§ 403.5 — Urban renewal plan

Iowa § 403.5

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title IX: LOCAL GOVERNMENT
• Ch. 403: URBAN RENEWAL

Text

1. A municipality shall not approve an urban renewal project for an urban renewal area
unless the governing body has, by resolution, determined the area to be a slum area, blighted
area, economic development area or a combination of those areas, and designated the area
as appropriate for an urban renewal project. The local governing body shall not approve
an urban renewal plan until a general plan for the municipality has been prepared. For this
purpose and other municipal purposes, authority is vested in every municipality to prepare,
to adopt and to revise from time to time, a general plan for the physical development of the
municipality as a whole, giving due regard to the environs and metropolitan surroundings.

A municipality shall not acquire real property for an urban renewal project unless the local
governing body has approved the urban renewal project in accordance with subsection 4.
2. a. The municipality may itself prepare or cause to be prepared an urban renewal plan;
or any person or agency, public or private, may submit such a plan to a municipality. Prior
to its approval of an urban renewal plan, the local governing body shall submit such plan to
the planning commission of the municipality, if any, for review and recommendations as to
its conformity with the general plan for the development of the municipality as a whole. The
planning commission shall submit its written recommendations with respect to the proposed
urban renewal plan to the local governing body within thirty days after receipt of the plan
for review. Upon receipt of the recommendations of the planning commission or, if no
recommendations are received within the thirty days, then, without such recommendations,
the local governing body may proceed with the hearing on the proposed urban renewal plan
prescribed by subsection 3.
b. (1) Prior to its approval of an urban renewal plan which provides for a division of
revenue pursuant to section 403.19, the municipality shall mail the proposed plan by regular
mail to the affected taxing entities. The municipality shall include with the proposed plan
notification of a consultation to be held between the municipality and affected taxing entities
prior to the public hearing on the urban renewal plan. If the proposed urban renewal plan
or proposed urban renewal project within the urban renewal area includes the use of taxes
resulting from a division of revenue under section 403.19 for a public building, including but
not limited to a police station, fire station, administration building, swimming pool, hospital,
library, recreational building, city hall, or other public building that is exempt from taxation,
including the grounds of, and the erection, equipment, remodeling, or reconstruction of, and
additions or extensions to, such a building, the municipality shall include with the proposed
plan notification an analysis of alternative development options and funding for the urban
renewal area or urban renewal project and the reasons such options would be less feasible
than the proposed urban renewal plan or proposed urban renewal project. A copy of the
analysis required in this subparagraph shall be included with the urban renewal report
required under section 331.403 or 384.22, as applicable, and filed by December 1 following
adoption of the urban renewal plan or project.
(2) Each affected taxing entity may appoint a representative to attend the consultation.
The consultation may include a discussion of the estimated growth in valuation of taxable
property included in the proposed urban renewal area, the fiscal impact of the division of
revenue on the affected taxing entities, the estimated impact on the provision of services by
each of the affected taxing entities in the proposed urban renewal area, and the duration of
any bond issuance included in the plan. The designated representative of the affected taxing
entity may make written recommendations for modification to the proposed division of
revenue no later than seven days following the date of the consultation. The representative
of the municipality shall, no later than seven days prior to the public hearing on the
urban renewal plan, submit a written response to the affected taxing entity addressing the
recommendations for modification to the proposed division of revenue.
3. The local governing body shall hold a public hearing on an urban renewal plan after
public notice thereof by publication in a newspaper having a general circulation in the area
of operation of the municipality. The notice shall describe the time, date, place and purpose
of the hearing, shall generally identify the urban renewal area covered by the plan, and shall
outline the general scope of the urban renewal activities under consideration. A copy of the
notice shall be sent by ordinary mail to each affected taxing entity.
4. Following such hearing, the local governing body may approve an urban renewal plan
if it finds that:
a. A feasible method exists for the location of families who will be displaced from the
urban renewal area into decent, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations within their
means and without undue hardship to such families.
b. (1) Theurbanrenewalplanconformstothegeneralplanofthemunicipalityasawhole;
provided, that if the urban renewal area consists of an area of open land to be acquired by
the municipality, such area shall not be so acquired except:
(a) If it is to be developed for residential uses, the local governing body shall determine

that a shortage of housing of sound standards and design with decency, safety, and sanitation
exists in the municipality; that the acquisition of the area for residential uses is an integral
part of and essential to the program of the municipality; and that one or more of the following
conditions exist:
(i) That the need for housing accommodations has been or will be increased as a result of
the clearance of slums in other areas, including other portions of the urban renewal area.
(ii) That conditions of blight in the municipality and the shortage of decent, safe, and
sanitary housing cause or contribute to an increase in and spread of disease and crime, so as
to constitute a menace to the public health, safety, morals, or welfare.
(iii) That the provision of public improvements related to housing and residential
development will encourage housing and residential development which is necessary to
encourage the retention or relocation of industrial and commercial enterprises in this state
and its municipalities.
(iv) The acquisition of the area is necessary to provide for the construction of housing for
low and moderate income families.
(b) Ifitistobedevelopedfornonresidentialuses,thelocalgoverningbodyshalldetermine
that such nonresidential uses are necessary and appropriate to facilitate the proper growth
and development of the community in accordance with sound planning standards and local
community objectives.
(2) The acquisition of open land authorized in subparagraph (1), subparagraph divisions
(a) and (b) may require the exercise of governmental action, as provided in this chapter,
because of defective or unusual conditions of title, diversity of ownership, tax delinquency,
improper subdivisions, outmoded street patterns, deterioration of site, economic disuse,
unsuitable topography or faulty lot layouts, or because of the need for the correlation of
the area with other areas of a municipality by streets and modern traffic requirements,
or any combination of such factors or other conditions which retard development of the
area. If such governmental action involves the exercise of eminent domain authority, the
municipality is subject to the limitations of this chapter and chapters 6A and 6B.
5. a. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, an urban renewal plan may be
modified at any time. However, if the urban renewal plan is modified after the lease or sale
by the municipality of real property in the urban renewal project area, such modification
may be conditioned upon such approval of the owner, lessee, or successor in interest as the
municipality may deem advisable, and in any event such modification shall be subject to such
rights at law or in equity as a lessee or purchaser, or a lessee’s or purchaser’s successor or
successors in interest, may be entitled to assert.
b. A municipality shall not approve an urban renewal project for an urban renewal area
unless the governing body has amended or modified the adopted urban renewal plan to
include the urban renewal project.
c. The municipality shall comply with the notification, consultation, and hearing process
providedinthissectionpriortotheapprovalofanyamendmentormodificationtoanadopted
urban renewal plan if such amendment or modification provides for refunding bonds or
refinancing resulting in an increase in debt service or provides for the issuance of bonds
or other indebtedness, to be funded primarily in the manner provided in section 403.19,
or if such amendment or modification provides for the inclusion and approval of an urban
renewal project under paragraph “b”. However, the review and recommendation process
conducted by the municipality’s planning commission under subsection 2, paragraph “a”,
shall not be required when amending or modifying an adopted urban renewal plan.
d. Once determined to be a blighted area, a slum area, or an economic development
area by a municipality, an urban renewal area shall not be redetermined by the municipality
throughout the duration of the urban renewal area.
6. Upon the approval by a municipality of an urban renewal plan or of any modification
thereof, such plan or modification shall be deemed to be in full force and effect for
the respective urban renewal area, and the municipality may then cause such plan or
modification to be carried out in accordance with its terms.
7. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, where the local governing body
certifies that an area is in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation as a result of a flood, fire,

hurricane, earthquake, storm, orothercatastropherespectingwhichthegovernorofthestate
has certified the need for disaster assistance under Pub. L. No. 81-875, Eighty-first Congress,
64 Stat. 1109, codified at 42 U.S.C. §1855 – 1855g or other federal law, the local governing
body may approve an urban renewal plan and an urban renewal project with respect to such
area without regard to the provisions of subsection 4 and without regard to provisions of
this section requiring notification and consultation, a general plan for the municipality, and
a public hearing on the urban renewal plan or project.

Legislative History

[C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §403.5]