1254                             Laws of Maryland                       [Ch. 743

come into existence hereunder and it shall not thereafter be necessary
for the County or said District to file any ordinance, resolution, cer-
tificate or articles of amendment with any person or agency other
than the Clerk to the Circuit Court for Washington County.

530. Changes in District and Creation of Subdistricts.

(a)  The County may, at any time, by ordinance or resolution filed
and recorded as provided in Section 529, change the name of the
District or the Commission, change the boundaries of said District,
increase the number of Commissioners from the number appointed
by the ordinance or resolution adopted pursuant to Section 529 of
this sub-title to the maximum number permitted by Section 531 of
this sub-title, and change, add to or diminish the powers and pur-
poses of said District and said Commission, provided that such ordi-
nance or resolution shall contain only such provisions as may be
lawful under this sub-title, as from time to time amended, or under
any public general law of the State of Maryland applicable to Wash-
ington County and provided, further, that no such ordinance or reso-
lution shall in any manner impair or divest any property or contract
rights acquired or belonging to any person prior to the passage of
any such ordinance or resolution.

(b)   The powers and duties conferred on the District by this sub-
title shall be exercised only in subdistricts, the creation of which
may be initiated by the Commission on its own motion, at the sug-
gestion of the County or by a petition signed by not less than fifty
(50) property owners residing in any locality in the District, which
petition shall outline the boundaries of the locality which said prop-
erty owners desire to be created a subdistrict. Whenever the Com-
mission shall determine, either on its own motion or in response to
any such suggestion or petition, that a subdistrict shall be created for
the purposes of this sub-title within the District, it shall adopt a
resolution setting forth the need for such a subdistrict and the
general boundaries thereof and shall submit said resolution to the
County which shall approve or disapprove such resolution of the
Commission within thirty (30) days after the receipt thereof and
if said County shall take no action on said resolution within said
period, it shall be deemed to have approved the creation of said
subdistrict. Thereafter, the Commission shall cause plats of the lo-
cality, to be constituted as said subdistrict, to be prepared under the
supervision of the Chief Engineer of said District or of any consult-
ing engineer employed thereby, such plat indicating generally the
proposed water system, sewerage system, surface water drainage sys-
tem, or combination of such systems, to be installed. The boundaries
of any subdistrict may differ, as the Commission may determine,
from the boundaries outlined upon the petition of property owners
above described. Every such plat shall be approved by the Com-
mission by resolution and such approval shall be endorsed on such
plat by the Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer of the Commission
and by the President and Clerk of the Board of County Commis-
sioners of the County. Thereafter, one copy of such plat shall be
appropriately filed in the office of the Commission and one copy
thereof shall be filed with the Clerk to the Circuit Court for Wash-
ington County and by him shall be recorded and appropriately in-
dexed in the book provided for in Section 529 of this sub-title.
Upon the filing of said plat, such area shown thereon shall be, and