Effective - 28 Aug 1994
71.525. Condemnation of property of public utility or rural electric cooperative, restrictions, conditions — limitation. — 1. Except as provided in subsection 2 of this section, no city, town or village may condemn the property of a public utility, as defined in section 386.020, or the property of a rural electric cooperative, as provided in chapter 394, if such property is used or useful in providing utility services and the city, town or village seeking to condemn such property, directly or indirectly, will use or proposes to use the property for the same purpose, or a purpose substantially similar to the purpose that the property is being used by the public utility or rural electric cooperative.
2. A city, town or village may only condemn the property of a public utility or the property of a rural electric cooperative, even if the property is used or useful in providing utility services by such utility or cooperative, if:
(1) The condemnation is necessary for the public purpose of acquiring a nonexclusive easement or right-of-way across the property of such utility or cooperative and only if the acquisition will not materially impair or interfere with the current use of such property by the utility or cooperative and will not prevent or materially impair the utility or cooperative from any future expansion of its facilities on such property; or
(2) The property is solely and exclusively devoted to the provision of street lighting or traffic signal service by such utility in a city having a population of at least three hundred fifty thousand inhabitants located wholly or partially within a county of the first classification with a charter form of government; or
(3) The property is owned by a water or sewer corporation, as defined in section 386.020, with less than five hundred hook-ups.
3. The provisions of this section shall apply to all cities, towns and villages in this state, incorporated or unincorporated and no matter whether any statutory classification, special charter or constitutional charter or any other provision of law appears to convey the power of condemnation of such property by implication.
4. If a city, town or village seeks to condemn the property of a public utility or rural electric cooperative, and the conditions in subsection 1 of this section do not apply, this section does not limit the condemnation powers otherwise possessed by such city, town or village.
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(L. 1994 S.B. 709)