Opinion ID: 1843176
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Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Were the Bergers Entitled to Relocation Assistance?

Text: The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 18 of the Iowa Constitution provide that private property cannot be taken for public purposes without just compensation. U.S. Const. amend. V; Iowa Const. art. I, § 18. In addition to the payment of just compensation for the value of the property taken in a condemnation proceeding, Iowa law also provides for relocation assistance to individuals who are displaced from their property. Iowa Code § 316.3(1) (2001). Relocation assistance compensation is not considered compensation for the value of any real property acquired through condemnation or damages to the remaining real property as a result of the condemnation. Id. § 316.2(3). Chapter 316 of the Iowa Code contains Iowa's relocation assistance law. Id. § 316.1. The legislature delegated to the IDOT the authority to promulgate administrative rules necessary to effect the provisions of chapter 316. Id. § 316.9. The legislature also delegated to the IDOT the power to set up an appeals process to determine the eligibility of an aggrieved person for relocation assistance. Id. § 316.9(4). The decision rendered in the review process is the final agency action of the displacing agency. Id. Pursuant to section 316.9, the IDOT promulgated the administrative rules for real property acquisition and relocation assistance in chapter 761-111 of the Iowa Administrative Code. The rules incorporated the October 1997 edition of section II of the manual entitled  Uniform Manual, Real Property Acquisition and Relocation Assistance  by reference. Iowa Admin. Code r. 761-111.1 (1997). The appeal regarding relocation assistance is made to the agency whose determination is being appealed. Iowa Admin. Code r. 761-111.1(2)( d ). Because the IDOT made the determination regarding the Bergers' relocation assistance, the appeal was heard by the IDOT. Pursuant to the uniform manual, the IDOT appointed a three-person review committee to decide the appeal. Iowa Admin. Code r. 761-111.6(6). [1] The Iowa Administrative Procedure Act contains the standards under which we review the district court's decisions on judicial review of agency action. Locate.Plus.Com, Inc. v. Iowa Dep't of Transp., 650 N.W.2d 609, 612 (Iowa 2002). The agency decision itself is reviewed under the standards set forth in section 17A.19(10). Mosher v. Dep't of Inspections & Appeals, 671 N.W.2d 501, 508 (Iowa 2003). We determine whether our application of the standards set forth in section 17A.19(10) would produce the same result as reached by the district court in its application of the standards. Id. The Bergers argue that the IDOT's review committee misapplied the law to the facts in their appeal. Because the legislature clearly vested the IDOT with the authority to apply the law to the facts under Iowa Code section 316.9, the agency's decision can only be reversed based upon an irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable application of the law to the facts. Iowa Code § 17A.19(10)( m ). The review committee concluded the Bergers were not displaced persons, thus they were not entitled to compensation for relocation assistance. The Bergers argue otherwise. The Bergers contend they are displaced persons under the rules adopted by the IDOT pursuant to Iowa Code section 316.9. Rule 761-111.2(7) defines displaced person as follows: (a) Generally. A person who moves from real property or moves the person's personal property from real property in either of the following circumstances: (i) As a direct result of a written notice of intent to acquire, the initiation of negotiations for, or the acquisition of, the real property in whole or in part for a program or project undertaken with federal financial assistance. (ii) The person moved or moved the person's personal property from real property on which the person is either a residential tenant or conducts a small business, a farm operation, or a business as defined in paragraph 111.2(3)( d ), as a direct result of rehabilitation or demolition for a program or project undertaken with federal financial assistance in a case in which the head of the displacing agency determines that the displacement is permanent. Iowa Admin. Code r. 761-111.2(7)( a )(i), (ii). The record before the review committee clearly establishes the Bergers are not displaced persons because they never moved from their real property or moved personal property from their real property under the circumstances enumerated in rule 761-111.2(7)( a )(i) or (ii). The Bergers contend in spite of the fact they have not moved from their real property or moved personal property from their real property, rule 761-111.2(7)( c )(ix) requires the agency to provide compensation for relocation assistance. According to the rule, the term displaced person does not include: A person who, after receiving a notice of relocation eligibility (described in subrule 111.203(2)), is notified in writing that he or she will not be displaced for the program or project. Such notice shall not be issued unless the person has not moved and the agency agrees to reimburse the person for any expenses incurred to satisfy any binding contractual relocation obligations entered into after the effective date of the notice of relocation eligibility. Iowa Admin. Code r. 761-111.2(7)( c )(ix). The review committee found that the IDOT's letters of August 7, 2001, January 7, 2002, and January 25, 2002, together with the March 29, 2002, e-mail satisfied the notice provisions of rule 761-111.2(7)( c )(ix); therefore, the Bergers were not displaced persons under the rule. The Bergers contend the only notice that would disqualify them from being a displaced person is a notice stating unequivocally that their property will never be used in rebuilding or widening Highway 1. We can only overturn the decision of the review committee if its application of the law to the facts is irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable. Under this standard of review, the reviewing court must be deferential to the agency's action because the legislature decided that the agency's expertise justifies vesting primary jurisdiction over this matter in the discretion of the agency rather than in the court. Arthur E. Bonfield, Amendments to Iowa Administrative Procedure Act, Report on Selected Provisions to Iowa State Bar Association and Iowa State Government 70 (1998). Applying this standard, we find no basis to reverse the agency's determination that the correspondence between the IDOT and the Bergers satisfied the notice requirements of rule 761-111.2(7)( c )(ix). The agency has the expertise to interpret the rule in light of the language used in the correspondence between the IDOT and the Bergers. We cannot say the IDOT's application of the law to the facts by the review committee was irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable. If the Bergers' property was not going to be taken for the rebuilding or widening of Highway 1, the Bergers should not be entitled to compensation for relocation assistance. To hold otherwise would mean that the IDOT must pay the Bergers compensation for relocation assistance when the IDOT has no intention of taking their property. To pay the Bergers for relocating when they still have the economic benefits of the ownership of their property would be irrational, illogical, and wholly unjustifiable. The Bergers argue that if they are not given assurances that their property will never be taken for the rebuilding or widening of Highway 1, the present value of their property will be negatively impacted. All persons who own property adjacent to Highway 1 are in the same predicament. The fact that the IDOT agreed to an early acquisition at the Bergers' request, and presented the Bergers with a notice of relocation eligibility, which was lawfully rescinded, should not put the Bergers in a better position than any other person who owns property adjacent to Highway 1. If Highway 1 is widened or rebuilt in the future and the Bergers' property is impacted by the project, at that time the Bergers will be compensated for the taking and receive any relocation assistance to which they may be entitled under the law.