A city may adopt certain codes by ordinance, but the council and clerk must follow notice, hearing, and publication steps.
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