{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-82-82-542","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 82, § 82-542","heading":"Petition - Signatures - Contents - Transfer by Supreme","body":"Court to district court.\n\nBefore any court shall establish a district as outlined in\n\nSection 541 of this title, a petition shall be filed in the office\n\nof the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma. Said\n\npetition, shall be signed by owners of at least fifty-one percent\n\n(51%) of the land area and by not less than fifty-one percent (51%)\n\nof the landowners in the area embraced in the proposed district. The\n\ngoverning body of any city or town shall have the power to instruct\n\nthe mayor or president of the Board of Trustees to sign any such\n\npetition by resolution duly passed and entered on the records of the\n\ncity or town, and the signature for any city or town, as provided\n\nherein, shall be accepted in lieu of the signatures of one-half\n\n(1/2) of the owners of the platted land embraced in the corporate\n\nlimits of said city or town. The petition for establishing a master\n\nconservancy district encompassing land outside the corporate limits\n\nof any city or town must contain the signatures of owners of at\n\nleast fifty-one percent (51%) of the land area and not less than\n\nfifty-one percent (51%) of landowners in the area located outside\n\nany city or town embraced within the proposed district.\n\nThe petition shall be in writing and shall set forth:\n\nFirst: The proposed name of the district.\n\nSecond: The necessity of the proposed work and that it will be\n\nconducive to the public health, safety, convenience and welfare.\n\nThird: A general description of the purpose of the contemplated\n\nimprovement and a map of the territory to be included in the\n\nproposed district. Said description may be given by legal\n\nsubdivisions or metes and bounds, but it shall be sufficient to\n\naccurately describe the outside boundary of the said territory to be\n\nincluded in the district. Said map and description of outside\n\nboundary shall be the basis upon which the court makes its findings\n\nof jurisdiction, and if the court finds that the required percentage\n\nof signatures of owners of land as shown by outside boundaries of\n\nthe map attached to the petition have been filed, then the court\n\nshall have jurisdiction of the said district subject to appeal as\n\nprovided herein. Said district need not be contiguous provided it\n\nbe so situated that the public health, safety, convenience or\n\nwelfare will be promoted by the organization as a single district of\n\nthe territory described and provided further that the intervening\n\nterritory be not benefited by the construction of the works in the\n\ndistrict so formed.\n\nFourth: Said petition shall pray for the organization of the\n\ndistrict by the name proposed.\n\nThe Clerk of the Supreme Court shall docket said petition as an\n\noriginal action in said Court under the name:\n\nIn re: Conservancy District No. ______, and all such\n\nproceedings shall successively be numbered serially from No. 1\n\nupward.\n\nThe said Supreme Court shall within ten (10) days after the\n\nfiling of such petition determine which district court of said State\n\nis most convenient near the center or middle of said district and\n\ncan hear and determine said petition with greatest convenience to\n\nthe people within said proposed district, having in view the\n\ncustomary routes of travel; and shall thereupon refer and assign\n\nsaid petition and proceedings to such district court and direct\n\nhearing, determination, control and administration of such\n\nproceedings as an original action therein, conformable to laws.\n\nProvided, that where all of proposed conservancy district is in one\n\njudicial district, the proceeding shall be filed originally with\n\nsome court clerk in such judicial district in a county embraced\n\nwithin the proposed conservancy district and said court shall\n\nexercise complete jurisdiction.\n\nNo petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared null\n\nand void on account of alleged defects, if the court has once\nl of proposed conservancy district is in one\n\njudicial district, the proceeding shall be filed originally with\n\nsome court clerk in such judicial district in a county embraced\n\nwithin the proposed conservancy district and said court shall\n\nexercise complete jurisdiction.\n\nNo petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared null\n\nand void on account of alleged defects, if the court has once\n\nobtained jurisdiction, but the court may at any time after obtaining\n\njurisdiction permit the petition to be amended in form and substance\n\nto conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the description\n\nof the territory, or in any other particular; and said petition may\n\nbe further amended by including in the proposed district additional\n\narea; Provided, that there shall be sufficient signatures on the\n\noriginal petition, together with those upon any such amendment, to\n\nmeet the requirements of inclusion of such area had the same been\n\nincluded in the original petition.\n\nSeveral exactly similar petitions or duplicate copies of the\n\nsame petition for the organization of the same district may be filed\n\nand shall together be regarded as one petition. All such petitions\n\nfiled prior to the first hearing of said petition shall be\n\nconsidered by the court as though filed with the first petition\n\nplaced on file.\n\nIn determining when a sufficient number of landowners have\n\nsigned the petition, the names of the owners of land as shown by the\n\ntax roll of the county shall be conclusive for all purposes of this\n\nact except that any successor in title to any owner so shown may\n\nsign for such person or persons named on the tax roll if it be\n\nappropriately indicated: Provided, if any city or town or any part\n\nthereof lies within any such proposed district, or if any such city\n\nor town has in such district or on any stream below any such\n\nimprovements any water dams and reservoirs which will be rendered\n\npermanently benefited by such improvements, then all property in\n\nsuch city or town shall contribute to the cost of such improvements\n\nby contributing to the cost to such city or town as a whole in that\n\nproportion which the assessed value of each assessed unit of real\n\nproperty bears to the total assessed value of the real property in\n\nsuch city or town.\n\nNothing herein provided shall affect the legality of any\n\ndistrict created prior to the effective date hereof; and all\n\nproceedings for formation of districts, and all districts\n\nestablished, pursuant to former law are hereby validated as though\n\nfully conforming to the provisions hereof.","path":["OK Code","Title 82"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os82.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"9ad4c67a63317bfd88abe35f15c878b2ebda240c9e4473397e55a22d097a6d4d","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-82-82-541.2","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-82-82-543"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}