Rauen & Rauen Development, LLC, Dennis J. Rauen, Virginia A. Rauen, Ertl Limited Partnership, and Molo Petroleum, LLC
v.
City of Farley, Iowa
Appellee
Rauen & Rauen Development, LLC, Dennis J. Rauen, Virginia A. Rauen, Ertl Limited Partnership, and Molo Petroleum, LLC
Appellant
City of Farley, Iowa
Attorney for the Appellee
Todd J. Locher
Attorney for the Appellant
William J. Miller and Kirk W. Schuler
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica L. Ackley, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Danilson, C.J., McDonald, J., and Blane, S.J. Opinion by McDonald, J. Special Concurrence by Blane, S.J. (8 pages)
The city of Farley appeals the district court’s reduction of certain special assessments. OPINION HOLDS: Because the special assessments exceeded the special benefits received by property owners, the district court properly reduced the special assessments to not exceed the special benefits. SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: The City’s arguments justifying their assessment to the abutting property owners do not stand up to scrutiny. First, a purely "lineal foot" assessment does not comport with the law. Second, the City failed to establish the project conferred special benefit to the property to justify the assessments. And finally, the court correctly relied upon the expert’s formula for calculating the assessment.
