Annexation

The Community and Economic Development Department is responsible for processing annexation requests for the City of West Des Moines.  Staff members meet with property owners about annexation and process annexation requests through the City Development Board, the state agency that has final authority over annexation requests from cities.

Put simply, annexation is the addition of land area to a city. It allows cities to control land uses in areas that they anticipate growing into to ensure alignment with the long-range goals of the City as identified in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. It has been the City’s philosophy to plan before development rather than after the fact. The City of West Des Moines is one of the fastest growing cities in the State of Iowa, and has some of the most specific requirements for development compared to surrounding communities and counties. It is these land use controls and development requirements to produce high quality developments that enhance our City.

Here is an application to annex into the City of West Des Moines:  Annexation Application