6A.21 - CONDEMNATION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND -- DEFINITIONS.
6A.21 CONDEMNATION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND --
DEFINITIONS.
1. Except as otherwise provided, for purposes of this chapter and
chapter 6B:
a. "Agricultural land" means real property owned by a person
in tracts of ten acres or more and not laid off into lots of less
than ten acres or divided by streets and alleys into parcels of less
than ten acres, and that has been used for the production of
agricultural commodities during three out of the past five years.
Such use of property includes, but is not limited to, the raising,
harvesting, handling, drying, or storage of crops used for feed,
food, seed, or fiber; the care or feeding of livestock; the handling
or transportation of crops or livestock; the storage, treatment, or
disposal of livestock manure; and the application of fertilizers,
soil conditioners, pesticides, and herbicides on crops. Agricultural
land includes land on which is located farm residences or
outbuildings used for agricultural purposes and land on which is
located facilities, structures, or equipment for agricultural
purposes. Agricultural land includes land taken out of agricultural
production for purposes of environmental protection or preservation.
b. "Private development purposes" means the construction of,
or improvement related to, recreational trails, recreational
development paid for primarily with private funds, housing and
residential development, or commercial or industrial enterprise
development.
c. "Public use" or "public purpose" or "public
improvement" does not include the authority to condemn agricultural
land for private development purposes unless the owner of the
agricultural land consents to the condemnation.
2. The limitation on the definition of public use, public
purpose, or public improvement does not apply to the establishment,
relocation, or improvement of a road pursuant to chapter 306, or to
the establishment of a railway under the supervision of the
department of transportation as provided in section 327C.2, or to an
airport as defined in section 328.1, or to land acquired in order to
replace or mitigate land used in a road project when federal law
requires replacement or mitigation. This limitation also does not
apply to utilities, persons, companies, or corporations under the
jurisdiction of the Iowa utilities board in the department of
commerce or to any other utility conferred the right by statute to
condemn private property or to otherwise exercise the power of
eminent domain. Section History: Recent Form
99 Acts, ch 171, §1, 41, 42; 2006 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 1001, §2, 49
Referred to in § 6A.22 Footnotes
2006 amendment to subsection 2 takes effect July 14, 2006, and
applies to applications for condemnation filed pursuant to § 6B.3 on
or after that date; 2006 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 1001, § 49