NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1963 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 955

SENATE BILL 556

 

 

AN ACT TO REWRITE CHAPTER 794 OF THE SESSION LAWS OF 1961 RELATING TO THE EXERCISE OF THE POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN IN SMALL WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS, AS THE SAME APPLIES TO IREDELL COUNTY.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1. Sections 1 and 1½ of Chapter 794 of the Session Laws of 1961, as the same relate to Iredell County, are rewritten to read as follows:

"Section 1. Article 2 of Chapter 139 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by adding a new Section, appropriately numbered, to read as follows:

'G. S. 139-____ Power of Eminent Domain Conferred on Watershed Improvement Districts. (a) A watershed improvement district shall have power to acquire by condemnation any interest in land needed in carrying out the purposes of Chapter 139 of the General Statutes.

'(b)      This power may be exercised after completion of the following procedures:

(1)       The district shall make application to the Committee identifying the land sought to be condemned and state the purposes for which said land is needed;

(2)       The Committee shall find that the land is sought to be acquired for a proper district purpose and certify copies of its findings to the applicant district, the State Board and the Clerk of Superior Court of the county or counties wherein any part of the district lies, for recordation in the special proceedings docket.

'(c)      The findings of the Committee shall be conclusive in the absence of fraud notwithstanding any other provision of law.

'(d)      The subsequent procedure in all condemnation proceedings pursuant to this Section shall conform as nearly as possible to the procedure provided in Article 2 of Chapter 40 of the General Statutes, as the same may be amended from time to time.

'(e)      Interest in land acquired pursuant to this Section may be used in such manner and for such purposes as the trustees of the district may deem best and if, in the opinion of the trustees, such lands should be sold, leased or rented, the trustees may do so subject to the approval of the Committee.

'(f)       For purposes of this Section, the following special defintions of terms shall apply:

(1)       The term "interest in land" means any land, right of way, right of access, privilege, easement, or other interest in or relating to land. Said term includes an interest in land held for public uses or purposes and is not in actual use therefor. Said term also includes an interest in land owned or held as right of way by a public utility company, except that of railroad companies, provided that the operation of such utility company may not be impaired unreasonably thereby.

(2)       A "description" of land shall be sufficient if the boundaries of the land are described in such a way as to convey an intelligent understanding of the location of the land. In the discretion of the applicant district, boundaries may be described by any of the following methods or any combination thereof: by reference to a map; by metes and bounds; by general description referring to natural boundaries, or to boundaries of existing political subdivisions or municipalities, or to boundaries of particular tracts or parcels of land.

(3)       "Committee" means the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee.'

"Sec. 1½. Article 3 of Chapter 139 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by adding a new Section, appropriately numbered, to read as follows:

'G. S. 139-____ Power of Eminent Domain Conferred on Counties in Certain Cases. A county which has been authorized to levy a watershed improvement tax, whether pursuant to Article 3 of Chapter 139 of the General Statutes, or by special Act or otherwise, shall have for purposes of its county watershed improvement program the powers conferred upon watershed improvement districts by Section 1 of this Act (as the same may be amended from time to time), subject to the limitations and procedures prescribed therein. For this purpose, a county shall be considered a watershed improvement district, and the board of county commissioners shall be considered the trustees of the applicant district.' "

Sec. 2. This Act shall apply to Iredell County.

Sec. 3. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 18th day of June 1963.