Is It Time to Tidy Up Your City Code?

By Kyle Hartnett

According to the internet, Minnesota cities have some strange ordinances. For example, did you know that it is illegal to eat a hamburger in St. Cloud on Sundays? Or that all men in Brainerd must grow a beard? Or that there is a Minnesota city where it is illegal to bring your elephant on Main Street?

Thankfully, all these “laws” are urban legends.

Although not as unique as these internet hoaxes, there are cities throughout the state that have ordinances on the books regulating issues that are no longer relevant to the community because they have not been reviewed in decades or they are not kept in a coherent manner.

In some cities, if a resident entered city hall asking about the city’s regulations on elephants on main street, the city clerk would be required to look through 100 years of ordinances or minutes to determine if the city has any such regulations.

Outdated and disorganized ordinances can cause problems for city staff, city council members, and city residents. For city staff, it is important for ordinances to be kept in a manner that is easy to enforce and administer. For city council members, ordinances are an important tool to ensure a city operates in a manner consistent with its priorities. For residents, well-maintained ordinances help create trust with the city by providing more transparency and an easy-to-understand format.

Because ordinances can become outdated or disorganized, it is important that cities periodically review their ordinances to ensure that they meet their needs. This process is referred toas codification.

Should my city consider codification?

Whether a city should consider codifying its ordinances depends on the state of the city’s ordinances. In assessing the need for codification, a city should begin by asking the following questions:

• What is the condition of the ordinances?
• Are they organized in one place?
• Are they properly indexed to allow for easy navigation?
• Are they cross-referenced?
• Are they up to date and free of archaic provisions?
• Are they internally consistent?
• Are they in compliance with state and federal laws?
• Are they complete?
• Do they reflect the values of the community today?

After undergoing successful ordinance codification, the answer to these questions will be “yes.” A proper codification project encompasses the following:

• Identification of conflicting ordinances, and repeal or redrafting of inconsistent or unclear ordinance provisions.
• Removal of archaic and unconstitutional ordinances.
• Development of a system that facilitates access to the city’s laws and provides for continuous updating.
• Development of comprehensive indexing and cross-referencing.
• Review of the entire body of city ordinances for omissions.
• Organization of city ordinances into an easy-to-use reference book known as the city code.

The fundamentals of city codes

Actual codes vary from the very simple to the very complex, depending partly on the size, age, and functions of the city. The simplest codes are collections of all the ordinances in effect in the city, including the original title, number, enacting clauses, and concluding clause and signatures for each ordinance.

Other codes renumber the ordinances to fit a subject-matter classification. Some other codes include new material adopted for the first time. In many instances, the whole code is adopted as new ordinance material even though much comes from existing ordinances in the same or slightly altered form.

A well-drafted city code helps a city operate efficiently and effectively. Ordinances are grouped together by subject, not by the chronological order in which they were passed. This eliminates the need to sort through stacks of loose ordinances to find a regulation on a particular subject.

Occasionally, the city attorney or city clerk will do the codification. Often, the competing demands on their time make it difficult for them to undertake the project alone. As a result, cities often hire a private consulting firm that specializes in ordinance codification to help guide city staff and elected officials through the process.

Codification consultants can help

Codification consultants help cities ensure that their ordinances are up to date with current state and federal law. Experts help ensure that ordinances remain up to date after adoption and host the finished product on the internet, allowing for easy access by city residents. In addition, using a consultant allows a fresh set of eyes on existing ordinances that may recognize issues others may miss. Finally, consultants can help guide city officials in asking the needed questions to make the new code effective.

The League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) offers codification services in cooperation with American Legal Publishing (ALP) to help cities organize city codes and ordinances into one easy place. In addition, ALP works with cities to ensure the city code meets the vision of the community and produces model codes that can be used as a starting point in updating a city’s code. Learn more about the League’s codification services at lmc.org/codificationservices.

Using a consultant would be an additional cost for the city, but is likely worth the expense in the long run. If a city is considering codification, it should appropriately budget for the costs associated with a consultant as well as increased time by the city attorney. In addition, the city council should ensure that city staff have the capacity to take on such a project while still completing their other duties.

Elected officials and city staff play a role

In addition to professional assistance, cities need support from their elected officials and city staff. For the codification process to be successful, all parties involved must be willing to put in the required work. This means city staff must provide the needed information to elected leaders. In addition, city council members must be willing to review existing ordinances and suggested changes in a thoughtful manner. This means that they will need to spend time outside of regular council meetings reviewing materials. In addition, it will likely mean holding extra meetings to discuss the process and make decisions on what new ordinances will look like.

City council members need to keep in mind that the codification process leads to a code that meets the city’s current needs and values. Those needs and values have likely changed in the years since the original ordinances were adopted. It is important for city council members to have honest and thoughtful discussions on all areas of the code. These discussions may be long and at times frustrating, but they are important in successfully drafting a code consistent with the city’s values.

It is not necessary for the city council to draft specific language in an updated code. Rather, the council should communicate its vision or intent to city staff and let staff use their expertise to draft language consistent with the council’s intent. When a consensus is reached, the council must trust city staff to draft language consistent with their vision, and feel free to let staff know if language is not consistent with their intent.

In working with the city council, city staff should use their expertise to point out provisions that may be inconsistent with state or federal law. In addition, city staff should be free to provide the council with feedback on the potential consequences of any particular provision. Council members should trust the expertise of city staff when working on new ordinances and work together to adopt a legally enforceable and practical city code.

In order to clarify the values of the local community, some cities reach out for public input on ordinance revisions. Again, getting public input will be more work for city staff and elected officials, but may ultimately result in a better code. Stillwater City Council member and LMC Board member Larry Odebrecht, noted that getting public input and keeping the public informed about the process helps city council members maintain the trust of the citizens, which was helpful in Stillwater’s most recent ordinance codification process.

Is codification worth all the work?

Most cities that have gone through the codification process agree that doing so was well worth the effort and required funds. Whether a city completely rewrites their code or simply reorganizes it, the result is a code that is easier to understand and is consistent with the values of the community.

Battle Lake City Clerk Valerie Martin noted that their recent codification project with ALP was well worth the time and effort involved. Battle Lake leaders and staff now have the piece of mind knowing that their code is up to date and will remain current through updates from their consultant.

Likewise, Odebrecht noted in the June 5, 2024, edition of the Stillwater Gazette, “[m]aking our regulations easy to comprehend and follow is crucial for fostering an inclusive community where everyone feels they can contribute and make their voices heard … And while I could crack a joke about how this process has been akin to herding cats, the truth is, it’s been more like organizing a library — tedious, at times overwhelming, but ultimately deeply satisfying.”

Kyle Hartnett is the assistant research manager at LMC and oversees LMC’s codification program.