Annexation in Iowa simply means that a city is adding nearby land into its official city limits. In other words, when a city annexes territory, it is expanding its boundaries to include areas that were previously outside the city. This process is defined in Iowa law as “the addition of territory to a city.” Cities may pursue annexation when they need room to grow, want to manage development just outside their borders, or need to provide municipal services—like water, sewer, police, or fire protection—to areas that depend on the city but lie outside its limits. An annexation “Within an Urbanized Area” occurs when the annexation territory is located within two (2) miles of a city other than the city to which the annexation is directed. An annexation “Not Within an Urbanized Area” occurs when the annexation territory is NOT located within 2 miles of another urbanized area.
100% Voluntary Annexation
A 100% voluntary annexation in Iowa occurs when all landowners in a territory adjoining a city agree in writing to be annexed into that city. In this type of annexation, every property owner within the proposed area signs the application requesting annexation.
Contact CDB Staff for assistance with notice & publication timing questions at [email protected].
80/20 Voluntary Annexation
An 80/20 voluntary annexation in Iowa is a type of voluntary annexation in which at least 80% of the landowners in the territory consent to being annexed, and up to 20% of the land area may be included without the owners’ consent. This option exists to prevent creating irregular boundaries or “islands” of unincorporated land and to allow cities to create more uniform, logical municipal limits.100% Voluntary Annexation NOT Within an Urbanized Area
Contact CDB Staff for assistance with notice & publication timing questions at [email protected].
