(a) Within thirty (30) days after the petition has been filed with the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, it shall cause due notice to be given of a proposed hearing upon the question of the desirability and necessity, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, of the creation of the district, upon the question of the appropriate boundaries to be assigned to the district, upon the propriety of the petition and other proceedings taken under this chapter, and upon all questions relevant to such inquiries.
(b) All owners of land within the limits of the territory described in the petition, and of lands within any territory considered for addition to the described territory, and all other interested parties, shall have the right to attend the hearings and to be heard.
(c) If it shall appear upon the hearing that it may be desirable to include within the proposed district territory outside of the area within which due notice of the hearing has been given, the hearing shall be adjourned and due notice of further hearings shall be given throughout the entire area considered for inclusion in the district, and the further hearing held.
(d) After the hearing, if the commission shall determine, upon the facts presented at the hearing and upon such other relevant facts and information as may be available, that there is need, in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare, for a soil conservation district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall make and record the determination, and shall define, by metes and bounds, or by sections or part-sections, or by legal subdivisions, the boundaries of the district.
(e) In making the determination and in defining the boundaries, the commission shall give due weight and consideration to:
(1) The topography of the area considered and of the state;
(2) The composition of soils therein;
(3) The distribution of erosion;
(4) The prevailing land-use practices;
(5) The desirability and necessity of including within the boundaries the particular lands under consideration and the benefits the lands may receive from being included within the boundaries;
(6) The relation of the proposed area to existing watersheds and agricultural regions; and
(7) Other soil conservation districts already organized or proposed for organization under the provisions of this chapter and such other physical, geographical, and economic factors as are relevant, having due regard to the legislative determination set forth in ยงยง 14-125-102 -- 14-125-104.
(f) The territory to be included within the boundaries need not be contiguous.
(g) If the commission shall determine after the hearing, after due consideration of the relevant facts, that there is no need for a soil conservation district to function in the territory considered at the hearing, it shall make and record the determination and shall deny the petition.
(h) After six (6) months shall have expired from the date of the denial of a petition, subsequent petitions covering the same or substantially the same territory may be filed as aforesaid and new hearings held and determinations made thereon.
Section: 14-125-202 14-125-203 14-125-204 14-125-205 14-125-206 14-125-207 14-125-208 14-125-209 NextLast modified: November 15, 2016