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Ditch authority accepts petition and schedules April 15 public hearing on County Ditch 4 abandonment
Summary
The Benton County Ditch Authority validated a petition to abandon County Ditch 4, determining the petition includes 446.33 of 693.81 benefited acres (64%), and set a public hearing for April 15 at 9 a.m.; required notices and publication will be issued.
The Benton County Ditch Authority accepted a petition to abandon County Ditch 4 and set a public hearing for April 15 at 9 a.m., staff reported.
County staff recapped the petition history: property owners first contacted staff in December, followed the petition template in the Minnesota Public Ditch Drainage Manual and corrected earlier deficiencies. The petition presented to the authority on Feb. 24 included 446.33 acres of the 693.81 acres benefiting from the ditch, which staff said meets the acreage threshold required to validate a petition for abandonment.
"The current petition has 446.33 acres of the 693.81 acres, which would be 64% of the benefited landowners signing," a county staff member said when presenting the petition. Staff confirmed they validated signatures and ownership status, including trustees and spouses, before bringing the petition forward.
The authority voted to set a public hearing on April 15 at 9 a.m. for the abandonment petition; staff said they will publish notice in the official newspaper and mail notices to benefited landowners as required. The petition process previously encountered invalid filings because of outstanding assessments and other defects; staff said those matters were addressed before the current petition was accepted as valid.
The ditch authority chair said standard notice and publication requirements will be followed and that staff will circulate notices to all affected property owners ahead of the hearing.
