Iowa Code Ch. 161D — Loess Hills Development and Conservation Authority + Alliance (IA)

Tracked preemption from the Iowa overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
1999-03-15
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:IA

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

OR
  • parcel.county_fips {19129, 19193, 19133, 19085, 19155, 19129, 19071}
  • city.in_loess_hills_alliance_county == True

Preempted fields

2 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
review_typeadvisoryloess_hills_alliance_consultationThe Loess Hills Alliance (created within the Loess Hills Development and Conservation Authority) provides advisory stewardship, protection, information/education, and economic-development review for projects in the seven Alliance counties (Plymouth, Woodbury, Monona, Harrison, Pottawattamie, Mills, Fremont). The Authority itself spans 23 counties (Adair, Adams, Audubon, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Crawford, Fremont, Guthrie, Harrison, Ida, Lyon, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby, Sioux, Taylor, Woodbury), each entitled to one voting member.
redevelopment.hungry_canyons_accountpermitstate_appropriation_for_loess_erosion_controlThe Hungry Canyons Account of the Loess Hills Fund supports erosion-control infrastructure in the Loess Hills.

Citation

Authority source
Iowa Code ch. 161D (Loess Hills and Southern Iowa Development and Conservation); §161D.5 (alliance counties).
§ Iowa Code ch. 161D; §161D.5
https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/2026/161D.pdf

Research notes

Advisory/coordination overlay — Ch. 161D does NOT directly preempt local zoning, but creates a state-recognized stewardship framework that local zoning decisions on slopes >18% in the Loess Hills are commonly reviewed against. Loess Hills is a globally rare geologic formation (windblown silt deposits >60 ft thick, the deepest outside the Yellow River basin in China). National Park designation has been studied (Grassley legislation) but not enacted as of 2026-05-18. Note: the geographic predicate uses the 7 marquee Alliance counties (Plymouth=19149, Woodbury=19193, Monona=19133, Harrison=19085, Pottawattamie=19155, Mills=19129, Fremont=19071); the Authority's broader 23-county footprint is captured in the city-attribute flag rather than enumerated FIPS codes.