USA - IOWA Law and Practice Contributed by: David M Erickson, Robert J Douglas, Jr, Christopher S Talcott and Amy S Montgomery, Dentons Davis Brown
ertheless be permitted upon the granting of a “variance”. A variance may only be granted upon a showing by the landowner of “unnecessary hardship”, meaning: • the land cannot yield a reasonable return under the permitted uses; • the plight of the owner is due to unique cir - cumstances and not general conditions of the neighbourhood; and • the proposed use will not alter the essential character of the locality. The decision to grant or deny a request for vari - ance is made by petition to the zoning board of adjustment and a public hearing before such board. 4.5 Right of Appeal Against an Authority’s Decision The process to appeal an adverse decision in a zoning matter depends upon the nature of the decision being appealed. An appeal of an enforcement of a zoning ordinance is first made to the zoning board of adjustment. If the peti - tioner is not satisfied with the determination of the zoning board of adjustment, the decision may then be further appealed for judicial review in the state district court. Similarly, a landowner who disagrees with a zon - ing board of adjustment’s decision on a request for a special exception or variance may appeal to the district court for judicial review. A petition for judicial review must be filed within 30 days of the decision by the zoning board of adjust - ment. A zoning decision made by a city council or county board of supervisors may also be chal - lenged by judicial review in the district court. Typically, such actions must be challenged with - in 30 days of the decision by a petition for cer -
tiorari similar to judicial review of actions by the zoning board of adjustment. However, defects in the process or action taken by the local govern - ing body that are deemed “jurisdictional” may generally be challenged at any time by a declara - tory judgment action. 4.6 Agreements With Local or Governmental Authorities While it is not generally required to enter into agreements with local authorities or utility sup - pliers to facilitate a development project in Iowa, for larger-scale commercial developments it is a common practice. It is common for a devel - oper to engage in pre-application meetings with local government planning, zoning and econom - ic development staff to discuss the proposed development in light of building, zoning, subdivi - sion and site plan approvals, as well as potential economic development incentives that may be available, such as tax increment financing or tax abatement programmes. The developer and the local governing body will often enter into a development agreement requir - ing the developer to commit to threshold value improvements on the property or construction of public infrastructure improvements in exchange for or contingent upon desired zoning, subdivi - sion and site plan approvals or receipt of eco - nomic incentive packages. 4.7 Enforcement of Restrictions on Development and Designated Use Local governments are able to enforce devel - opment and use restrictions under their general zoning and other police powers. In addition, when developers have entered into development agreements, restrictive covenants or other vol - untary agreements with the local governing body or with neighbouring landowners, such agree - ments are binding on future owners or other
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