Municipal boundary adjustments in Iowa encompass a range of processes—such as annexation, severance, consolidation, and discontinuance—that modify city boundaries to reflect growth, service needs, or governance changes. These actions are governed by Chapter 368 of the Code of Iowa & 263 of the Iowa Administrative Code and typically require petitions, public input, and review by the City Development Board of the State of Iowa to ensure boundary adjustments support orderly development, efficient service delivery, and the public interest. Depending on the type of adjustment, approval may involve administrative review, agreements between jurisdictions, or elections, with careful consideration given to impacts on property owners, infrastructure responsibilities, and taxation. All forms of annexation (municipal boundary adjustments), except 100% Voluntary Annexations Outside an Urbanized Area, must be approved by the City Development Board, which was created in 1972 to ensure uniformity in city development and expansion. This five-member board regulates the entire annexation process and assists cities from their initial expansion ideas through the finalization of annexation.
Types of Annexation
Annexation is the legal process for expanding a city’s municipal boundaries as outlined in Chapter 368 of the Code of Iowa. A community’s first step upon considering annexation needs to be contacting or visiting the website of the City Development Board, where they can find annexation updates, meeting schedules, legislative impacts or general information on annexation. Annexation can serve as a significant development tool for cities, both economically and physically. Cities are allowed to annex territory for several reasons, including to control current or anticipated development outside the present city limits, providing municipal services to property owners outside current city limits, recovering the cost of providing some municipal services to people living outside city limits, and providing an area for expansion when usable land within the city becomes scarce. When considering a course of annexation, cities must be aware of the correct procedures to follow and the possible impacts of annexation. A key component to a successful annexation is working closely with affected property owners as well as the city attorney from the beginning of the project.
There are two main types of annexation: voluntary and involuntary. From there, annexations can be broken into different sub-categories:
- 100% Voluntary Annexation Outside an Urbanized Area
This is the simplest form of annexation. Affected property owners will initiate annexation by applying to the city council. The application(s) will include a date, signature and map showing the proposed annexed territory in relation to city limits. The city council sends via certified mail a copy of the application(s) for voluntary annexation to the board of supervisors of each county containing a portion of annexed territory at least 14 business days prior to any city council actions. The city council is required to publish notice of the application(s) & public hearing at least 10 business days prior to city action. The council can then approve the property to be annexed by resolution. Upon approval, the city clerk files a copy of the resolution, map and legal description of the annexation territory & supporting documentation to the Secretary of State for finalization. The city clerk must also file a copy of the resolution, map and legal description with the Iowa Department of Transportation and the county recorder. The process is completed once the Secretary of State has acknowledged receipt of the resolution, map and legal description.
- 100% Voluntary Within an Urbanized Area
Property proposed for annexation is considered to be in an urbanized area if it is located within two miles of another city. The process still requires filing an application. In addition, the city council annexing the property must notify city councils whose boundaries adjoin the proposed property, the city councils of each city within two miles of the property, the impacted county board of supervisors, and the regional planning authority as well as publishing notice of the application(s) and public hearing at least 10 business days prior to any city action. The council can then approve the property to be annexed by resolution. After approval by the city, the city clerk files the annexation proposal with the City Development Board in accordance with the rules set in 263 of the Iowa Administrative Code. City Development Board staff will review the proposal for compliance with Chapter 368 of the Code of Iowa and 263 of the Iowa Administrative Code. At a meeting 31 days or more after the proposal was filed with the Board, the Board will review the annexation including the application map, resolution, legal descriptions, and hears arguments for and against annexation. The Board will hold the final decision for a statutory 30-day appeal period before sending the decision to the Secretary of State to acknowledge receipt of the resolution, map and legal description.
There are several other municipal boundary adjustments that happen less frequently including:
Involuntary Annexation
Involuntary annexation is a legal process by which a city can incorporate adjacent unincorporated land into its boundaries without the consent of the affected property owners, subject to state procedures and review. There are six separate parties who can call for an involuntary annexation: the city council, the county board of supervisors, the regional planning authority, 5 percent or more of the city’s electors, 5 percent or more of the electors in the proposed area, or the City Development Board. Involuntary annexation requires the most amount of cooperation with the City Development Board and has a very specific step-by-step process which must be followed to ensure proper annexation.
Secondary Road Annexation
Secondary road annexation refers to the transfer of jurisdiction and maintenance responsibility for county secondary roads to a city when those roads are brought within city limits through annexation. This process is initiated by the board of supervisors.
Severance/Annexation
Severance and annexation refer to the simultaneous processes of removing land from one jurisdiction (severance) and incorporating it into another (annexation), typically involving city boundary changes governed by state law and administrative review.
Discontinuance
City discontinuance in Iowa means the formal termination of a city’s existence as a municipal corporation, typically when it can no longer function effectively or sustain services. The process involves a petition, review by the Iowa City Development Board, and consideration of how assets, debts, and services will be transferred or managed. A petition may require a special election. Final approval ensures the change is in the public interest and provides for an orderly transition of governance.
Incorporation
Incorporation is the formal legal process by which an unincorporated area becomes an incorporated municipality with its own city government and authority to provide services, levy taxes, and adopt ordinances.
For more information, please visit the Municipal Boundary Adjustment page.
Land Disputes
Code of Iowa Section 368.4 gives cities the opportunity to enter into annexation moratoriums for up to 10 years where all cities involved agree not to attempt annexation. This is usually agreed upon by two communities who then create a dividing line, splitting the desired territory. The moratorium is a way for both communities to build infrastructure in the area and share in its economic prosperity. It also helps in avoiding one community from employing a massive preemptive annexation in attempts to ensure their hold on the territory, possibly causing an overextension of infrastructure capabilities along with animosity between the impacted areas. Cities are required to provide notice to the City Development Board prior to adoption of a moratorium agreement or amendment and cities are required to file the approved agreement with the Board.
