Lincoln Approves Code Amendments

LINCOLN — Lincoln City Council approved some changes to its Municipal Code and Unified Development Code during its Sept. 15 meeting, and discussed other changes for future meetings.

The council passed an ordinance to amend the Municipal Code to allow the Planning Commission to have more than six members. Previously, the Code said the commission would consist of only six members but the current commission has seven members.

Council member Terry Bryson recommended changing the code to say the commission would “consist of at least six members.”

The council approved another ordinance to amend parts of the Unified Development Code.

For zoning districts, the A-1 zoning designation was renamed R-A for residential agricultural.

The section on factory built residential structures was renamed to “manufactured and modular” residential structures. The section allows manufactured homes to be placed in a mobile home park only or in a residential-agricultural zone.

When a manufactured home is placed, permanent utility connections are required and no one can occupy a mobile home or manufactured home until the city inspector has issued a certificate of occupancy.

The section has other requirements, such as the entry of a manufactured home must face the street and must have a covered front porch or stoop. Manufactured homes will have a perimeter foundation enclosure and must meet set setback requirements.

One change in this section gives owners more time to replace a mobile home that is a non- conforming use. If a mobile home burns or is damaged, the owner has six months to replace it with a new modular or manufactured home.

The council discussed some exemptions to the fence ordinance, such as not requiring fence permits for fences around a backyard garden or a fence around a dog run. City Attorney Steve Zega said he would put together a proposal to amend the city’s fence ordinance.

The council also spent time at the end of the meeting discussing the city’s fall and spring cleanup days.

Mayor Doug Hutchens decided earlier this year to discontinue that practice and change the cleanup from a curbside pickup to having residents bring their items to dumpsters set up for the week on Carter Street behind Lincoln Fire Department.

Council member Johnny Stowers questioned discontinuing the policy but Hutchens said the amount of items and debris that people are putting out has gotten worse over the years. Many times, people from outside the city are bringing stuff in to be picked up during the citywide cleanup, Hutchens said.

Last year’ s spring cleanup ended up as a mess, he said, because it rained and everything left out was soaked.

“At one house, we had half a dozen couches. That was a terrible mess,” Hutchens told council members.

Other issues, Hutchens said, are that the city has to use employees from the water department to help with the cleanup and there’s also the concern about someone getting hurt picking up large items left out.

“This has become more of a hazard,” Hutchens said, adding the “same vehicle that brought it into town can bring it out of town.”

Lincoln’s fall cleanup will be Oct. 5-9.

In other action, the council authorized Hutchens to sell the 2004 Sterling trash truck for $ 2,005 to Moore Valley Farms, set the annual property tax levy at the same rate, 5 mills, for the general fund and renewed its agreement with Lincoln Pound Pals for animal control services.

The council also passed a resolution disclaiming the city’s sponsorship in Muddy Fork Site #1 or Kinion Lake. Zega explained that the Natural Resources Conservation Service is planning a comprehensive rehabilitation project for Kinion Lake and all sponsors will share the costs of the project.

The conservation service gave Lincoln the opportunity to disclaim its sponsorship so that it would not have to help with any of the costs.

The city became a sponsor in the 1960s when it joined with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Washington County Soil Conservation District to sponsor flood control measures on the Muddy Fork of the Illinois River to be constructed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.