RCW 87.04.070 Hearing—Order of denial or rejection—Election to divide or redivide.

At the hearing or adjournments thereof, which shall not be for more than sixty days in all, the board of county commissioners shall consider the petition and shall hear electors of the district for or against the division or redivision of director divisions and recommendations for the manner in which division should be made. If the board deems it against the best interests of the district to divide the district into director divisions or to redivide existing divisions, it shall order the petition rejected, but if it deems it for the best interests of the district that the petition be granted, and if no elector of the district files cause in writing at said hearing why the petition should not be granted, or if having filed said cause in writing withdraws the same, the board shall enter an order dividing or redividing the district into the same number of director divisions as there are directors of the district, and designating the divisions and describing the boundaries thereof. The division to be made shall be such as the commissioners consider fair and equitable to the electors of the district. A copy of the commissioners' order shall be filed for record, without charge, with the auditor of each county in which any part of the district is situated, and thereafter the directors shall be elected or appointed as provided in this chapter. If any elector shall appear in person at said hearing and shall file cause in writing as aforesaid why the petition should not be granted and shall not withdraw the same, and if the board nevertheless deems it for the best interests of the district that the petition be granted, the board shall adopt a resolution to that effect and shall order an election held within the district on whether the district should be divided into director divisions or its existing director divisions be redivided, and shall fix the time thereof and cause notice to be published. The notice shall be given and the election conducted in the manner as for special elections on a bond issue of the district. The notice shall state the general plan of division or redivision but need not describe with particularity the boundaries of the proposed division or redivision. Such boundaries shall be described on the ballot. If the majority of votes cast at the election are in favor of dividing or redividing the district into director divisions, the board of county commissioners shall enter an order dividing or redividing the district into the same number of director divisions as there are directors of the district, and designating the divisions and designating the boundaries thereof. If a majority of the votes cast are against division or redivision into director districts, the board shall order the petition denied.

[ 1961 c 192 § 7; 1939 c 13 § 6; RRS § 7505-5f.]