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Council to revise trailer-parking ordinance after residents, police and public works weigh in
Summary
After public comments and law-enforcement input, the Lincoln City Council directed staff to draft revisions clarifying that work trailers hitched to vehicles should be treated differently than long‑term stored campers and boat trailers; no ordinance change was made at the meeting.
Lincoln City Council heard several public comments and staff perspectives Dec. 5 before directing a revision to the city's winter trailer-parking ordinance rather than making an immediate amendment.
Resident Chris Logan told the council he had been ticketed after returning late from a Minneapolis trip and asked for an exception for residents who keep trailers hitched while doing business. "I just wanted to mention something about the trailer ordinance. The other night, I got a ticket for it," Logan said, asking the council to allow more leeway for working residents.
Former council member Brandon Chook described the ordinance's original intent as targeting campers and gooseneck trailers left on the street for long periods, not work trailers that are attached to trucks and can be moved. Public-safety and public-works staff — including Jim Giddings — said the ordinance primarily exists to ensure snow‑removal and public-works access during winter and recommended distinguishing trailer types and adding an emergency exception for storms.
Council members debated 24- and 48‑hour allowances, emergency exemptions for snow events and the need for clear trailer-type definitions in code. Several members said they favored revising the ordinance to explicitly allow work trailers that are hitched to vehicles while continuing to prohibit long-term storage of campers and similar units during the November–March restriction period.
The council did not adopt a change on the night of Dec. 5; instead, members asked the city attorney and staff to draft revised language and return to a future meeting. The city attorney cautioned about open-meeting rules for any small-group interviews of applicants and recommended scheduling full council discussion when possible. The matter will return for formal consideration after staff-crafted language and training guidance for enforcement are developed.
