1. (1) When the petition for formation of an irrigation district is filed, the county court shall hold the hearing required under ORS 545.025 (6). The county court may adjourn the hearing from time to time, but the hearing shall not be extended over a period exceeding four weeks. At the end of the hearing, the county court may make such changes in the proposed boundaries as the court may find proper, and shall establish and define the boundaries, subject to the following:

   1. (a) An irrigation district may not include land that is located within a city or platted subdivision and that is chiefly available for residence purposes. The restriction imposed by this paragraph is expressly limited to residence property, and all lands, whether wholly or partially within any city or platted subdivision, used or suitable for agricultural or horticultural purposes and not platted in tracts of less than one acre, may be included in a district. However, if an irrigation district is formed as a successor district to another water supply entity and if that entity provides water for irrigation to land within any city or platted subdivision, the restriction imposed by this paragraph does not apply to such land that is served by the water supply entity at the time of formation of the irrigation district.
   2. (b) The county court shall not modify the boundaries so as to exclude any territory within the boundaries of the district proposed by the petitioners that is susceptible to irrigation by the same system of works applicable to other lands in the proposed district.
   3. (c) In the discretion of the county court, an owner of land that is susceptible to irrigation from the same system of works may, upon written application of the owner, have the land included in the district.
2. (2) At the end of the hearing, the county court shall make and enter an order determining whether the requisite number of owners of the land within the proposed district have petitioned for its formation, and whether the notice required under ORS 545.025 (6) has been duly published.
3. (3) If the county court finds that the petition is signed by all of the owners of all of the lands that are included within the proposed district and that will be subject to the charges and assessments of the proposed district and if the only modifications of district boundaries are at the request of owners of land seeking inclusion under subsection (1)(c) of this section, the county court shall enter an order creating the district and the election otherwise required by ORS 545.037 shall not be held. If the petition for formation also names persons desired as members of the first board of directors of the district and those persons have agreed in writing to serve as directors, the order shall declare those persons to be the directors of the district.

[Formerly 545.006]