Article 2 - Formation of Districts

California Food and Agricultural Code — §§ 6293-6293.13

Sections (6)

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective October 3, 2001.

Proceedings for the formation of a district within Napa County shall be commenced by a petition that is either of the following:

(a)Signed by 50 percent or more of the owners of 65 percent or more of the affected land.

(b)Signed by 65 percent or more of the owners of 50 percent or more of the affected land.

The petition shall be addressed to, and filed with, the board of supervisors of the county.

§ 6293.1

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective October 3, 2001.

The petition may be filed in sections, each of which shall comply with all the requirements for a petition, except that a section need not contain the total number of signatures required for the petition.

§ 6293.10

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective October 3, 2001.

At the hearing, any owner of winegrape growing acreage in the proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request for the exclusion of that land or any part of that land from the proposed district upon a showing that the land or part of that land will not be benefited by the activities of the proposed district. Factors that the board of supervisors may consider in its determination to exclude shall include an affidavit from the landowner stating that the land is not planted to winegrapes and will not be so planted in the foreseeable future. However, should the excluded land be planted to winegrapes, the landowner shall be required to inform the district, in writing, within 30 days of planting. Any owner of winegrape acreage outside the proposed district may present to the board of supervisors a request in writing for inclusion of that land in the proposed district.

§ 6293.11

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective October 3, 2001.

If the board of supervisors determines that the petition does not comply with the requirements of law, the matter may be dismissed without prejudice to present a new petition covering the same matter. A finding by the board of supervisors in favor of the sufficiency of the petition and notice is final and conclusive against all persons except the state in a proceeding brought by the Attorney General within one year of the date of the making of the order establishing and describing the boundaries of the district.

§ 6293.12

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective October 3, 2001.

(a)If the board of supervisors determines that the project is feasible and in the interest of the winegrape growers of the county, the board of supervisors shall, by order entered in its minutes, declare the district duly organized under the name designated in the petition for the formation of the district.

(b)The order shall describe the territory included in the district and, if the board of supervisors does not exclude or include land pursuant to Section 6293.13, it is a sufficient description of the territory to describe the boundaries in substantially the same way as they are described in the petition.

(c)A copy of the order duly certified by the clerk of the board of supervisors shall be filed for record in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the district is situated.

§ 6293.13

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 442, Sec. 1. Effective October 3, 2001.

(a)In determining the boundaries of the district, the board of supervisors shall exclude from the district any winegrape growing acreage that it finds will not be benefited by the proposed project, and it may include in the district any winegrape growing acreage that it finds will be benefited if it also finds it will be in the interest of the district to include that winegrape growing acreage. The inclusion may be upon application of the owner or, without the owner’s application, upon giving the owner notice of the proposed inclusion and an opportunity for a hearing on the inclusion.

(b)Notice of inclusion shall be mailed, postage prepaid, by the clerk of the board of supervisors, to the address of the owner of the winegrape growing acreage, as shown by the last equalized county assessment roll, and to any person that has filed with the clerk that person’s name and address and description of winegrape growing acreage in which he or she has either a legal or equitable interest. The notice shall describe the winegrape growing acreage proposed to be included, and shall state the time and place at which objections to the inclusion will be heard.