Okla. Stat. tit. 82, § 82-542

Court to district court.

Before any court shall establish a district as outlined in

Section 541 of this title, a petition shall be filed in the office

of the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma. Said

petition, shall be signed by owners of at least fifty-one percent

(51%) of the land area and by not less than fifty-one percent (51%)

of the landowners in the area embraced in the proposed district. The

governing body of any city or town shall have the power to instruct

the mayor or president of the Board of Trustees to sign any such

petition by resolution duly passed and entered on the records of the

city or town, and the signature for any city or town, as provided

herein, shall be accepted in lieu of the signatures of one-half

(1/2) of the owners of the platted land embraced in the corporate

limits of said city or town. The petition for establishing a master

conservancy district encompassing land outside the corporate limits

of any city or town must contain the signatures of owners of at

least fifty-one percent (51%) of the land area and not less than

fifty-one percent (51%) of landowners in the area located outside

any city or town embraced within the proposed district.

The petition shall be in writing and shall set forth:

First: The proposed name of the district.

Second: The necessity of the proposed work and that it will be

conducive to the public health, safety, convenience and welfare.

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Third: A general description of the purpose of the contemplated

improvement and a map of the territory to be included in the

proposed district. Said description may be given by legal

subdivisions or metes and bounds, but it shall be sufficient to

accurately describe the outside boundary of the said territory to be

included in the district. Said map and description of outside

boundary shall be the basis upon which the court makes its findings

of jurisdiction, and if the court finds that the required percentage

of signatures of owners of land as shown by outside boundaries of

the map attached to the petition have been filed, then the court

shall have jurisdiction of the said district subject to appeal as

provided herein. Said district need not be contiguous provided it

be so situated that the public health, safety, convenience or

welfare will be promoted by the organization as a single district of

the territory described and provided further that the intervening

territory be not benefited by the construction of the works in the

district so formed.

Fourth: Said petition shall pray for the organization of the

district by the name proposed.

The Clerk of the Supreme Court shall docket said petition as an

original action in said Court under the name:

In re: Conservancy District No. ______, and all such

proceedings shall successively be numbered serially from No. 1

upward.

The said Supreme Court shall within ten (10) days after the

filing of such petition determine which district court of said State

is most convenient near the center or middle of said district and

can hear and determine said petition with greatest convenience to

the people within said proposed district, having in view the

customary routes of travel; and shall thereupon refer and assign

said petition and proceedings to such district court and direct

hearing, determination, control and administration of such

proceedings as an original action therein, conformable to laws.

Provided, that where all of proposed conservancy district is in one

judicial district, the proceeding shall be filed originally with

some court clerk in such judicial district in a county embraced

within the proposed conservancy district and said court shall

exercise complete jurisdiction.

No petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared null

and void on account of alleged defects, if the court has once
l of proposed conservancy district is in one

judicial district, the proceeding shall be filed originally with

some court clerk in such judicial district in a county embraced

within the proposed conservancy district and said court shall

exercise complete jurisdiction.

No petition with the requisite signatures shall be declared null

and void on account of alleged defects, if the court has once

obtained jurisdiction, but the court may at any time after obtaining

jurisdiction permit the petition to be amended in form and substance

to conform to the facts by correcting any errors in the description

of the territory, or in any other particular; and said petition may

be further amended by including in the proposed district additional

area; Provided, that there shall be sufficient signatures on the

original petition, together with those upon any such amendment, to

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meet the requirements of inclusion of such area had the same been

included in the original petition.

Several exactly similar petitions or duplicate copies of the

same petition for the organization of the same district may be filed

and shall together be regarded as one petition. All such petitions

filed prior to the first hearing of said petition shall be

considered by the court as though filed with the first petition

placed on file.

In determining when a sufficient number of landowners have

signed the petition, the names of the owners of land as shown by the

tax roll of the county shall be conclusive for all purposes of this

act except that any successor in title to any owner so shown may

sign for such person or persons named on the tax roll if it be

appropriately indicated: Provided, if any city or town or any part

thereof lies within any such proposed district, or if any such city

or town has in such district or on any stream below any such

improvements any water dams and reservoirs which will be rendered

permanently benefited by such improvements, then all property in

such city or town shall contribute to the cost of such improvements

by contributing to the cost to such city or town as a whole in that

proportion which the assessed value of each assessed unit of real

property bears to the total assessed value of the real property in

such city or town.

Nothing herein provided shall affect the legality of any

district created prior to the effective date hereof; and all

proceedings for formation of districts, and all districts

established, pursuant to former law are hereby validated as though

fully conforming to the provisions hereof.