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If consent to enter upon or inspect any building, structure, or property pursuant to a municipal ordinance is withheld by any person having the lawful right to exclude, the City officer or employee having the duty to enter upon or conduct the inspection may apply to the Iowa District Court in and for the County, pursuant to Section 808.14 of the Code of Iowa, for an administrative search warrant. No owner, operator or occupant, or any other person having charge, care, or control of any dwelling unit, rooming unit, structure, building, or premises shall fail or neglect, after presentation of a search warrant, to permit entry therein by the municipal officer or employee.
Whenever this Code of Ordinances grants any discretionary power to the Council or any commission, board, or officer or employee of the City and does not specify standards to govern the exercise of the power, the power shall be exercised in light of the following standard: The discretionary power to grant, deny, or revoke any matter shall be considered in light of the facts and circumstances then existing and as may be reasonably foreseeable, and due consideration shall be given to the impact upon the public health, safety and welfare, and the decision shall be that of a reasonably prudent person under similar circumstances in the exercise of the police power.
Unless another penalty is expressly provided by this Code of Ordinances for violation of any particular provision, section, or chapter, any person failing to perform a duty required by this Code of Ordinances or otherwise violating any provision of this Code of Ordinances or any rule or regulation adopted herein by reference shall, upon conviction, be subject to a fine of at least $65.00 but not to exceed $625.00. The court may order imprisonment not to exceed 30 days in lieu of a fine or in addition to a fine.† 1
(Code of Iowa, Sec. 364.3[2] and 903.1[1a])
Notes
| 1 | †EDITOR’S NOTE: For civil penalty for violations of this Code of Ordinances, see Chapter 3. |
Whenever necessary to make an inspection to enforce any ordinance, or whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that there exists an ordinance violation in any building or upon any premises within the jurisdiction of the City, any authorized official of the City may, upon presentation of proper credentials, enter such building or premises at all reasonable times to inspect the same and to perform any duty imposed upon such official by ordinance; provided that, except in emergency situations, such official shall first give the owner and/or occupant, if they can be located after reasonable effort, 24-hour written notice of the authorized official’s intention to inspect. In the event the owner and/or occupant refuses entry, the official is empowered to seek assistance from any court of competent jurisdiction in obtaining such entry.