Intercorporate Relations and Jurisdiction

C.R.S. tit. 37, art. 6

in effect

C.R.S. § 37-6-101 Lands in more than one district

37-6-101. Lands in more than one district. (1) The same land may be included in more than one district and be subject to the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title for each district in which it may be included; but no district shall be organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title in whole or in part within the territory of a district already organized under said articles until the court having jurisdiction of the original conservancy district determines, upon application, whether the purposes of said articles will best be accomplished by the organization of an additional district or whether such conditions demand that the territory proposed to be organized into an additional district shall be organized as part of the existing district. Such application shall fulfill all the requirements of a petition for a district as set forth in section 37-2-102. (2) Upon application, if the court determines that the organization of such territory as a part of the original district should not be ordered, then proceedings may be had before any court of competent jurisdiction for the formation of an additional district in accordance with the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title. Any person whose signature has been subscribed to said application may within ten days after such decision withdraw his signature therefrom, and if at the expiration of said period there remain sufficient subscribers to said petition to satisfy the requirements of section 37-2-102, and in case such court determines that the territory described in such application, if organized for the purpose of a conservancy district, should be included within the original district, like proceedings shall thereupon be had with respect to the territory and the owners thereof as in the case of a petition for the formation of a district. Upon the hearing, if it appears that the purpose of articles 1 to 8 of this title would be subserved by the organization of such territory as part of the original district, the court shall by its findings, duly entered of record, enter a decree accordingly.

C.R.S. § 37-6-102 Union of districts

37-6-102. Union of districts. (1) In case two or more districts have been organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title in a territory which, in the opinion of the directors of each of the districts, should constitute but one district, the board of directors of the districts may petition the court for an order uniting said districts into a single district; but if such districts are contiguous, such petition may be signed and presented by the directors of any one of such contiguous districts. Said petition shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court in and for that county which has the greatest valuation of real property within the districts sought to be included, as shown by the tax rolls of the respective counties. Said petition shall set forth facts showing that the purposes of articles 1 to 8 of this title would be subserved by the union of said districts and that such union would promote the economical execution of the purposes for which the districts were organized. (2) Upon the filing of said petition the court shall by order fix a time and place of hearing, and thereupon the clerk shall give notice by publication or by personal service to the boards of directors of the districts which it is desired to unite with the district of the petitioners. Such notice shall contain the time and place where the hearing on the petition will be had and the purpose of the same, and under the provisions of section 37-2-105, in case the said two or more districts sought to be united severally include a part of the territory within two or more counties. Such hearing shall be had in accordance with the provisions of articles 1 to 8 of this title as to the hearing upon petition for the formation of a conservancy district. (3) After the hearing, if the court finds that the averments of the petition are true and that the said districts, or any of them, should be united, it shall so order, and thereafter such districts shall be united into one district and proceed as such. The court shall designate the corporate name of such united district, and such further proceedings shall be taken as provided for in articles 1 to 8 of this title. The court shall in such order appoint the directors of such united district who shall thereafter have such powers and be subject to such regulations as are provided for directors in districts created in the first instance. All legal proceedings already instituted by or against any of such constituent districts may be revived and continued against such united district by an order of court substituting the name of such united district for such constituent districts, and such proceedings shall then continue accordingly. (4) Instead of organizing a new district from such constituent districts, the court may, in its discretion, direct that one or more of such districts described in the petition be included in another of said districts, which other shall continue under its original corporate name and organization, or it may direct that the district or districts so absorbed shall be represented on the board of directors of the original district, designating what members of the board of directors of the original district shall be retired from the new board and what members representing the included district or districts shall take their places; or it may direct that the included district or districts shall become subdistricts of the main district.

C.R.S. § 37-6-103 Subdistricts

37-6-103. Subdistricts. (1) Whenever it is desired to construct improvements wholly within or partly within and partly without any district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title, which improvements will affect only a part of said district, for the purpose of accomplishing such work, subdistricts may be organized upon petition of the owners of real property, within or partly within and partly without the district, which petition shall fulfill the same requirements concerning the subdistricts as the petition outlined in section 37-2-102 is required to fulfill concerning the organization of the main district and shall be filed with the clerk of the district court and shall be accompanied by a bond as provided for in section 37-2-103. All proceedings relating to the organization of such subdistricts shall conform in all things to the provisions of said articles relating to the organization of districts. Whenever the court by its order duly entered of record declares and decrees the subdistricts to be organized, the clerk of said court shall thereupon give notice of such order to the directors of the district, who shall thereupon act also as directors of the subdistrict. Thereafter, the proceedings in reference to the subdistrict shall in all matters conform to the provisions of said articles; except that, in the appraisal of benefits and damages for the purposes of such subdistricts, in the issuance of bonds, in the levying of assessments, and in all other matters affecting only the subdistrict, the provisions of said articles shall apply to the subdistrict as though it were an independent district, and it shall not, in these things, be amalgamated with the main district. (2) The board of directors, board of appraisers, chief engineer, attorney, secretary, and other officers, agents, and employees of the district shall, insofar as it may be necessary, serve in the same capacities for such subdistrict, and contracts and agreements between the main district and subdistrict may be made in the same manner as contracts and agreements between two districts. The distribution of administration expense between the main district and subdistrict shall be in proportion to the interests involved and the amount of service rendered, such division to be made by the board of directors with the right of appeal to the court establishing the district. This section shall not be held to prevent the organization of independent districts for local improvements under other laws within the limits of a district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title.

C.R.S. § 37-6-104 Remedy for injury by a district

37-6-104. Remedy for injury by a district. (1) In case any person or public corporation, within or without any district organized under articles 1 to 8 of this title, may be injuriously affected with respect to property rights in any manner whatsoever by any act performed by any official or agent of such district, or by the execution, maintenance, or operation of the official plan, and except as otherwise provided in article 10 of title 24, C.R.S., and in case no other method of relief is offered under articles 1 to 8 of this title, the remedy shall be as follows: The person or public corporation seeking relief shall petition the court before which said district was organized for an appraisal of damages sufficient to compensate for such injuries. The court shall thereupon direct the board of appraisers of the district to appraise said damages and injuries and to make a report to the court on or before the time named in the order of the court. Upon the filing of such report, the court shall cause notice to be given to the petitioner and to the directors of the district of a hearing on said report. At the time of such hearing, the court shall consider said report of said appraisers and may ratify said report or amend it as the court may deem equitable or may return it to the said board of appraisers and require them to prepare a new report. Upon the filing of an order of the court approving said report of said appraisers, with such modifications as it may have made, said order shall constitute a final adjudication of the matter, unless it is appealed in the manner provided in this article, within twenty days. (2) Appeal from said order to a jury may be had as provided in this article, in case of condemnation proceedings, by the petitioners, by the directors of the district, or by any person or corporation adversely affected by the report of the appraisers. No damages shall be allowed under this section which would not otherwise be allowed by law; but nothing in this section shall be construed to deprive any person or public corporation of the remedy of injunction in the case of prospective irreparable injury.

Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-37.docxFetched: 10/6/2026