Village of Lansing restructuring municipal code

The village of Lansing is looking to reorganize and digitally restructure its municipal code. The Planning Board heard a presentation from a General Code representative at its Feb. 10 meeting, encouraging the village to ensure that all of its local laws and regulations are under one roof and up to date.

A municipal code is a compilation of local laws, also known as ordinances, passed by a city, town, village or county government. The code outlines the regulations and rules governing various aspects of life within that municipality, including things like zoning, building codes, traffic laws and public conduct. Essentially, it’s the legal framework for how a local government operates within its jurisdiction.

General Code is a company with 63 years of experience and 4,000 local government clients in 44 states. The company handles these municipalities’ municipal code, zoning code and building code content.

Todd Metcalf, General Code’s New York account manager, said that the company initially had a contract with the village to organize its code from scratch in 1992; that contract was fulfilled in 1996. The village then updated its code in 2005, but has generally added in all local laws passed until present day. No new legislation has yet been adopted in 2025. 

“We are going to look at the chapter outline, see if that is still good or if anything needs some moving around,” Metcalf said. “This is not an overnight project.”

Metcalf said that the company’s legal editors have deep knowledge of New York state law and ensure that the village’s laws are organized in accordance with state regulations.

“The editors finish reviewing state compliance, then they bring it back for your review electronically,” Metcalf said.

Metcalf said that the village could have designated officers review-specific angles of the code. For instance, he noted, a third of the code is dedicated to property zoning regulations. Therefore, it makes sense to have the village’s code staff focus on addressing that section.

When there is an established draft, an electronic version of the code is created on eCode360, an online platform that hosts the municipal code of several municipalities all over New York. 

“We then provide you with a local law to bring to the village board and adopt it,” Metcalf said.

Having a presence on eCode360 is ideal for municipalities, as it can help them become more efficient. 

“It is a good idea to have right there at the top of your website, that way residents can come in, click on that, and maybe answer some of their own questions before they come to the clerk,” Metcalf said.

Planning Board Chair Michael Baker asked what would happen if the village passed new local laws or amended existing ones. 

“The village staff has to send a hard copy of a new local law or an amendment to the state. By the time the start certifies it, then you send it to me,” Metcalf said. “The legislation can be sent in electronically; it comes in to our supplementation team. Within 48 hours, the legislation is under a tab on eCode360 called New Laws. Our editors will take a quick peek at it to see what chapter it affects, then they put a little notation.”

Metcalf said that the village can have a contractual schedule with General Code that allows for monthly, quarterly or yearly updates. Planning Board members said the code is typically updated about seven to 10 times a year. The project would cost the village $15,500. 

Some of the benefits listed in the company’s proposal include:

• Deliver a code that is always accessible to the public and is up to date.
• Help keep the village’s code enforceable.
• Improve transparency with constituents.
• Save village staff time and resources by empowering constituents to find code information independently. 

In brief:

Local musician Amy Puryear will offer SingSong classes for children at the Lansing Community Library in March. Puryear will lead these sessions at 10:30 on March 4, 11, 18 and 25. 

SingSong is a delightful interactive musical experience for children and their parents or caregivers. Join us for a joyous gathering where we’ll sing, move, learn rhythms, clap, stomp, dance and have a great time together. Our repertoire includes songs from various cultures, both familiar and new, and we’ll even explore singing in different languages like English and Spanish while also learning some American Sign Language (ASL).

Interested parties can register at:

https://lansinglibrary.org/2025/02/12/singsong-music-classes-with-amy-puryear-2/.