Effective 28 Aug 1939

242.050. Annexation of land to organize district. — 1. The board of supervisors of any drainage district organized under the provisions of sections 242.010 to 242.690, for and in its behalf, or the owners of a majority of the acres in any tract or tracts of swamp, wet or overflow lands or lands subject to overflow lying adjacent to such district, or having an outlet in common with lands in the district, shall have the right to file a petition in the office of the clerk of the court organizing such district, asking that the boundary lines of such district be changed or extended so as to annex and include such lands. Said petition shall describe the boundary lines of the tract or tracts sought to be annexed and state the names of the owners of such tracts together with descriptions of tracts owned by each; when the name or names of any owner or owners of any such lands or other property are unknown this fact shall be set out in said petition.

2. As soon as said petition has been filed the clerk of the court shall give notice of such filing by causing publication to be made once a week for four consecutive weeks in some newspaper published in each county in which any part of the lands sought to be annexed are situate; said notice need not contain the names of the owners of said lands and other property or descriptions of tracts owned by each, but it will be sufficient to describe said lands by sections and parts of sections; the notice shall state the purpose of the petition, that the lands will be rendered liable to taxation to pay the cost of making and maintaining the improvement found necessary to drain and reclaim said lands, and that any owner of said lands shall have the right to file objections to said petition on or before fifteen days after the last publication of the notice, which said date of filing objections shall be stated in said notice.

3. Any owners of land, or other property sought to be annexed, not petitioning, or the board of supervisors of the district, if not petitioning, shall have the right to file objections within fifteen days after the last publication of the notice herein provided for but not thereafter, setting out why said petition should not be granted. Such objection shall be limited to a denial of the statements in the petition and shall be heard and determined by the court as early and speedily as possible, at either a regular, adjourned or special term, and the court shall annex all lands and other property described in the petition that are found to be swamp, wet or overflow lands or lands subject to overflow, or lands having an outlet in common with lands in the district.

4. After such extension or extensions have been made, the board of supervisors of the district shall proceed to reclaim the lands and other property in the district as enlarged, by either constructing and putting into force or completing the improvements set out in the plan for reclamation already adopted or to be adopted, or by formulating and adopting enlargements, additions and extensions to drains, channels, levees or other improvements in the plan already adopted, and thereafter the same shall be proceeded with in the same manner or as nearly as possible, as provided by sections 242.010 to 242.690.

5. Any petition filed under this section, all maps, profiles and reports of the chief engineer of such district, and records of the board shall be deemed prima facie evidence in all proceedings under this section as to all facts therein. The term "lying adjacent to the district" as used herein shall be construed by the courts to mean situate nearby or in the vicinity of any drainage district, or touching such district in part or in whole.

6. Any owner of lands or other property, or the board of supervisors, for and on behalf of the district, shall have the right to appeal from the finding or decree of the court extending or refusing to extend the boundary lines of such district, said appeal to be prosecuted the same as provided for appeals under the civil code.

7. The amendments contained herein are declared to be remedial in character, shall be liberally construed by the courts promptly and shall apply to districts already organized, in process of organization or to be hereafter organized by circuit courts of this state.

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(RSMo 1939 § 12365)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 10784; 1919 § 4416