§ 564a-5

564A.5 Decision. 1. After the hearing on the application, the solar access regulatory board shall determine whether to issue an order granting a solar access easement. The board shall grant a solaraccess easement if the board finds that there is a need for the solar collector, that the spaceburdened by the easement was not obstructed by anything except vegetation that would shadethe solar collector at the time of filing of the application, that the proposed location of thecollector minimizes the impact of the easement on the development of the servient estate andthat the applicant tried and failed to negotiate a voluntary easement. However, the board mayrefuse to grant a solar access easement upon a finding that the easement would require theremoval of trees that provide shade or a windbreak to a residence on the servient estate. Theboard shall not grant a solar access easement upon a servient estate if the board finds thatthe owner, at least six months prior to the filing of the application, has made a substantialfinancial commitment to build a structure that will shade the solar collector.

tate if the board finds thatthe owner, at least six months prior to the filing of the application, has made a substantialfinancial commitment to build a structure that will shade the solar collector. In issuing itsorder granting the solar access easement, the board may modify the solar access easementapplied for and impose conditions on the location of the solar collector that will minimize theimpact upon the servient estate. 2. The solar access regulatory board shall grant a solar access easement only within the area that is within three hundred feet of the center of the northernmost boundary of thecollector and is south of a line drawn east and west tangent to the northernmost boundary ofthe collector. 3. The solar access regulatory board shall determine the amount of compensation that is to be paid to the owners of the servient estate for the impairment of the right to develop theproperty. Compensation shall be based on the difference between the fair market value of theproperty prior to and after granting the solar access easement. The parties shall be notified ofthe board’s decision within thirty days of the date of the hearing.

between the fair market value of theproperty prior to and after granting the solar access easement. The parties shall be notified ofthe board’s decision within thirty days of the date of the hearing. The owner of the dominantestate shall have thirty days from the date of notification of the board’s decision to depositthe compensation with the board. Upon receipt of the compensation, the board shall issuean order granting the solar access easement to the owner of the dominant estate and remitthe compensation awarded to the owners of the servient estate. The owner of the dominantestate may decline to deposit the compensation with the board, and no order granting thesolar access easement shall then be issued. 4. When the order granting the solar access easement is issued, the owner of the dominant estate shall have it recorded in the office of the county recorder who shall record the solaraccess easement and list the owner of the dominant estate as grantee and the owner of theservient estate as grantor in the deed index. The solar access easement after being recordedshall be considered an easement appurtenant in or on the servient estate.

te as grantee and the owner of theservient estate as grantor in the deed index. The solar access easement after being recordedshall be considered an easement appurtenant in or on the servient estate. [81 Acts, ch 184, §7]Referred to in §564A.6 Sat Dec 23 11:07:08 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 564A.5 (14, 0)