Pruss v. Cedar Rapids/Hiawatha Annexation Special Local Committee

STREIT, Justice.

A landowner, drawn to the charm of the bright lights and sewer services of Cedar Rapids, resists the annexing embrace of Hiawatha. A .special committee of the City Development Board approved the City of Hiawatha’s petition to involuntarily annex Francis Pruss’s land, and denied a similar request by Cedar Rapids. Pruss and Cedar Rapids complain the Committee’s interpretation of a state annexation law was wrong, because their request was not afforded the “presumption of validity” expressly granted to voluntary annexations. They also argue Cedar Rapids, and not Hiawatha, could…