Mankato council adopts full recodification of city code and updates fee schedule

The Mankato City Council voted to adopt a comprehensive recodification of the city code and an updated fee schedule, an administrative overhaul officials said was overdue.

City Manager Susan Arnds and City Clerk Renee (surname not provided) described the project to assemble more than 20 years of ordinance changes into a single, reorganized code. Clerical and structural changes moved some subjects (for example, alcohol rules) into different chapter numbers and created a new chapter titled “Dwelling Unit Rental,” which consolidated and streamlined duplicate provisions from prior chapters on housing and residential maintenance.

Renee told the council the city had not performed a full code recodification since 2001 and that the work required reorganization, review for conflicts with state law, and editing references to the city fee schedule to standardize language. Arnds said the city intends to avoid another 20‑year gap by scheduling updates every four to seven years.

Council member Laban moved to adopt the ordinance recodifying the code and the associated resolutions; Council member Metzler seconded. City Clerk Renee called the roll and the ordinance, the summary publication resolution and the updated fee schedule passed on unanimous voice votes recorded as “yes.”

Council members commended staff for the volume of work required to modernize and streamline the code. The new code will be published and the city will proceed with signage, notice and administrative updates to reflect the new chapter numbering.

This was a formal ordinance adoption; the council approved the recodification, summary publication and an amended fee schedule in one motion.