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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 38 / 05-0463 Filed July 27, 2007 AMES RENTAL PROPERTY ASSOCIATION, Appellant, vs. CITY OF AMES, Appellee. Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, William J. Pattinson, Judge.

Landlord group appeals district court decision holding city's zoning ordinance does not violate equal protection. AFFIRMED.

Thomas G. Fisher, Jr. of Parrish Kruidenier Moss Dunn Boles Gribble Cook & Fisher, L.L.P., Des Moines, for appellant.

Kirke C. Quinn of Jordan & Quinn, P.C., Boone, and John R. Klaus, City Attorney, Ames, for appellee.

2 STREIT, Justice. In an effort to stem the flow of students into residential areas, Ames, the home of Iowa State University, passed a zoning ordinance which only permits single-family dwellings in certain areas of the city. For purposes of the ordinance, a "family" is any number of related persons or no more than three unrelated persons. A landlord association brought a declaratory judgment against the City claiming the ordinance violates the equal protection clauses of the United States Constitution and the Iowa Constitution. The district court granted summary

judgment in favor of Ames because it found the ordinance was rationally related to a legitimate government interest. We affirm. I. Ames Facts and Prior Proceedings Rental Property Association (hereinafter ARPA) is a

corporation comprised of people who own residential real estate within the city limits of Ames. The members' properties include various houses located within areas the City has zoned for single-family dwellings. While many of these houses are sufficiently large to comfortably accommodate more than three people, section 29.201(62) of the Ames Municipal Code operates to prohibit ARPA members from leasing a given house, regardless of its size, to more than three unrelated persons. Chapter 29 of the Ames Municipal Code is a comprehensive and detailed zoning ordinance enacted by the city in April 2000 to regulate the use of real estate within the City's boundaries. Section 29.701(1)

restricts use of property in areas designated "residential low density" zones to "primarily single family dwellings." 1

1A two-family dwelling, i.e., a building that contains two dwelling units, each designed for separate and independent occupancy, is allowable in residential low-

3 Section 29.201(51) defines a single-family dwelling as "any building consisting of no more than one dwelling unit, designed for and occupied exclusively by one family." The term "dwelling unit" is defined as "any building or a portion thereof which contains living facilities, including provisions for sleeping, eating, meal preparation and a bathroom." 2 Ames Mun. Code

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