(a) Upon the petition of a majority of the number of realty owners within a proposed suburban improvement district, the owners of a majority of the realty in the area of the proposed district and the owners of a majority of the assessed value of the realty within the proposed district, the greater portion of which realty does not lie within the boundaries of a municipality, meaning a city of the first class, city of the second class, or an incorporated town, it shall be the duty of the county court to lay off into a district the territory described in the petition, for the purpose of purchasing, accepting as a gift, constructing, or maintaining waterworks or waterpipes, recreational facilities, systems of gas pipelines, sewers or grading, draining, paving, curbing and guttering streets and highways and laying sidewalks, and establishing, equipping, and maintaining rural fire departments, or for more than one (1) of these purposes and to name as commissioners of the district the seven (7) persons whose names have been transmitted with the petitions as having been elected at a public hearing held prior to the filing of the petitions.

(b) All, or any portion, of any municipality may be included in these districts, if the portion of the area located within the municipalities shall be less than fifty percent (50%) of the area of the entire district. However, no portion of a municipality shall be included in the district unless it shall be found that a majority of the number of owners of realty within the municipality, the owners of a majority of the realty in area within the municipality, and the owners of a majority of the assessed value of the realty within the municipality have petitioned for the formation of the district.

(c) All districts shall be numbered consecutively or else shall receive names selected by the court.

(d) If the court does not act promptly in complying with the terms of this section, or of any other section of this subchapter essential to the creation and operation of the districts, it may be compelled to do so by mandamus.

(e)

(1) If land in more than one (1) county is embraced in the proposed district, the petition shall be addressed to the circuit court in which the largest portion of the land lies, and all proceedings shall be had in that circuit court.

(2) All notices in that event shall be published in newspapers published and having a bona fide circulation in each county in which the district embraces land.

(f) Any number of identical petitions may be circulated, and identical petitions with additional names may be filed at any time until the court acts.