6B.14 - APPRAISEMENT -- REPORT.
6B.14 APPRAISEMENT -- REPORT.
1. The commissioners shall, at the time fixed in the notices
required under section 6B.8, view the land sought to be condemned and
assess the damages which the owner will sustain by reason of the
appropriation. The commission shall file its written report, signed
by all commissioners, with the sheriff. At the request of the
condemner or the condemnee, the commission shall divide the damages
into parts to indicate the value of any dwelling, the value of the
land and improvements other than a dwelling, and the value of any
additional damages. The appraisement and return may be in parcels
larger than forty acres belonging to one person and lying in one
tract, unless the agent or attorney of the applicant, or the
commissioners, have actual knowledge that the tract does not belong
wholly to the person in whose name it appears of record; and in case
of such knowledge, the appraisement shall be made of the different
portions as they are known to be owned.
2. Prior to the meeting of the commission, the commission or a
commissioner shall not communicate with the applicant, property
owner, or tenant, or their agents, regarding the condemnation
proceedings. The commissioners shall meet in open session to view
the property and to receive evidence, but may deliberate in closed
session. When deliberating in closed session, the meeting is closed
to all persons who are not commissioners except for personnel from
the sheriff's office if such personnel is requested by the
commission. After deliberations commence, the commission and each
commissioner is prohibited from communicating with any party to the
proceeding. However, if the commission is deliberating in closed
session, and after deliberations commence the commission requires
further information from a party or a witness, the commission shall
notify the property owner and the acquiring agency that they are
allowed to attend the meeting at which such additional information
shall be provided but only for that period of time during which the
additional information is being provided. The property owner and the
acquiring agency shall be given a reasonable opportunity to attend
the meeting. The commission shall keep minutes of all its meetings
showing the date, time, and place, the members present, and the
action taken at each meeting. The minutes shall show the results of
each vote taken and information sufficient to indicate the vote of
each member present. The vote of each member present shall be made
public at the open session. The minutes shall be public records open
to public inspection.
3. In determining fair market value of property, the
commissioners shall not consider only the assessed value assigned to
such property for purposes of property taxation.
4. In assessing the damages the owner or tenant will sustain, the
commissioners shall consider and make allowance for personal property
which is damaged or destroyed or reduced in value.
5. An owner or tenant occupying land which is proposed to be
acquired by condemnation shall be awarded a sum sufficient to remove
such owner's or tenant's personal property from the land to be
acquired, which sum shall represent reasonable costs of moving the
personal property from the land to be acquired to a point no greater
than fifty miles; but in any event, damages awarded under this
section for moving shall not exceed five thousand dollars for each
owner or tenant occupying land proposed to be condemned. An owner or
tenant may apply for an award pursuant to this section only if all
other damages provided by law have been awarded and such amount
awarded is insufficient to pay the owner's or tenant's reasonable
costs of moving. Section History: Early Form
[C73, § 1249; C97, § 2004, 2029; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 7835;
C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 472.14] Section History: Recent Form
C93, § 6B.14
99 Acts, ch 171, §12, 42; 2000 Acts, ch 1179, §16, 17, 30; 2006
Acts, 1st Ex, ch 1001, §13, 14, 49; 2007 Acts, ch 22, §1; 2009 Acts,
ch 133, §1
Referred to in § 6B.3, 316.2 Footnotes
2006 amendment to subsection 2 takes effect January 1, 2007; 2006
enactment of subsection 3 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