Chapter 545 — Chapter 545

ORS 545.001 Short title. This chapter may be referred to as the Irrigation District Law. [1995 c.42 §1]

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ORS 545.002 Definitions. As used in this chapter

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ORS 545.004 [Amended by 1967 c.503 §1; 1993 c.771 §4; 1995 c.42 §4; renumbered 545.025 in 1995]

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ORS 545.006 [Amended by 1993 c.771 §5; 1995 c.42 §5; renumbered 545.029 in 1995]

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ORS 545.007 Voting rights. (1) In any matter requiring or allowing a vote of the owners of land or the electors of a district

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ORS 545.008 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §6; renumbered 545.033 in 1995]

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ORS 545.010 [Amended by 1967 c.503 §2; 1991 c.249 §54; 1993 c.771 §6; 1995 c.42 §7; renumbered 545.037 in 1995]

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ORS 545.012 [Amended by 1993 c.771 §7; 1995 c.42 §8; 1995 c.754 §4; renumbered 545.041 in 1995]

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ORS 545.014 [Amended by 1969 c.669 §13; 1989 c.182 §6; 1995 c.42 §9; renumbered 545.043 in 1995]

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ORS 545.016 [Amended by 1969 c.345 §12; repealed by 1989 c.182 §49]

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ORS 545.018 [Amended by 1959 c.348 §1; 1993 c.771 §8; 1995 c.42 §44; renumbered 545.199 in 1995]

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ORS 545.020 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §45; renumbered 545.203 in 1995]

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ORS 545.022 [Amended by 1953 c.233 §2; 1993 c.771 §9; 1995 c.42 §46; renumbered 545.207 in 1995]

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ORS 545.024 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §47; renumbered 545.211 in 1995]

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ORS 545.025 Purposes of irrigation district; process for formation. (1) When owners of land that is irrigated or susceptible to irrigation desire to provide for the construction of works for irrigation of their land, to provide for the reconstruction, betterment, extension, purchase, operation or maintenance of works already constructed, or to provide for the assumption of indebtedness to the United States incurred under the federal reclamation laws on account of their lands, they may propose the organization of an irrigation district under the Irrigation District Law by signing a petition and filing it with the county court of the principal county, as defined in ORS 198.705. The petition must be signed by a majority of the owners of land or 50 owners of land within the exterior boundaries of the proposed district

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ORS 545.026 [Amended by 1993 c.771 §10; 1995 c.42 §31; 1995 c.754 §5; renumbered 545.137 in 1995]

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ORS 545.028 [Amended by 1967 c.609 §5; 1979 c.190 §427; 1995 c.42 §32; renumbered 545.139 in 1995]

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ORS 545.029 Hearing of petition by county court; authority as to boundaries of district; lands included; order; formation of district without election. (1) When the petition for formation of an irrigation district is filed, the county court shall hold the hearing required under ORS 545.025 (6). The county court may adjourn the hearing from time to time, but the hearing shall not be extended over a period exceeding four weeks. At the end of the hearing, the county court may make such changes in the proposed boundaries as the court may find proper, and shall establish and define the boundaries, subject to the following

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ORS 545.030 [Amended by 1993 c.771 §11; 1995 c.42 §33; 1995 c.607 §85; 1995 c.754 §6; renumbered 545.141 in 1995]

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ORS 545.032 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §34; 1995 c.754 §7; renumbered 545.145 in 1995]

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ORS 545.033 Naming and division of districts. (1) The order of the county court shall designate the name of the district. The name of the district may be changed by the county court at any time thereafter upon petition of the board of directors of the district accompanied by either the consent, in writing, of a majority of the owners of lands within the district or by the certificate of the secretary of the district certifying that, at a regular or special election called and held in the district for any purpose provided by law, the proposed change of name was approved by a majority of the electors voting upon the question of change of name. The secretary of the district shall cause a certified copy of the order to be recorded in the office of the county clerk of the county or counties in which the district is located

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ORS 545.034 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §35; renumbered 545.149 in 1995]

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ORS 545.036 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §36; renumbered 545.153 in 1995]

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ORS 545.037 Notice of election for determining organization of district; contents; publication; mailing. (1) Except when an election is not required as provided in ORS 545.029 (3), the county court shall give notice of an election to be held in the proposed district for the purpose of determining whether or not the district shall be organized under the Irrigation District Law and for the purpose of electing an initial board of directors. The notice shall describe the boundaries established for the district. However, if the county court, in the order defining the boundaries, orders that they need not be described in the notice, the notice shall refer to and incorporate by reference the boundaries established by the order of the county court under ORS 545.029 and on file in the office of the county clerk of the county in which the district is located. The notice shall designate the name of the proposed district, state the date of the election, the board positions to be voted upon and the latest date on which candidates for election as board members may file petitions for nomination. The notice shall be published once each week, commencing not later than the 50th day before the election, for at least four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. If any portion of the district lies within another county, then the notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in each county in the same time and manner. The notice shall require the electors to cast ballots which contain the words “Irrigation District – Yes,” and “Irrigation District – No,” or equivalent words. During the period in which the notice is published, the county clerk shall send a copy of the notice by registered mail or by certified mail with return receipt to each owner of land identified in the petition for formation under ORS 545.025 (5) who has not joined in the petition for organization of the district. The provisions of this subsection relating to mailing notices are directory and not jurisdictional

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ORS 545.038 [Amended by 1979 c.562 §18; 1995 c.42 §37; renumbered 545.156 in 1995]

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ORS 545.040 [Repealed by 1995 c.42 §184]

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ORS 545.041 Conduct of election; contents of nominating petition; verification of electors by county assessor; order declaring result; inclusion of portion of district in another district; commencement of duties by directors. (1) The election shall be conducted, as nearly as practicable, in accordance with the general election laws of the state, except that the provisions of the election laws as to the form of ballot and as to the nomination of candidates shall not apply. No particular form of ballot shall be required. An absent elector may obtain a ballot and vote, as nearly as practicable, in the manner provided for absent electors in ORS chapter 253

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ORS 545.043 Qualifications of directors; terms of office; oath. (1) At the election for the organization of an irrigation district one director, who is a resident of Oregon and a bona fide owner, or a shareholder of a bona fide corporate owner, of land situated in the division, shall be elected from each division into which the district has been divided by the county court. If no division has been made, the directors shall be elected from the district at large. Terms of the directors so elected shall expire in one, two and three years, respectively, from the first Tuesday in January next succeeding their election. Their respective terms shall be decided by lot

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ORS 545.045 [1993 c.771 §2; 1995 c.42 §38; 1995 c.607 §86; renumbered 545.163 in 1995]

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ORS 545.051 Change of boundaries authorized; effect on existing rights and liabilities. The boundaries of any irrigation district organized under the Irrigation District Law may be changed in the manner prescribed in ORS 545.051 to 545.126. However, a change in the boundaries of a district shall not impair or affect its organization, its right in or to property or any of its other rights or privileges of whatever kind or nature. The change in the boundaries of a district shall not affect, impair or discharge any contract, obligation, lien or charge for or upon which the district was liable or chargeable had such change of its boundaries not been made. [Formerly 545.582]

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ORS 545.057 Petition for inclusion of lands within district. The holders of title, or evidence of title, representing a majority of the acreage of any body of land adjacent to the boundaries of any irrigation district may file with the board of directors of the district a written petition requesting that the body of land be included in the district. For purposes of this section, the body of land may include or consist of one or more parcels of less than one acre, without regard to whether or not the parcels are city lots or tracts of a platted subdivision or are chiefly available for residence purposes. When the body of land is located within the boundary of a city, the petition shall be approved by the governing body of the city before presentation to the board of directors. The petition shall describe the tracts or body of land owned by the petitioners. Reference to the assessor’s map and tax lot number is sufficient for the description of lands required under this section. The petition shall give assent of the petitioners to the inclusion into the district of the lands described in the petition. The petition must be acknowledged in the same manner that conveyances of land are required to be acknowledged. [Formerly 545.584; 1999 c.452 §8; 2003 c.802 §132]

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ORS 545.059 Notice of petition; publication; deposit for costs. The secretary of the board of directors shall cause notice of the filing of the petition to be given and published once each week, for three successive weeks, in a newspaper published in the county where the office of the board is situated. The notice shall state the filing of the petition, the names of the petitioners, a description of the lands mentioned in the petition, and the request of the petitioners. The notice shall also contain a statement indicating that all interested persons may appear at the office of the board at the time named in the notice and show cause why the petition should not be granted. The time specified in the notice shall be the time of the next regular meeting of the board after the expiration of the time for publication of the notice. However, before the secretary of the board is required to give notice, the petitioners must advance to the secretary sufficient money to pay the estimated cost of all proceedings under the petition. [Formerly 545.586]

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ORS 545.061 Hearing on petition. The board of directors, at the time and place mentioned in the notice, or at some other time to which the hearing of the petition may adjourn, shall hear the petition and consider all objections to the petition presented in writing by any person, showing cause why the petition should not be granted. The failure of any person to object shall be taken as assent by the person to the inclusion of the lands in the district as requested in the petition. [Formerly 545.588]

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ORS 545.062 [Amended by 1969 c.345 §13; 1987 c.835 §1; 1995 c.42 §42; renumbered 545.181 in 1995]

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ORS 545.064 [Amended by 1965 c.541 §2; 1995 c.42 §48; 1995 c.78 §1; renumbered 545.221 in 1995]

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ORS 545.065 [1959 c.276 §2; 1993 c.392 §1; 1995 c.42 §63; renumbered 545.295 in 1995]

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ORS 545.066 [Amended by 1957 c.128 §1; 1965 c.614 §1; 1971 c.403 §9; 1993 c.771 §12; renumbered 545.183 in 1995]

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ORS 545.067 Liability of petitioners for obligations of district. Except as provided in ORS 545.075, the board of directors to whom the petition is presented may require as a condition precedent to the granting of the petition that the petitioners severally pay, contract to pay or become liable to the district for assessments for the payment of their pro rata share of all bonds and the interest thereon previously issued by the district. The amount of the assessments required under this section, as nearly as the amount can be estimated by the board, shall be the amount that the petitioners or their grantors would have been required to pay to the district had such lands been included in the district at the time it was originally formed or when the bonds were issued. [Formerly 545.590]

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ORS 545.068 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §43; renumbered 545.185 in 1995]

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ORS 545.070 [Amended by 1965 c.332 §6; 1977 c.774 §26; 1979 c.286 §15; 1989 c.182 §7; 1995 c.42 §49; renumbered 545.225 in 1995]

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ORS 545.071 Acceptance or rejection of petition; inclusion of land when owner objects. If the board of directors considers that it is not for the best interest of the district to include in the district the lands mentioned in the petition, the board, by order, shall reject the petition. However, if the board considers that it is for the best interest of the district that the lands or any part of the lands be included, the board may order that the district be changed so as to include the lands or any part of the lands mentioned in the petition. When making the change, the board shall not subject to the charges or assessments of the district the lands of any owner objecting to the inclusion of the lands. However, the board may include such lands within the boundaries of the district solely for administrative convenience. The order shall describe the boundaries of the land included with such exceptions as may be made. [Formerly 545.592; 1999 c.452 §9]

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ORS 545.072 [Repealed by 1989 c.182 §49]

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ORS 545.074 [Repealed by 1975 c.771 §33]

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ORS 545.075 Requirements that may be imposed upon petitioners in western Oregon district; charges or assessments. (1) Notwithstanding ORS 545.067, in any irrigation district lying entirely west of the summit of the Cascade Mountains, the board of directors may require as a condition precedent to the granting of the petition that the petitioners severally pay, contract to pay, become liable to the district for or consent that the lands petitioned to be included be charged or assessed by the district for such sums as the board of directors determines. However, these sums shall not exceed the amount the petitioners or their predecessors in interest would have been required to pay to the district for charges and assessments for the payment of

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ORS 545.076 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §72; renumbered 545.343 in 1995]

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ORS 545.078 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §73; renumbered 545.345 in 1995]

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ORS 545.079 Recording of order including lands in district; effect of order; appeal. (1) Upon the allowance of a petition for inclusion of lands and when an appeal has not been filed within 30 days after entry of the order, a certified copy of the order of the board of directors including the lands in the district shall be filed for record in the office of the county clerk of each county in which lands of the district are situated. The district as changed and all lands in the district shall be liable for all existing obligations and indebtedness of the district

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ORS 545.080 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §74; renumbered 545.347 in 1995]

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ORS 545.081 [1993 c.771 §14; 1995 c.42 §50; renumbered 545.237 in 1995]

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ORS 545.082 [Amended by 1995 c.42 §51; renumbered 545.239 in 1995]

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