We are approximately one month into the Iowa legislative session, and the following land use-related bills have been introduced thus far. None are past subcommittee stage.
SF152 – Provides, among other things, that the authority to condemn property is not conferred on an acquiring agency unless the governing body for the acquiring agency first approves the final route or site location and design of the proposed public improvement (think “pipeline”).
SF128 – Amends the requirements for establishing, financing, and dissolving Rural Improvement Zones.
SF25 – Authorizes a city or county to provide a property tax exemption for properties declared to be public nuisances in the amount of the actual value of improvements added to the property.
HF59 – Preempts local regulation of firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition. Makes an exception for “the enactment or enforcement of a generally applicable zoning or business ordinance that includes firearms businesses along with other businesses, provided that an ordinance designed or enforced to effectively restrict or prohibit the sale, purchase, transfer, manufacture, or display of firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition otherwise lawful under the laws of this state, which is in conflict with this section, is void.”
HF161 – Prohibits cities, after January 1, 2016, from adopting or enforcing “any regulation or restriction related to the occupancy of residential rental property that is based upon the existence of familial or non-familial relationships between the occupants of such rental property.”
