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USA Statutes : oregon
Title : TITLE 46 AGRICUTURE
Chapter : Chapter 551 Diking Districts
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(1) When the term “lands” is used in
this chapter in reference to taxation, it shall not be held to include
improvements thereon; but the roadbed of railway lines within diking
districts shall be subject to taxation for diking purposes.
(2) For purposes of this chapter, duties prescribed for the county
surveyor may also be performed by the county engineer if the county
employs a registered professional engineer. [Amended by 1965 c.286 §1] One-half
or more of the owners of lands which may be conveniently embraced in one
diking district and which are subject to overflow by tidewaters or
freshets, and who represent one-half or more of the area of the lands
embraced within the proposed diking district, may present a petition to
the county court of the county in which the lands are situated, reciting
therein that it is desired to form a diking district for the purpose of
improving by diking or damming the lands contained therein, which are
subject to overflow by tidewater or by freshets, as the case may be, and
further giving by legal subdivisions, or by metes and bounds, the
description of such lands as are desired to be included in the district,
and stating that the petitioners are the owners of one-half or more of
the acreage to be embraced in the district. If, upon consideration of the
petition, the county court finds the statements therein are substantially
correct, the court shall require the petitioners to give a bond
sufficient to cover the preliminary expenses of the proceedings.(1) The county court or board of county
commissioners shall then have the petition published in a newspaper of
general circulation in the county in which the district is headquartered
once each week for four consecutive weeks, together with an order citing
all interested parties to appear before the court on a given date, after
the time of publication of the notice has expired, and show cause why the
petition should not be granted.
(2) The court shall appoint three disinterested viewers,
nonresidents of the proposed district, together with the county surveyor,
to view out the proposed dikes and dams, along the most practical route
to accomplish the object desired, at the least possible cost and expense.
[Amended by 1989 c.182 §44] The routine of procedure
under this chapter shall be as far as practicable the same as prescribed
by the road law of the state for survey, location and establishment of
county roads. The surveyors and viewers appointed shall meet as
prescribed by the county court. They shall trace upon the ground the line
of the dikes and dams necessary, and shall keep an accurate record of the
magnetic bearings and the distances upon the same. They shall designate
the width of the right of way through which the dikes and dams shall
pass, which right of way, if the petition is granted, shall be the
property of the district in so far as is necessary for the purpose of
building and maintaining the works. The surveyors and viewers shall also
define the boundaries of the district, and make an accurate list, by
legal subdivision, of the lands embraced therein, and the names of the
owners thereof. They shall further make plans for, and estimate the cost
of, the proposed dikes and dams, and shall file with the county clerk, at
least one week before the day set for a hearing, a complete report of
their works. Their report shall be open to public inspection. At the time
advertised for the hearing of interested parties, the court may postpone
the hearing as may be necessary in order to allow the viewers more time
in which to report, or for other good cause. If, upon the final hearing,
the county court, from the report of the viewers and the testimony of
interested persons, believes that the benefits to be derived from forming
a diking district are not sufficiently great to justify the expenditure
which will be incurred, the petition and report shall be dismissed at the
cost of the petitioners. If the court believes that the proposed
improvement will be for the general public good, and that the increase in
the taxable value of the land will be greater than the cost, or that
destruction of or damage to property equal to the cost will be prevented,
the petition shall be granted and the district formed, a number given by
which it shall be designated in future proceedings, the report of the
viewers adopted and incorporated in the court records, and the cost of
the preliminary work assessed upon the district. After the petition
has been granted and the proceedings had as specified in ORS 551.050, the
court shall apportion the estimated cost of the dikes and dams among the
landowners of the proposed district, in proportion to the valuation of
the lands therein, according to the estimated value placed upon the
respective tracts by the viewers. The cost thus apportioned shall be a
tax upon the land and shall be placed upon the assessment roll of the
county for the current year. Such taxes for diking purposes shall have
the same legal effect and be collected in a like manner as other state
and county taxes upon the assessment roll. [Amended by 2001 c.497 §1]When the tax has been collected or
the application filed as provided in ORS 551.080, the county court shall
advertise for bids on the proposed work, either as a whole or in parts,
as may be deemed most economical. The advertisement for bids shall be
published in the official county paper once each week for two successive
weeks previous to letting the contracts. The contracts shall be drawn in
such terms as will insure the district against loss, and a bond required
of the contractor such as will insure the completion of the work in case
of failure to comply with the agreement. No contract shall be awarded
which calls for an expenditure of a sum of money greater than the tax
levied for the purpose; provided, that the difference may be made up by
personal subscriptions; and provided also, the court may modify the plan
so as to bring the cost of work within the tax levy, if such modification
can be made without material detriment to the improvements.
After the assessments have been made, the owner of any property assessed
for such improvement in a sum not less than $50 may, at any time within
10 days after the cost of such diking district has been apportioned, file
with the clerk of the county court a written application to pay the
assessment in installments. The application shall state that the
applicant waives all irregularities or defects, jurisdictional or
otherwise, in the proceedings to create the diking district, and in the
assessment and apportionment of costs. The application shall contain a
provision that the applicant agrees to pay the assessment in five annual
installments with interest at the rate of six percent per annum. But no
such application shall be received and accepted where the assessment
exceeds the assessed valuation of the property on the tax roll of the
county. The installments shall be paid annually from the time of the
apportionment of the costs. In case of default in the payment of any
installment for 20 days after it becomes payable, the whole of the
remaining unpaid sum shall be collected as a tax against the property
assessed for the same.(1) Within 10 days after the petition has been
granted, the petitioners shall call a meeting of the landowners of the
district, to be held in the district at a time and place by them
designated, for the purpose of choosing three landowners as an advisory
board and nominating one landowner for superintendent of the district.
Notice of the meeting shall be signed by at least three of the
petitioners and posted in three public places in the district five days
before the date of the meeting.
(2) At the meeting and at all subsequent district meetings one-half
of the landowners in the district being the record owners of at least
one-half of the number of acres of land therein shall constitute a quorum
competent to transact business, and each landowner present shall be
entitled to one vote for each acre of land in the district of which the
landowner is at the time the record owner. All meetings shall be
organized by selecting a chairperson and secretary. The secretary shall
certify all proceedings taken and file the same with the county court of
the county within five days after any meeting.
(3) The advisory board shall assist the superintendent with its
advice and counsel concerning the necessity of work and the manner
thereof and in the repair and maintenance of the dikes and dams in the
district. The members of the advisory board shall hold office until the
next annual meeting and until their successors are elected and qualified.
(4) There shall be an annual meeting of the landowners of the
district on the first Monday in November of each year at 11 a.m., at
which time, or at an adjourned meeting thereof, three landowners of the
district shall be chosen for the advisory board, and a superintendent
shall be nominated for the next calendar year, whose selection shall be
certified to the county court on or before January 1 each year. The
county court shall appoint for superintendent of dikes in each district
the person so nominated by the landowners. Should the district fail to
file with the county court a certificate of the nomination of a
superintendent, then the county court shall make its own selection from
the landowners in the district and appoint the superintendent. In either
case the superintendent shall serve until the next annual appointment and
until a successor is appointed, subject to removal by the court for
neglect of duty, incapacity or other good cause. In case of vacancy in
the superintendent’s office the county court may, on consultation with
the advisory board, fill the vacancy until the next annual selection.(1) The superintendent:
(a) Shall receive such pay for services as the court may allow, but
shall be paid only for the time actually employed, and in no case shall
the rate of pay exceed that allowed by the county surveyor.
(b) Shall oversee the construction and repair of dikes and dams.
(c) Shall see that all contracts are faithfully executed, and the
work done in a thorough manner.
(d) After the dikes are completed, may employ the labor necessary
to maintain them at the usual rate of wages allowed to laborers on the
county road; provided, that in an emergency the county court may allow a
higher rate of wages; and provided, further, that the county court may,
with the approval of the advisory board, allow work on maintenance to be
done by contract.
(2) The superintendent shall also, not less than 15 nor more than
30 days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, file with the county
court an estimate of the money required for the maintenance of the dikes
and dams for the succeeding year. Such estimates added to any
indebtedness there may be against the district shall be the basis of the
tax for next year. The advisory board also shall file with the county
court, on or before the 15th day preceding the beginning of each fiscal
year, an estimate of the money required for the maintenance of the dikes
and dams for the next succeeding year with a statement of the work in its
opinion, required to be done, which estimates the court may consider in
making its levy. Moneys of a
district may be deposited in one or more depositories, as defined in ORS
295.005, designated by the superintendent of the district in consultation
with the advisory board. Moneys deposited may be withdrawn or paid out
only upon a proper order and warrant or upon a check signed by the
superintendent. The order shall:
(1) Specify the name of the person to whom the moneys are to be
paid;
(2) Specify the fund from which the moneys are to be paid;
(3) State generally the purpose for which the moneys are to be
paid; and
(4) Be entered in the record of proceedings of landowner meetings.
[Amended by 2001 c.497 §2] If, in locating and
establishing the dikes and dams provided for in this chapter, an owner of
land through which they pass is aggrieved on the score of right of way or
other causes, the owner shall have proper damage. In such cases claims
for damages shall be filed and the amount thereof determined in
accordance with the general road law in like cases. The damages allowed
shall be assessed against the lands of the district in the same manner as
the tax for construction, and paid to the aggrieved parties in the same
manner in which other claims are paid.Owners of land already diked may organize districts for the repair and
maintenance of the dikes and dams thereof by complying with the procedure
prescribed in this chapter, except that the petition need not be signed
by more persons than the owners of more than one-half of the acreage
embraced in the limits of the proposed district. The board of viewers
shall provide for placing the dikes and dams in thorough repair and up to
a uniform standard, and shall levy the cost of such repairs in the first
instance, not upon the assessed valuation of the lands, but in proportion
to the benefits conferred. The value of the dikes and dams as they stand
shall be estimated and due credit given to the lands which have borne the
original cost of construction; provided, such credit shall entitle the
land to no consideration greater than release from the cost of repairs in
the first instance. Any person through whose
lands a dike has been constructed under this chapter may be allowed to
construct a dike upon new lines between any two points on the original
line. In such case the owner shall file application with the county
court, giving a plat of the proposed change, and indorsed by the
superintendent of the district. If the court is satisfied that the change
is not detrimental to the district, the application shall be granted. The
applicant shall construct the new dike at the expense of the applicant,
and up to the standard of the original, of which fact the superintendent
shall be the judge. The dike thus constructed shall become the property
of the district in the same manner as the original, and subject to the
same regulation, and the right of way of the original dike shall
thereupon become vacated. The
county court may vacate the right of way through which the dikes and dams
pass, in the same manner in which county roads are vacated, and the right
of way shall thereupon revert to the original owner. The governing body
of any county shall have the powers provided for it in this chapter to
regulate the building and maintenance of dikes and dams for the purpose
of reclaiming and improving submersible lands as defined in ORS 274.005,
or lands subject to overflow by freshets, and for the purpose of
protecting lands from overflow where great damage is liable to be caused
thereby. [Amended by 1969 c.594 §60] Appeals may be taken from the
action of the county court in carrying out the provisions of this chapter
in like manner as appeals are provided for under the road law. Any
judgment resulting therefrom shall be an expense upon the district, and
not upon the county, and shall be provided for in the tax levy upon the
district. (1) A diking district
may be dissolved in accordance with ORS 198.920 to 198.955 if:
(a) Either an existing drainage district formed under ORS chapter
547 or an existing water control district formed under ORS chapter 553
agrees to continue to provide operation and maintenance of the levees and
perform other flood control and related works and improvements to the
inhabitants of the diking district; and
(b) Any other sponsoring governmental agency to which the district
owes an obligation under a contract or agreement consents to the
dissolution and turnover to the successor district; and
(c) The dissolving district has no outstanding indebtedness.
(2) The dissolution may be initiated by the board of county
commissioners of the county in which the district is located
notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 198.920 (3)(a) and (b). If the
proposal meets all the conditions described by subsection (1) of this
section, the board of county commissioners shall dispense with the
election required by ORS 198.935. [1973 c.665 §2]
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