Zones may be established within a district for any of the following purposes:

Zones may be established within the district by either of the following methods:

The petition shall contain:

The petition shall be accompanied by a map showing the exterior boundaries of the district and of the proposed zone and containing a general description of the proposed improvement.

The failure of the petition to contain any of the matters specified in Sections 55651 and 55652 shall not affect the legality of the establishment of the zone if it is thereafter established.

The petition shall be presented at a regular meeting of the board, and the board shall thereupon set a time for hearing the petition, which time shall be not less than 21 days nor more than 30 days after the date of presentation of the petition.

Notice of the filing and hearing of the petition shall be given by the clerk of the board by publishing in the county pursuant to Section 6066 of the Government Code a notice containing a copy of the petition, stating when the petition was filed, and specifying the time set for the hearing of the petition and protests of interested parties.

The clerk shall also cause a notice, similar in substance, to be posted in three of the most public places within the proposed zone.

The date set for the hearing shall be at least 13 days after the date of the posting and the date of last publication of the notice.

A copy of the petition shall be filed with the county engineer of waterworks districts, or district engineer if one has been appointed, at least two weeks before the petition is presented to the board. The county engineer of waterworks districts or district engineer, as the case may be, shall prepare and file with the board, at least one week before the date set for the hearing on the petition, a report containing cost estimates and preliminary plans and specifications for the proposed improvements, together with any recommendations as to the boundaries of the proposed zone, and any other pertinent information relating to the feasibility of the proposed improvements or proposed zone. The engineer’s report shall be available in the office of the board for public inspection, and may be considered by the board at the hearing on the petition.

At the time fixed for the hearing, the board shall hear and pass upon the petition and any protests in writing that have been filed with the clerk before or at the time set for the hearing, and its decision thereon shall be final and conclusive.

If the board determines that the proposed improvement will be of district-wide benefit, the proceedings shall terminate, and the proposed zone shall not be established.

If the board determines that the proposed improvement will not be of district-wide benefit, the board may make such changes in the boundaries of the proposed zone as may be deemed advisable and shall define and establish the boundaries, but shall not modify the boundaries so as to exclude from the proposed zone any territory which will be benefited by the improvement, nor to include in the proposed zone any territory which, in its judgment, will not be benefited by the proposed improvement.

The board shall not modify the boundaries except after notice of its intention has been published pursuant to Section 6061 of the Government Code in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the county and designated by the board for that purpose, describing the proposed modification, and specifying a time for hearing objections to the modification, which time shall be at least 10 days after the publication of the notice.

Written objections to the proposed modification may be filed with the clerk of the board by any interested person at or before the time set for hearing the objections.

The board shall hear and pass upon the objections at the time appointed, or at any time to which the hearing may be adjourned, and its decision thereon shall be final and conclusive.

If the objections, or any of them, be sustained, no further proceedings pursuant to the petition shall be taken, but a new petition for the same or a similar purpose may be filed at any time.

If no protests are filed, or if all protests filed are heard and denied, or if authorized modifications are made in the boundaries of the proposed zone and the boundaries are finally established, the board shall have jurisdiction to proceed.

If the board determines that the petition is signed by owners representing at least 60 percent of the total assessed valuation of the real property within the proposed zone as shown by the last equalized assessment roll of the county, or by at least 60 percent of the taxpayers resident within the proposed zone, as its boundaries shall have been established upon the hearing on the petition, the board may by resolution reciting the finding declare that an election is unnecessary and that the zone is established.

Notwithstanding Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 2201) of Part 4 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation code, or any other provisions of law to the contrary, the board may levy, without an election, a tax rate within a zone to pay the cost of interest and redemption charges on bonded indebtedness incurred prior to July 1, 1974, where a valid petition is presented pursuant to Section 55668.

This section shall only apply the Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1. It is hereby declared to be necessary to enact this special law with respect to such district because of special facts and circumstances existing therein:

It has recently been discovered that due to the lowering of the water table, ranchers in certain areas of Ventura County are threatened with drought and a loss of crops. In order to expedite the provision of water to the areas, the landowners in the areas petitioned for annexation to Ventura County Waterworks District No. 1, for the formation of improvement zones, and for authorization of bonded indebtedness. Registered voters and owners of land approved such actions, and the Board of Supervisors of Ventura County approves. In order to insure, however, that the bonds may be immediately sold without the requirement of an election, it is necessary to exempt the district from the provisions of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 2201) of Part 4 of Division 1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code with respect to such bonded indebtedness. Thus, this special law is necessary in order to permit bonds to be sold and water to be provided to the affected areas in time to avoid severe crop losses in the area.