East Oaks Development, Inc. v. DOT

• Decision Date: 22 December 1999
• Docket Number: No. 97-2219.,97-2219.
• Citation: 603 N.W.2d 566
• Parties: EAST OAKS DEVELOPMENT, INC., Appellant, v. IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee, Funtime Rentals, Inc. and Parks Marina, Inc., City of Okoboji and City of Arnolds Park, Intervenors.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

603 N.W.2d 566

EAST OAKS DEVELOPMENT, INC., Appellant, v. IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellee, Funtime Rentals, Inc. and Parks Marina, Inc., City of Okoboji and City of Arnolds Park, Intervenors.

No. 97-2219.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

December 22, 1999.

John G. Martens of Terrill & Martens Law Offices, Ames, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, David A. Ferree, Special Assistant Attorney General, and Kerry Anderson, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and LARSON, CARTER, CADY, and ANDREASEN,¹ JJ.

CARTER, Justice.

East Oaks Development, Inc. (East Oaks), the plaintiff in the district court, appeals from the denial of injunctive relief in connection with its challenge to the authority of the appellee, Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), to condemn a portion of East Oaks' lands. The intervenors Funtime Rentals, Inc. and Parks Marina, Inc. are aligned with the appellant. The intervenors City of Okoboji and City of Arnolds Park are aligned with the appellee.

The crux of this appeal is the contention made by East Oaks that, because the particular piece of property being taken in the proposed condemnation is for use as a recreational bikeway, the eminent domain proceeding was beyond the authority of the DOT. The district court concluded that, although the DOT lacks general eminent domain authority with respect to the establishment of recreational bikeways, the condemnation that it proposed in the present case was authorized because a scheduled primary road-widening project would, but for the proposed condemnation of additional lands, interrupt an existing recreational bikeway. After reviewing the record and considering the arguments presented, we affirm the judgment of the district court. In 1997 the DOT began a highway-widening project on U.S. Highway 71 through Dickinson County. The widening of the highway interrupted an existing recreational bikeway established by the Dickinson County Conservation Board in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Economic Development, and the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. To alleviate that deprivation, the DOT proposed to condemn a portion of East Oaks' property in the City of Okoboji for purposes of reconnecting the separated segments of the bikeway.

East Oaks filed a petition in equity seeking to enjoin the condemnation of the relocated bikeway route. In denying the requested relief, the district court noted that Iowa Code section 465B.2, which provides for the involvement of the DOT in "the acquisition, development, promotion, and management of recreation trails throughout the state," does not confer the power of eminent domain to that agency with respect to such activities. The statute only speaks to the agency acquiring property "by negotiated purchase." Iowa Code § 465B.2(3) (1997). Nevertheless, the court upheld the proposed taking on the basis that the relocation of the bikeway was an integral part of the highway-widening project.

I. Standard of Review.

A request for injunctive relief invokes the court's equitable jurisdiction. Luloff v. Lichty, 569 N.W.2d 118, 122 (Iowa 1997); Iowa R. Civ. P. 320. Thus, this court's review is de novo. Luloff, 569 N.W.2d at 122; Iowa R.App. P. 4.

II. Whether the Proposed Taking Is Lawful.

The power of eminent domain under public authority is presumed in the Iowa Constitution, subject to the limitation 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, as soon as the damages shall be assessed by a jury...." Iowa Const. art. I, § 18. The General Assembly has provided that the power of eminent domain to be enjoyed by state agencies and local governing bodies shall be as delegated by legislative act. Iowa Code § 6A.1. If authorization for a particular public taking has not been delegated to a particular agency or public body, it may be exercised in the name of the executive council. Id.

The delegation of eminent domain authority to cities and counties is contained in Iowa Code section 6A.4. Delegation to state agencies is contained in miscellaneous statutes dealing with the powers of the respective agency. The delegation of the power of eminent domain to the department of transportation for highway construction purposes is contained in Iowa Code section 306.19(1), which provides in part:

In the maintenance, relocation, establishment, or improvement of any road, including the extension of such road within cities, the agency having jurisdiction and control of such road shall have authority to purchase or to institute and maintain proceedings for the condemnation of the necessary right-of-way therefor. Such agency shall likewise have power to purchase or institute and maintain proceedings for the condemnation of land necessary for highway drainage, or land containing gravel or other suitable material for the improvement or maintenance of highways, together with the necessary road access or right of access thereto.

The DOT has jurisdiction over primary highways such as U.S. 71. Iowa Code § 306.4(1).

East Oaks points out that the DOT's eminent domain authority for highway purposes is limited by section 306.19(1) to necessary right of way, necessary access, and necessary drainage. Because the...