The board of adjustment shall have the following powers:
1. To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is error in any order, requirement,
decision, or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement of this
chapter or of any ordinance adopted pursuant thereto.
2. To hear and decide special exceptions to the terms of the ordinance upon which such
board is required to pass under such ordinance.
3. To authorize upon appeal in specific cases such variance from the terms of the
ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where owing to special conditions a
literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship,
and so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.
4. To authorize on appeal, in specific cases, such variance from the terms of the
ordinance with respect to the area, dimensional, or other numerical limitations as will not
be contrary to the public interest, where owing to special conditions a literal enforcement
of the provisions of the ordinance will result in practical difficulties to the property owner
in making a beneficial use of the property allowed by the zoning ordinance, and so that the
spirit of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done. Area, dimensional, or
other numerical limitations subject to variances include but are not limited to requirements
for minimum lot size, setbacks, yard widths, height, bulk, sidewalks, fencing, signage, and
off-street parking. To receive the requested area, dimensional, or other numerical variance,
the property owner must prove that the practical difficulties faced are unique to the property
at issue and not self-created and must also demonstrate that granting the variance will not
significantly alter the essential character of the surrounding neighborhood.
[C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §6463; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §414.12]
2025 Acts, ch 33, §2
Referred to in §329.12, 414.13
NEW subsection 4\n\nTue Dec 09 22:12:47 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 414 (35, 1)
7 CITY ZONING, §414.18
\n
Notes of Decisions
Riley v. Boxa, 542 N.W.2d 519 (Iowa 1996).
“” Iowa Code § 414.12 (1). The board may “reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify” the decision of the administrative official.”
Fettkether v. City of Readlyn, 595 N.W.2d 807 (Iowa Ct. App. 1999).
“” Iowa Code § 414.12 (1). The board may “reverse or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify” the decision of the administrative official.”
Shors v. Johnson, 581 N.W.2d 648 (Iowa 1998).
“” Iowa Code § 414.12 . In exercising this power, the board may reverse, or affirm, wholly or partly, or may modify the order, requirement, decision, or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision, or determination as ought to be made, and to that…”
Jorgensen v. Bd. of Adj., City of Des Moines, 336 N.W.2d 423 (Iowa 1983).
“We have held that the term “special permit” is synonymous with “special exception” as used in Iowa Code § 414.12 (2) (1983). DePue v. City of Clinton, 160 N.”
Vislisel v. Bd. of Adjustment of Cedar Rapids, 372 N.W.2d 316 (Iowa Ct. App. 1985).
“Iowa Code § 414.12 . In 1981, the Zoning Administrator determined that Mary Doyle’s use of her property was a home occupation under section 32.”
Tsb Holdings, L.L.C. & 911 N. Governor, L.L.C. v. City of Iowa City, Iowa, -------------------------------------------------------------- Tsb Holdings, L.L.C. & 911 N. Governor, L.L.C., plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees v. Bd. of Adjustment for the City of Iowa City, defendant-appellee/cross-appellant. (Iowa Ct. App. 2017).
“Iowa Code § 414.12 . With respect to these statutory powers, “[a]n illegality is established if the board has not acted in accordance with a statute; if its decision was not supported by substantial evidence; or if its actions were unreasonable, arbitrary, 33 or capricious.”
Ebiza, Inc. v. City of Davenport, 434 F. Supp. 2d 710 (S.D. Iowa 2006).
“Orozco did not challenge the ZBA’s authority to grant such a permit, see Iowa Code § 414.12 (l)-(3) (listing the enumerated powers of a board of adjustment); see also id.”
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.