1. An acquiring agency shall provide written notification to each owner of record of private property that may be the subject of condemnation. The authority under this chapter is not conferred and condemnation proceedings shall not begin unless a good faith effort is made to serve the notice as provided in this section on the owner of record of the property subject to condemnation. The notice shall be mailed by ordinary mail to the owner of record's last known address no less than thirty days before adoption of the ordinance, resolution, motion, or other declaration of intent to proceed with the public improvement and the acquisition or condemnation, if necessary, of the property. If the location of the public improvement is changed or expanded after the decision has been made to proceed with the public improvement, a notice shall be mailed by ordinary mail no less than thirty days before the adoption of the ordinance, resolution, motion, or other declaration of intent to proceed with a change in the location of the public improvement to the owner of record of the land to be acquired or condemned, if necessary, in the new location of the public improvement affected by the change. The notice shall include the statement of individual rights required under section 6B.2B. The notice shall, at a minimum, include the following information:
a. The general nature of the public improvement.
b. The acquiring agency's intended use of the private property for the public improvement.
c. The process to be followed by the acquiring agency in making the decision to proceed with the public improvement and the acquisition or condemnation, if necessary, of the property.
d. The time, place, and manner at which an opportunity is provided for public input into the decision to proceed with the public improvement and the acquisition or condemnation, if necessary, of the property.
e. The current status in the planning process for the public improvement, including meetings held and decisions made.
2. The authority to condemn is not conferred until the appropriate authority approves the public improvement, including the approval of any permits required by state or federal law which permits are necessary for commencement of the project. This subsection does not apply to land condemned for public improvements undertaken pursuant to section 306.19.
3. If, after making a good faith effort, an acquiring agency is unable to ascertain the owner of record's last known address, or the identity of the owner of record is uncertain, or the mail is returned as undeliverable or is refused, the acquiring agency shall cause a notice to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or city where the private property is located.
99 Acts, ch 171, §2, 42
Referred to in §6B.2B
Section applies to state highway construction projects approved for commencement by the transportation commission on or after July 1, 1999, and to all other condemnation proceedings in which the application for condemnation is filed on or after July 1, 1999; see 99 Acts, ch 171, §42
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