Effective 28 Aug 2006

523.250. Notice of intended acquisition — mailing requirements. — 1. At least sixty days before filing of a condemnation petition seeking to acquire an interest in real property, the condemning authority shall provide the owner of record of such property with a written notice concerning the intended acquisition. Such notice shall include:

(1) Identification of the interest in real property to be acquired and a statement of the legal description or commonly known location of the property;

(2) The purpose or purposes for which the property is to be acquired;

(3) A statement that the property owner has the right to:

(a) Seek legal counsel at the owner's expense;

(b) Make a counteroffer and engage in further negotiations;

(c) Obtain such owner's own appraisal of just compensation;

(d) Have just compensation determined preliminarily by court-appointed condemnation commissioners and, ultimately, by a jury;

(e) Seek assistance from the office of the ombudsman for property rights created under section 523.277;

(f) Contest the right to condemn in the condemnation proceeding; and

(g) Exercise the rights to request vacation of an easement under the procedures and circumstances provided for in section 527.188.

­­An owner may waive the requirements of this subsection prescribed above in a writing executed by the owner.

2. The written notice required by this section shall be deposited in the United States mail, certified or registered, and with postage prepaid, addressed to the owner of record as listed in the office of the city or county assessor for the city or county in which the property is located. The receipt issued to the condemning authority by the United States Post Office for certified or registered mail shall constitute proof of compliance with this notice requirement; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall preclude a condemning authority from proving compliance with this notice requirement by other competent evidence.

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(L. 2006 H.B. 1944)