Council gives staff direction to pursue a citywide zoning code update after Opticos pre‑study

City staff and planning consultants Opticos Design presented a high‑level pre‑study of Lincoln’s Title 18 zoning code and the council directed staff to move forward with a citywide code update process.

Associate Planner Mikayla Noble introduced Cecilia Kim of Opticos, who summarized key findings: Title 18 (adopted in 1979) contains useful provisions but is difficult to navigate, has repeating or conflicting language, and would benefit from a reorganization, clearer objective standards, diagrams and a surgical approach that keeps working content while modernizing or replacing outdated rules.

Opticos recommended reorganizing code content into chapters and tables to improve usability, integrating Title 18 with specific plans and general development plans through a matrix, and forming a working group of developers, designers, residents and staff to guide updates. The pre‑study identified cases where specific plans reference Title 18 and where clarifications would reduce conflicts.

Council members asked about sequencing with the downtown master plan and potential costs. Staff said they would return with a proposed consultant agreement and timeline; several council members said the decision to proceed depends on cost and the degree of rework required once the downtown master plan and general plan updates are complete. Council consensus was to direct staff to continue planning the code update process and return with a scope, timeline and budget.