Question 1

What is Ordinal Code Library?

Accepted Answer

Ordinal Code Library is a city code lookup tool that shows local government staff how other municipalities have written their codes, so they can draft, compare, and decide with confidence. Staff choose a peer city, search a topic, and read that city's actual adopted code language.

Question 2

How can city staff see how other cities regulate the same issue?

Accepted Answer

Select a peer city, then search a topic or a specific question, and Code Library returns the relevant sections of that city's code. Repeat with other cities to compare approaches across jurisdictions, whether the issue is short-term rentals, ADUs, food trucks, or signage.

Question 3

Where does the code language in Code Library come from?

Accepted Answer

Every example is pulled from municipal code that a city has actually adopted, not from templates or model language. That gives staff real-world precedent to work from when drafting or updating an ordinance.

Question 4

How is Code Library different from searching other cities' code websites or asking ChatGPT?

Accepted Answer

Researching peer cities usually means clicking through each city's code website one at a time. General AI tools can paraphrase or invent code language that no city has adopted. Code Library puts real code from multiple cities in one place, so research that used to take weeks takes minutes.

Question 5

Does Code Library write ordinances or give legal advice?

Accepted Answer

No. Code Library shows how other cities have handled an issue, and your staff and city attorney decide what fits your community. It's a research tool that helps you start from proven language, not a replacement for legal review.

Stop starting from scratch, learn from other city codes

Confidently draft new code without the weeks-long research process

Why Cities Use Code Library

Reduce research time and uncertainty

Avoid reinventing the wheel

Ground decisions in peer-city precedent

How Code Library Works

Frequently Asked Questions

Explore how other cities are already using code library