CHAPTER 380
CITY LEGISLATION

Referred to in §331.251, 362.1, 362.9, 376.1, 455D.21

  
     
380.1  Definitions.
  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 
  1.  “All of the members of the council” refers to all of the seats of the council including a vacant seat and a seat where the member is absent, but does not include a seat where the council member declines to vote by reason of a conflict of interest.
  2.  “Book”, “list”, “record”, or “schedule” kept by a county auditor, assessor, treasurer, recorder, sheriff, or other county officer means the county system as defined in section 445.1.
2000 Acts, ch 1148, §1; 2010 Acts, ch 1069, §124

     
380.1A  Title of ordinance.
  The subject matter of an ordinance or amendment must be generally described in the title of the ordinance or amendment.
[R60, §1122; C73, §489; C97, §681; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5715; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.2; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.1]
97 Acts, ch 168, §1
C2001, §380.1A

     
380.2  Amendment.
  An amendment to an ordinance or to a code of ordinances must specifically identify the ordinance or code, or the section, subsection, or paragraph to be amended, and must set forth the ordinance, code, section, subsection, or paragraph as amended, which action is deemed to be a repeal of the previous ordinance, code, section, subsection, or paragraph amended.
[R60, §1122; C73, §489; C97, §681; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5715; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.2; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.2]
91 Acts, ch 145, §3; 97 Acts, ch 168, §2

     
380.3  Two considerations before final passage — how waived.
  A proposed ordinance or amendment must be considered and voted on for passage at two council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally passed, unless this requirement is suspended by a recorded vote of not less than three-fourths of all of the members of the council. If a proposed ordinance, amendment, or resolution fails to receive sufficient votes for passage at any consideration and vote thereon, the proposed ordinance, amendment, or resolution shall be considered defeated.
[R60, §1122; C73, §489; C97, §682; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5716; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.3; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.3]
88 Acts, ch 1246, §5; 97 Acts, ch 168, §3, 4

     
380.4  Majority requirement — tie vote — conflicts of interest.
  1.  Passage of an ordinance, amendment, or resolution requires a majority vote of all of the members of the council, except when the mayor may vote to break a tie vote in a city with an even number of council members, as provided in section 372.4. Passage of a motion requires a majority vote of a quorum of the council. A resolution must be passed to spend public funds in excess of one hundred thousand dollars on a public improvement project, or to accept public improvements and facilities upon their completion. Each council member’s vote on a measure must be recorded. A measure which fails to receive sufficient votes for passage shall be considered defeated.
  2.  A measure voted upon is not invalid by reason of a conflict of interest in a member of the council, unless the vote of the member of the council was decisive to passage of the measure. The vote must be computed on the basis of the number of members not disqualified by reason of conflict of interest. However, a majority of all members is required for a quorum. For the purpose of this section, the statement of a council member that the council member declines to vote by reason of conflict of interest is conclusive and must be entered of record.
[R60, §1122, 1134, 1135; C73, §466, 489, 493, 494; C97, §683, 684, 793; S13, §683, 693; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5717; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.4; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.4]
97 Acts, ch 168, §5; 2007 Acts, ch 144, §14; 2010 Acts, ch 1069, §125

     
380.5  Mayor.
  The mayor may sign, veto, or take no action on an ordinance, amendment, or resolution passed by the council. However, the mayor may not veto an ordinance, amendment, or resolution if the mayor was entitled to vote on such measure at the time of passage.
[C97, §685; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5718; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.5; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.5]
97 Acts, ch 168, §6

     
380.6  Effective date.
  Measures passed by the council become effective in one of the following ways:
  1.  a.  An ordinance or amendment signed by the mayor becomes effective when the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance is published, as provided in section 380.7, subsection 3, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the ordinance or amendment.
  b.  A resolution signed by the mayor becomes effective immediately upon signing.
  c.  A motion becomes effective immediately upon passage of the motion by the council.
  2.  The mayor may veto an ordinance, amendment, or resolution within fourteen days after passage. The mayor shall explain the reasons for the veto in a written message to the council at the time of the veto. Within thirty days after the mayor’s veto, the council may pass the measure again by a vote of not less than two-thirds of all of the members of the council. If the mayor vetoes an ordinance, amendment, or resolution and the council repasses the measure after the mayor’s veto, a resolution becomes effective immediately upon repassage, and an ordinance or amendment becomes a law when the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance is published, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the ordinance or amendment.
  3.  If the mayor takes no action on an ordinance, amendment, or resolution, a resolution becomes effective fourteen days after the date of passage and an ordinance or amendment becomes a law when the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance is published, but not sooner than fourteen days after the date of passage, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the ordinance or amendment.
[R60, §1133; C73, §492; C97, §685 – 687; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5718, 5720, 5721, 5721-a1; C39, §5718, 5720, 5721, 5721.1; C46, 50, §366.5, 366.7 – 366.9; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.5, 366.7; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.6]
89 Acts, ch 39, §10; 97 Acts, ch 168, §7

     
380.7  City clerk.
  The city clerk shall:
  1.  Promptly record each measure.
  2.  Record a statement with the measure, where applicable, indicating whether the mayor signed, vetoed, or took no action on the measure, and whether the measure was repassed after the mayor’s veto.
  3.  Publish a summary of all ordinances or the complete text of ordinances and amendments in the manner provided in section 362.3. As used in this subsection, “summary” shall mean a narrative description of the terms and conditions of an ordinance setting forth the main points of the ordinance in a manner calculated to inform the public in a clear and understandable manner the meaning of the ordinance and which shall provide the public with sufficient notice to conform to the desired conduct required by the ordinance. The description shall include the title of the ordinance, an accurate and intelligible abstract or synopsis of the essential elements of the ordinance, a statement that the description is a summary, the location and the normal business hours of the office where the ordinance may be inspected, when the ordinance becomes effective, and the full text of any provisions imposing fines, penalties, forfeitures, fees, or taxes. Legal descriptions of property set forth in ordinances shall be described in full, provided that maps or charts may be substituted for legal descriptions when they contain sufficient detail to clearly define the area with which the ordinance is concerned. The narrative description shall be written in a clear and coherent manner and shall, to the extent possible, avoid the use of technical or legal terms not generally familiar to the public. When necessary to use technical or legal terms not generally familiar to the public, the narrative description shall include definitions of those terms.
  4.  Authenticate all measures except motions with the clerk’s signature and certification as to time and manner of publication, if any. The clerk’s certification is presumptive evidence of the facts stated therein.
  5.  Maintain for public use copies of all effective ordinances and codes.
[R60, §1133; C73, §492; C97, §686, 687; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5719 – 5721, 5721-a1; C39, §5719 – 5721, 5721.1; C46, 50, §366.6 – 366.9; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.6, 366.7; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.7]
96 Acts, ch 1098, §2; 97 Acts, ch 168, §8
Referred to in §380.6

     
380.8  Code of ordinances published.
  1.  a.  A city shall compile a code of ordinances containing all of the city ordinances in effect, except grade ordinances, bond ordinances, zoning map ordinances, ordinances vacating streets and alleys, and ordinances containing legal descriptions of urban revitalization areas and urban renewal areas.
  b.  A city may maintain a code of ordinances either by compiling at least annually a supplement to the code of ordinances consisting of all new ordinances and amendments to ordinances which became effective during the previous year and adopting the supplement by resolution or by adding at least annually new ordinances and amendments to ordinances to the code of ordinances itself.
  c.  A city which does not maintain the city code of ordinances as provided in paragraph “b” shall compile a code of ordinances at least once every five years.
  2.  a.  If a proposed code of ordinances contains only existing ordinances without change in substance, the council may adopt the code by ordinance.
  b.  If a proposed code of ordinances contains a new ordinance or an amendment to existing ordinances, the council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed code before adoption. The clerk shall publish notice of the hearing as provided in section 362.3. Copies of the proposed code of ordinances must be available at the city clerk’s office and the notice must so state. Within thirty days after the hearing, the council may adopt the proposed code of ordinances. A new ordinance or an amendment to an existing ordinance becomes effective upon publication of the ordinance adopting the code of ordinances unless a subsequent effective date is provided within an ordinance. If the council substantially amends the proposed code of ordinances after the hearing, notice and hearing must be repeated before the code may be adopted.
  3.  A code of ordinances compiled and maintained at least annually, or compiled at least once every five years, is presumptive evidence of the passage, publication, and content of the ordinances codified therein as of the date of the clerk’s certification of the ordinance adopting the code or supplement.
[R60, §1133; C73, §492; C97, §686, 687; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5720, 5721, 5721-a1; C39, §5720, 5721, 5721.1; C46, 50, §366.7 – 366.9; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.7; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.8]
97 Acts, ch 168, §9
Referred to in §331.302, 622.62

     
380.9  Fee for publication.
  The compensation paid to a newspaper for any publication required by this chapter may not exceed the fee provided in section 618.11. The compensation paid to a newspaper for publication of the complete text of an ordinance shall not exceed three-fourths of the fee provided in section 618.11.
[S13, §687-b; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5723; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.11; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.9]
96 Acts, ch 1098, §3

     
380.10  Adoption by reference.
  1.  A city may adopt the provisions of any statewide or nationally recognized standard code or portions of any such code by an ordinance which identifies the code by subject matter, source and date, and which incorporates the provisions of the code or portions of the code by reference without setting them forth in full. Copies of the proposed code or portions of such code shall be available at the office of the city clerk.
  2.  a.  A city may by ordinance adopt by reference any portion of the Code of Iowa in effect at the time of the adoption in the manner provided in this section, subject to the following limitations:
  (1)  The ordinance shall describe the subject matter and identify the portion of the Code of Iowa adopted by chapter, section, and subsection or other subpart, as applicable.
  (2)  A portion of the Code of Iowa may be adopted by reference only if the criminal penalty provided by the law adopted does not exceed the maximum fine and term of imprisonment for a simple misdemeanor under section 903.1, subsection 1, paragraph “a”.
  (3)  Amendments or other changes to those portions of the Code of Iowa which have been adopted by reference shall serve as an automatic modification of the applicable ordinance.
  b.  An ordinance which adopts by reference any portion of the Code of Iowa may provide that violations of the ordinance are municipal infractions and subject to the limitations of section 364.22.
  3.  Copies of any portions of the Code of Iowa to be adopted by reference shall be available at the city clerk’s office. The council shall hold a public hearing on any proposed standard code or on the portions of any standard code to be adopted by reference. The council shall hold a public hearing on any portion of the Code of Iowa to be adopted by reference. The clerk shall publish notice of the hearing as provided in section 362.3. The notice must state that copies of the proposed standard code or portions thereof, or of the portion of the Iowa Code, are available at the city clerk’s office. If the council substantially amends the proposed code after the hearing, notice and hearing must be repeated before the code may be adopted. Within thirty days after the hearing, the council by ordinance may adopt the proposed code which becomes effective upon publication of the ordinance adopting it, unless a subsequent effective date is provided within the adopting ordinance.
[R60, §1133; C73, §492; C97, §686, 687; C24, 27, 31, 35, §5720, 5721, 5721-a1; C39, §5720, 5721, 5721.1; C46, 50, §366.7 – 366.9; C54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.7; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.10]
91 Acts, ch 145, §4; 97 Acts, ch 168, §10, 11; 2000 Acts, ch 1203, §22; 2009 Acts, ch 21, §7

     
380.11  Certain measures recorded.
  Immediately after the effective date of a measure establishing any zoning district, building lines, or fire limits, the city clerk shall certify the measure and a plat showing the district, lines, or limits to the recorder of any county which contains part of the city. The county recorder shall index and record the measure and plat. The city shall pay the recording fee.
[C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5724 – 5727; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, §366.12 – 366.15; C75, 77, 79, 81, §380.11]
2001 Acts, ch 44, §17
Referred to in §331.602