the clerk of the chancery court, and notice of the filing shall be given by publication for tw…

After the work contemplated by the original improvement plan has been completed, the board of directors may adopt and file with the clerk of the chancery court where the original plan was filed a plan for additional works of improvement for the project area, and the proceedings w…

(a) As soon as the court has entered its order approving an improvement plan and establishing the improvement project area described therein, the court shall appoint three (3) assessors who shall be resident landowners of the project area. (b) Each of the assessors shall take the…

(a) When an assessment is completed, the assessors shall subscribe an original and one (1) copy of the assessment and deposit the original with the clerk of the chancery court, where it shall be kept and preserved as a public record. (b) The copy shall be certified by the clerk a…