Opinion ID: 2221286
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Heading: Statutory Authority to Condemn.

Text: The Iowa Constitution provides that [p]rivate property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation first being made, or secured to be made to the owner thereof.... Iowa Const. Art 1, § 18. This power of eminent domain is an attribute of sovereignty which may be delegated only by express authorization of the legislature. See Sisson v. Board of Supervisors, 128 Iowa 442, 452, 104 N.W. 454, 458-59 (1905); 26 Am.Jur.2d Eminent Domain § 19 (1966); Nichols, Eminent Domain § 1.14[2] (1981). Iowa Code section 359.28 provides the requisite authority for township trustees to exercise the power of eminent domain. It states: The township trustees are hereby empowered to condemn, or purchase and pay for out of the general fund, or the specific fund voted for such purpose, and enter upon and take, any lands within the territorial limits of such township for the use of cemeteries, a community center or juvenile playgrounds, in the same manner as is now provided for cities. Further, Iowa Code section 471.5 states: Whenever the power to condemn private property for a public use is granted to any officer, board, commission, or other official, or to any county, township, or municipality, such grant shall, unless otherwise declared, be construed as granting authority to the officer, board, or official body having jurisdiction over the matter, to acquire, at its fair market value, and from the parties having legal authority to convey, such right as would be acquired by condemnation. Together, these provisions confer upon township trustees the power to acquire property by condemnation for certain specified public purposes. Plaintiffs concede that section 359.25 empowers the trustees to condemn land, but they contend the trustees' purpose for taking this tract is not among those authorized by statute. Plaintiffs argue that the statutory authorization in section 359.28 to condemn land for a community center cannot fairly be construed to permit condemnation for a township hall. Plaintiffs also contend that section 360.4 places a $500 ceiling on the value of any property the trustees are allowed to take by condemnation. We recognize that statutes delegating the power of eminent domain should be strictly construed and restricted to their expression and intention. State v. Johann, 207 N.W.2d at 24; Bourjaily v. Johnson County, 167 N.W.2d 630, 633 (Iowa 1969); Iowa State Highway Commission v. Hipp, 259 Iowa 1082, 1088, 147 N.W.2d 195, 198 (1966); Aplin v. Clinton County Board of Supervisors, 256 Iowa 1059, 1061, 129 N.W.2d 726, 727 (1964); 26 Am.Jur.2d Eminent Domain § 18 (1966). An appropriate strict construction of these statutes must still be a reasonable and sound construction. See Iowa Code §§ 4.4(3), (5) (in enacting a statute, it is presumed that a just and reasonable result is intended and that a public interest is favored over any private interest).
[C]ounsel have not provided a comprehensive definition of those terms, nor have I been able to formulate one. Various similar terms are found in the statutes. Iowa Code section 383.24(4)(b) refers to community center houses. Iowa Code section 37.18(3) refers to community house and a memorial hall is referred to in section 37.18 Iowa Code chapter 360 is headed Township Halls but the sections in that chapter make no reference to it; the actual reference is to public hall. Iowa Code §§ 360.1, .2, .4, .5. None of those various terms is defined. It appears entirely reasonable to me that a center for the communitya community centerembraces a hall for the townshipa township hall. The trustees condemned the tract for permanent and continued use of said property as a township hall. The trial court correctly decided that the statutory permission to condemn for a community center embraced that township hall use. B. Plaintiff also challenges the legality of the condemnation proceedings on the ground that the value of the tract exceeded the $500 ceiling for purchase of any public hall as prescribed by Iowa Code section 360.4. That statute provides: Any public hall built under the provisions of this chapter shall be located by the township trustees so as to accommodate the greatest number of the resident taxpayers, and for such purpose the trustees may purchase land not to exceed in value five hundred dollars. We find no merit to plaintiff's argument because the trustees did not purchase the land but instead obtained it by condemnation. Chapter 360 sets forth the procedures for acquiring a township hall where a majority of the resident freeholders have petitioned for one. Nothing in that chapter purports to govern acquisitions by condemnation pursuant to chapter 359. The $500 ceiling of section 360.4 does not restrict payment which may be awarded pursuant to the condemnation authority of chapter 359 and the procedures set forth in chapter 472. Applicable Iowa statutes provided the trustees adequate authority to acquire plaintiffs' one acre tract for use as a township hall.