(1) For the purpose of formation of water-sewer districts, a petition shall be presented to the county legislative authority of each county in which the proposed district is located. The petition shall set forth the reasons for the creation of the district, designate the boundaries of the district, and state that establishment of the district will be conducive to the public health, convenience, and welfare and will be of benefit to the property included in the district. The petition shall state the proposed name of the district, which may be “. . . . . . . Sewer-Water [Water-Sewer] District,” “. . . . . . . Water District,” “. . . . . . . Sewer District,” or may be designated by a number such as “. . . . . . . . County Water-Sewer District No. . . ..” The petition shall specify the proposed property tax levy assessment, if any, which shall not exceed one dollar and twenty-five cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, for general preliminary expenses of the district. The petition shall be signed by at least ten percent of the registered voters who voted in the last municipal general election, who shall be qualified voters on the date of filing the petition, residing within the district described in the petition.

The petition shall be filed with the county auditor of the county in which all or the largest geographic portion of the proposed district is located, who shall within ten days examine and verify the signatures on the petition. No person having signed such a petition shall be allowed to withdraw the person’s name from the petition after the filing of the petition with the county auditor. If the area proposed to be included in the district is located in more than one county, the auditor of the county in which the largest geographic portion of the district is located shall be the lead auditor and shall immediately transfer a copy of the petitions to the auditor of each other county in which the proposed district is located. Within ten days after the lead auditor received the petition, the auditors of these other counties shall certify to the lead auditor: (a) The number of voters of that county residing in the proposed district who voted at the last municipal general election; and (b) the number of valid signatures on the petition of voters of that county residing in the proposed district. The lead auditor shall certify the sufficiency of the petition after receiving this information. If the petition shall be found to contain a sufficient number of signatures, the county auditor or lead county auditor shall then transmit it, together with a certificate of sufficiency attached thereto to the county legislative authority of each county in which the proposed district is located.

(2) If in the opinion of the county health officer the existing water, sewerage, or drainage facilities are inadequate in the district to be created, and creation of the district is necessary for public health and safety, then the legislative authority of the county may declare by resolution that a water-sewer district is a public health and safety necessity, and the district shall be organized under this title, without a petition being required.

(3) Following receipt of a petition certified to contain a sufficient number of signatures, or upon declaring a district to be a public health and safety necessity, at a regular or special meeting the county legislative authority shall cause to be published once a week for at least two weeks in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the proposed district, a notice that such a petition has been presented, stating the time of the meeting at which the petition shall be considered, and setting forth the boundaries of the proposed district. When a petition is presented for hearing, each county legislative authority shall hear the petition or may adjourn the hearing from time to time not exceeding one month in all. Any person, firm, or corporation may appear before the county legislative authority and make objections to the establishment of the district or the proposed boundary lines thereof. Upon a final hearing each county legislative authority shall make such changes in the proposed boundary lines within the county as it deems to be proper and shall establish and define the boundaries and shall find whether the proposed district will be conducive to the public health, welfare, and convenience and be of special benefit to the land included within the boundaries of the proposed district. No lands that will not, in the judgment of the county legislative authority, be benefited by inclusion therein, shall be included within the boundaries of the district. No change shall be made by the county legislative authority in the boundary lines to include any territory outside of the boundaries described in the petition, except that the boundaries of any proposed district may be extended by the county legislative authority to include other lands in the county upon a petition signed by the owners of all of the land within the proposed extension.

Part headings not law—Effective date—1996 c 230: See notes following RCW 57.02.001.