Iowa Code » Chapter 384 — CITY FINANCE
Iowa Code

Iowa Code § 384.37 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026
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As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. “Abutting lot” means a lot which abuts or joins the street in which the public improvement is located or which abuts the right-of-way of the public improvement.

2. “Adjacent lot” means a lot within the district which does not abut upon the street or right-of-way of the public improvement.

3. “Construction” includes materials, labor, acts, operations and services necessary to complete a public improvement.

4. “District” means the lots or parts of lots within boundaries established by the council for the purpose of the assessment of the cost of a public improvement.

5. “Engineer” means a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Iowa, authorized by the council to render services in connection with the public improvement.

6. “Final grade” means the grade to which the public improvement is proposed to be constructed or repaired as shown on the final plans adopted by the council.

7. “Grade” means the longitudinal reference lines, as established by ordinance of the council, which designate the elevations at which a street or sidewalk is to be built.

8. “Gravel” includes gravel, crushed rock, cinders, shale and similar materials suitable for street construction or repair.

9. “Lateral sewer” means a sewer which contributes sewage, or surface or groundwater from a local area to a main sewer or outlet.

10. “Lot” means a parcel of land under one ownership, including improvements, against which a separate assessment is made. Two or more contiguous parcels under common ownership may be treated as one lot for purposes of this subchapter if the parcels bear common improvements or if the council finds that the parcels have been assembled into a single unit for the purpose of use or development.

11. “Main sewer” means a sewer which serves as an outlet for two or more lateral sewers, and which is commonly referred to as an intercepting sewer, outfall sewer or trunk sewer.\n\nTue Dec 09 22:13:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 384 (48, 2) §384.37, CITY FINANCE 28\n\n 12. “Oil” means any asphaltic or bituminous material suitable for street construction or repair.

13. “Parking facilities” means parking lots or other off-street areas for the parking of vehicles, including areas below or above the surface of streets.

14. “Paving” means any kind of hard street surface, including, but not limited to, concrete, bituminous concrete, brick, stabilized gravel, or combinations of these, together with or without curb and gutter.

15. “Private property” means all property within the district except streets.

16. “Property owner” or “owner” means the owner or owners of property, as shown by the transfer books in the office of the county auditor of the county in which the property is located.

17. “Proposal” means a legal bid on work advertised for a public improvement under chapter 26.

18. “Publication” means public notice given in the manner provided in section 362.3.

19. “Public improvement” includes the principal structures, works, component parts and accessories of any of the following:

a. Sanitary, storm and combined sewers.

b. Drainage conduits, channels and levees.

c. Street grading, paving, graveling, macadamizing, curbing, guttering, and surfacing with oil, oil and gravel or chloride.

d. Street lighting fixtures, connections and facilities.

e. Sewage pumping stations, and disposal and treatment plants.

f. Underground gas, water, heating, sewer and electrical connections located in streets for private property.

g. Sidewalks and pedestrian underpasses or overpasses.

h. Drives and driveway approaches located within the public right-of-way.

i. Waterworks, water mains and extensions.

j. Plazas, arcades and malls.

k. Parking facilities.

l. Removal of diseased or dead trees from any public place, publicly owned right-of-way or private property.

m. Traffic-control devices, fixtures, connections, and facilities.

20. “Railways” means all railways except street railways.

21. “Repair” includes materials, labor, acts, operations and services necessary for the repair, reconstruction, reconstruction by widening or resurfacing of a public improvement.

22. “Sewer” means structures designed, constructed and used for the purpose of controlling or carrying off streams, surface waters, waste or sanitary sewage.

23. “Sewer systems” are composed of the main sewers, sewage pumping stations, treatment and disposal plants, lateral sewers, drainage conduits or channels and sewer connections in public streets for private property.

24. “Street” means a public street, highway, boulevard, avenue, alley, parkway, public place, plaza, mall or publicly owned right-of-way or easement within the limits of the city.

25. “Street improvement” means the construction or repair of a street by grading, paving, curbing, guttering, and surfacing with oil, oil and gravel, or chloride, and street lighting fixtures, connections and facilities.

26. “Total cost” or “cost” of a public improvement includes the cost of engineering, preliminary reports, property valuations, estimates, plans, specifications, notices, legal services, acquisition of land, consequential damages or costs, easements, rights-of-way, construction, repair, supervision, inspection, testing, notices and publication, interest during construction and for not more than six months thereafter, and printing and sale of bonds. [R60, §1064, 1097; C73, §464 – 466, 527; C97, §751, 779, 792; S13, §779, 792, 792-f, 840-c, -d; SS15, §751, 840-h, -r; C24, 27, §5938, 5962, 5974, 5975, 5987; C31, 35, §5938, 5962, 5974, 5975, 5987, 6610-c8; C39, §5938, 5962, 5974, 5975, 5987, 6610.04; C46, §389.1, 389.31, 391.1,\n\nTue Dec 09 22:13:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 384 (48, 2) 29 CITY FINANCE, §384.38\n\n391.2, 391.14, 417.8; C50, 54, 58, 62, §389.1, 389.31, 391.1, 391.2, 391.14, 391A.1, 417.8; C66, 71, 73, §389.1, 389.31, 390A.39, 391.1, 391.2, 391.14, 391A.1, 417.8; C75, 77, 79, 81, §384.37] 83 Acts, ch 90, §23; 92 Acts, ch 1176, §1; 2007 Acts, ch 126, §61; 2007 Acts, ch 144, §17; 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §127 Referred to in §298.3, 331.485, 357E.11A, 384.24, 384.44, 386.1, 468.585, 669.14, 670.4 \n

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: EnviroGas, L.P. v. Cedar Rapids/Linn Cnty. Solid Waste Agency, 641 N.W.2d 776 (Iowa 2002).
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EnviroGas, L.P. v. Cedar Rapids/Linn Cnty. Solid Waste Agency, 641 N.W.2d 776 (Iowa 2002). · cites it 14× “See Iowa Code §§ 384.37 -.79 (designated as division IV of chapter 384).”
Home Builders Ass'n of Greater Des Moines v. City of West Des Moines, 644 N.W.2d 339 (Iowa 2002). · cites it 2× “” See Iowa Code § 384.37 (19) (defining “public improvement” to include, among other things, sewers, sidewalks, streets, plazas and utility connections).”
Fischer v. City of Sioux City, 695 N.W.2d 31 (Iowa 2005). · cites it 2× “The Iowa Code provides a municipality shall be immune from liability for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as…”
Connolly v. Dallas Cnty., Iowa, 465 N.W.2d 875 (Iowa 1991). · cites it 2× “Any claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in section 384.37, subsection 1, or other public facility that was…”
City of Clive v. Iowa Concrete Block & Material Co., 298 N.W.2d 585 (Iowa 1980). · cites it 2× “Under section 384.37(5), the word lot includes “part of lot.”
Uhlenhake v. City of Ossian, 418 N.W.2d 642 (Iowa 1988). “1983 Iowa Code Supplement § 384.37(5). The plain language of these two sections simply does not support Uhlen-hakes’ contention that the city acted improperly in dividing their land into parcels to be assessed.”
Kathryn Marie Breese & E.B., born in 2005, a minor child, by & through her mother & next friend Kathryn Marie Breese v. City of Burlington (Iowa 2020). · cites it 8× “4(1)(h) renders a municipality immune from liability for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in…”
Interchange Partners, L.L.C. v. City of West Des Moines, 918 N.W.2d 502 (Iowa Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 5× “" See Iowa Code §§ 384.37 , .38(1). 5 The district court noted the "City reduced the area subject to the per acre assessment from 2500 acres to approximately 1500 acres.”
Wilma Kellogg v. City of Albia, Iowa (Iowa Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “4(1)(h) provides immunity to municipalities for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in section 384.37,…”
Wilma Jean Kellogg v. City of Albia, Iowa (Iowa 2018). · cites it 2× “4(1)(h) provides immunity to municipalities for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in section 384.37,…”
Everette Hamner, Jennifer Hamner, Judy Skogman, & Susan Himes v. City of Bettendorf, Iowa, an Iowa Mun. Corp. (Iowa Ct. App. 2016). “§ 384.37(19), and drainage as public benefit, see id.”
Mulhern v. Kruger (Iowa Ct. App. 2025). “§ 384.37(25) (using the owners as shown in the transfer books for statute governing city special assessments); id.”
— Iowa Code § 384.37(19) — 3 cases
EnviroGas, L.P. v. Cedar Rapids/Linn Cnty. Solid Waste Agency, 641 N.W.2d 776 (Iowa 2002). “See Iowa Code §§ 384.37 -.79 (designated as division IV of chapter 384).”
Kathryn Marie Breese & E.B., born in 2005, a minor child, by & through her mother & next friend Kathryn Marie Breese v. City of Burlington (Iowa 2020). “4(1)(h) renders a municipality immune from liability for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in…”
Everette Hamner, Jennifer Hamner, Judy Skogman, & Susan Himes v. City of Bettendorf, Iowa, an Iowa Mun. Corp. (Iowa Ct. App. 2016). “§ 384.37(19), and drainage as public benefit, see id.”
— Iowa Code § 384.37(19)(a) — 1 case
Kathryn Marie Breese & E.B., born in 2005, a minor child, by & through her mother & next friend Kathryn Marie Breese v. City of Burlington (Iowa 2020). “4(1)(h) renders a municipality immune from liability for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in…”
— Iowa Code § 384.37(22) — 2 cases
Interchange Partners, L.L.C. v. City of West Des Moines, 918 N.W.2d 502 (Iowa Ct. App. 2018). “" See Iowa Code §§ 384.37 , .38(1). 5 The district court noted the "City reduced the area subject to the per acre assessment from 2500 acres to approximately 1500 acres.”
Kathryn Marie Breese & E.B., born in 2005, a minor child, by & through her mother & next friend Kathryn Marie Breese v. City of Burlington (Iowa 2020). “4(1)(h) renders a municipality immune from liability for [a]ny claim based upon or arising out of a claim of negligent design or specification, negligent adoption of design or specification, or negligent construction or reconstruction of a public improvement as defined in…”
— Iowa Code § 384.37(25) — 1 case
Mulhern v. Kruger (Iowa Ct. App. 2025). “§ 384.37(25) (using the owners as shown in the transfer books for statute governing city special assessments); id.”
— Iowa Code § 384.37(5) — 2 cases
City of Clive v. Iowa Concrete Block & Material Co., 298 N.W.2d 585 (Iowa 1980). “Under section 384.37(5), the word lot includes “part of lot.”
Uhlenhake v. City of Ossian, 418 N.W.2d 642 (Iowa 1988). “1983 Iowa Code Supplement § 384.37(5). The plain language of these two sections simply does not support Uhlen-hakes’ contention that the city acted improperly in dividing their land into parcels to be assessed.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.