IRON MOUNTAIN — A zoning adjustment that an Iron Mountain City Council member described as “housekeeping” drew public objections Monday but was unanimously approved after an hour of comment and discussion.

The change eliminates a 1-foot setback requirement for fences erected between neighbors, allowing the requestor to go right up to the property line with the consent of the abutting property owner.

The only difference from the current ordinance is the striking of the 1-foot setback requirement, which appears to have no material consequence, council member Kyle Blomquist said.

City Attorney Gerry Pirkola had recommended amending the ordinance, saying the setback rule may be unenforceable.

During a public hearing Monday, the council heard from a half-dozen citizens who supported keeping the setback requirement, or expanding it to a greater distance.

Sunset Drive resident Andy Lancour asked if the city was adjusting the ordinance to accommodate a violator — a charge City Manager Jordan Stanchina denied.

The purpose of the change, he said, is to allow property owners to maximize utilization of their lot and not leave a strip of property that can’t be maintained without going on the adjoining owner’s property.

Blomquist described it as “ordinance housekeeping,” though he acknowledged that Lancour and others had called attention to issues of “compliance and enforcement” that the city must continue to address.

“Those are issues … not related to this ordinance (change), as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

Mayor Dale Alessandrini said he’s not in favor of increasing the setback requirement for fences on a boundary line, noting most other cities in the Upper Peninsula have no such rule.

The change was adopted in a voice vote.

In other action, the council:

— Agreed to work with the firefighters bargaining unit to reach an agreement to allow incentives to add more part-time firefighters. The structure could include bonuses and in-house training.

— Will solicit bids for sewer main repairs on the 500 block of South Tamarack Street where a small sinkhole has formed. This is something the public works department would normally fix, but the area has a groundwater issue that makes it difficult, Stanchina said.

— Awarded a bid to KLM Engineering of Woodbury, Minn., to conduct inspections on three water storage tanks at a cost of $9,000. The guaranteed completion date is Oct. 15.