Title IX, LOCAL GOVERNMENT (Ch. 331 - 420)

Unless otherwise stated, the dates of elections on public measures authorized in the city code are limited to those specified for cities in section 39.2 . 2008 Acts, ch 1115, §61, 71

As used in the city code of Iowa, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Administrative agency” means an agency established by a city for any city purpose or for the administration of any city facility, as provided in chapter 392 , except a board established to administer a m…

1. Unless otherwise provided by state law: a. If notice of an election, hearing, or other official action is required by the city code, the notice must be published at least once, not less than four nor more than twenty days before the date of the election, hearing, or other acti…

1. If a petition of the voters is authorized by the city code, the petition is valid if signed by eligible electors of the city equal in number to ten percent of the persons who voted at the last preceding regular city election, but not less than ten persons, unless otherwise pro…

1. When used in this section , “contract” means any claim, account, or demand against or agreement with a city, express or implied. 2. A city officer or employee shall not have an interest, direct or indirect, in any contract or job of work or material or the profits thereof or s…

A measure voted upon is not invalid by reason of conflict of interest in an officer of a city, unless the vote of the officer was decisive to passage of the measure. If a specific majority or unanimous vote of a municipal body is required by statute, the majority or vote must be …

A valid measure adopted by a city prior to July 1, 1975, remains valid unless the measure is irreconcilable with the city code. [C75, 77, 79, 81, §362.7 ]

The city code, being necessary for the public safety and welfare, shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes. [C75, 77, 79, 81, §362.8 ]

The provisions of this chapter and chapters 364 , 368 , 372 , 376 , 380 , 384 , 388 , and 392 are applicable to all cities. [C75, 77, 79, 81, §362.9 ] 2025 Acts, ch 30, §63 Section amended

A city may, except as expressly limited by the Constitution of the State of Iowa, and if not inconsistent with the laws of the general assembly, exercise any power and perform any function it deems appropriate to protect and preserve the rights, privileges, and property of the ci…

1. All railway companies shall construct and repair all street improvements between the rails of their tracks, and one foot outside, at their own expense, unless by ordinance the railway is required to improve other portions of the street, and in that case the railway shall const…

1. As used in this section , “property owner” means the contract purchaser if there is one of record, otherwise the record holder of legal title. 2. A city shall keep all public grounds, streets, sidewalks, alleys, bridges, culverts, overpasses, underpasses, grade crossing separa…

For the purposes of section 6A.4, subsection 6 , a city may condemn a residential building found to be a public nuisance and take title to the property for the public purpose of disposing of the property under section 364.7 by conveying the property to a private individual for re…

If any amount assessed against property under section 364.12 will exceed five hundred dollars, a city may permit the assessment to be paid in up to ten annual installments, in the same manner and with the same interest rates provided for assessments against benefited property und…

A special assessment levied pursuant to section 364.11 or 364.12 , including all interest, is a lien against the benefited property from the date of filing the schedule of assessments until the assessment is paid. Special assessments have equal precedence with ordinary taxes and …

The procedures for making and levying a special assessment pursuant to this chapter and for an appeal of the assessment are the same procedures as provided in sections 384.59 through 384.67 and sections 384.72 through 384.75 . 83 Acts, ch 90, §20

When action is brought against a city for personal injuries alleged to have been caused by its negligence, the city may notify in writing any person by whose negligence it claims the injury was caused. The notice shall state the pendency of the action, the name of the plaintiff, …

1. If a city has established the grade of a street or alley, and any person has made improvements on lots abutting the street or alley according to the established grade, and afterward the grade is altered in a manner to damage, injure, or diminish the value of the improved prope…

Each city shall provide for the protection of life and property against fire and may establish, house, equip, staff, uniform, and maintain a fire department. A city may establish fire limits and may, consistent with code standards promulgated by nationally recognized fire prevent…

1. A city with a population of fifteen thousand or more may adopt by ordinance the latest version of one of the following housing codes before January 1, 1981: a. The uniform housing code promulgated by the international conference of building officials. b. The housing code promu…

Subject to applicable state or federal regulations in effect at the time of the city action, a city may accept contributions, grants, or other financial assistance from the state or federal government. Upon a finding of public purpose, the city may disburse the assistance to any …

A city council or county board of supervisors may enter into a contract with a person whose property is totally or partially exempt from taxation under chapter 404 , chapter 404B , section 427.1 , or section 427B.1 , for the city or county to provide specified services to that pe…

1. A power of a city is vested in the city council except as otherwise provided by a state law. 2. The enumeration of a specific power of a city does not limit or restrict the general grant of home rule power conferred by the Constitution of the State of Iowa. A city may exercise…

A motor vehicle purchased or used by a city to provide city services shall not operate on gasoline other than ethanol blended gasoline as defined in section 214A.1 . The motor vehicle shall also be affixed with a brightly visible sticker which notifies the traveling public that t…

A city shall not lease, purchase, or construct a building before considering the leasing of a vacant facility or building owned by a local public school corporation. The city may lease a facility or building owned by a local public school corporation with an option to purchase th…

1. a. A municipal infraction is a civil offense punishable by a civil penalty of not more than seven hundred fifty dollars for each violation or if the infraction is a repeat offense, a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars for each repeat offense. However, notwithstan…

A city may rescue, provide maintenance, or dispose of neglected livestock or another animal, as provided in chapters 717 and 717B . 94 Acts, ch 1103, §4

1. As used in this section , “judgment debt” means any criminal penalty, any personal judgment for a civil penalty, or any personal or in rem judgment for the costs of abating a nuisance or other violation, owing to a city in any proceeding brought as a municipal infraction under…

All city-owned exterior flood lighting, including but not limited to street and security lighting but not including era or period lighting which has a minimum efficiency rating of fifty-eight lumens per watt and not including stadium or ball park lighting, shall be replaced, when…

All cities with more than three traffic lights within the corporate limits shall establish a traffic light synchronization program for energy efficiency in accordance with rules adopted by the state department of transportation pursuant to chapter 17A . 89 Acts, ch 297, §7 ; 91 A…

A city may provide health or medical insurance coverage or supplemental health or medical insurance coverage to retired employees of the city. A city providing health or medical insurance coverage pursuant to this section may establish such requirements or restrictions concerning…

The following are limitations upon the powers of a city: 1. A city council shall exercise a power only by the passage of a motion, a resolution, an amendment, or an ordinance. 2. For a violation of an ordinance a city shall not provide a penalty in excess of the maximum fine and …

A city may: 1. a. Acquire, hold, and dispose of property outside the city in the same manner as within. However, the power of a city to acquire property outside the city does not include the power to acquire property outside the city by eminent domain, except for the following, s…

1. A city or a board established to administer a city utility, in the exercise of any of its powers, may act jointly with any public or private agency as provided in chapter 28E . 2. The financial condition and the transactions of the Iowa league of cities shall be audited as pro…

A city shall substantially comply with a procedure established by a state law for exercising a city power. If a procedure is not established by state law, a city may determine its own procedure for exercising the power. [C66, 71, 73, §368.2; C75, 77, 79, 81, §364.6 ]

A city may not dispose of an interest in real property by sale, lease for a term of more than three years, or gift, except in accordance with the following procedure: 1. The council shall set forth its proposal in a resolution and shall publish notice as provided in section 362.3…

A city may by ordinance require a railway company operating railway tracks on or across a city street to construct or reconstruct, and maintain, an overpass or underpass to permit the street to pass over or under the tracks, and may establish specifications for the construction o…

A city may require a railway company to provide necessary structures, temporary and permanent, to carry its tracks during and after construction of a diverted channel for flood control purposes, subject to the following: 1. The city shall give notice to the railway company, serve…

As used in this chapter , unless the context otherwise requires: 1. “Adjoining” means having a common boundary for not less than fifty feet. Land areas may be adjoining although separated by a roadway or waterway. 2. “Annexation” means the addition of territory to a city. 3. “Boa…

The board may establish rules for the performance of its duties and the conduct of proceedings before it. The rules may include establishing filing fees for applications and petitions submitted to the board. The amounts collected from the establishment of such fees are appropriat…

1. A petition for incorporation, discontinuance, or boundary adjustment may be filed with the board by a city council, a county board of supervisors, a regional planning authority, or five percent of the registered voters of a city or territory involved in the proposal. Notice of…

The board may dismiss a petition only if it finds that the petition does not meet the requirements of this chapter , or that substantially the same incorporation, discontinuance, or boundary adjustment has been disapproved by a committee formed to consider the proposal, or by the…

Based on the results of its studies, the board may initiate proceedings for the incorporation, discontinuance, or boundary adjustment of a city. The board may request a city to submit a plan for city development or may formulate its own plan for city development. A plan submitted…

If an involuntary petition is not dismissed, the board shall direct the appointment of local representatives to serve with board members as a committee to consider the proposal. Each local representative is entitled to receive from the state the representative’s actual and necess…

When two or more petitions for city development action or applications for voluntary annexation describing common territory are being considered together, the board shall direct the appointment of representatives for each of the petitions to serve on one special committee to cons…

The committee shall conduct a public hearing on a proposal as soon as practicable. Notice of the hearing must be served upon the council of each city for which a discontinuance or boundary adjustment is proposed, the county board of supervisors for each county that contains a por…