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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Hastings Planning Commission Meeting March 17, 2026: Zoning Code Changes and Officer Elections

Planning Commission — Tuesday, March 17, 2026

BodyHastings, Nebraska

SessionPlanning Commission

DateTuesday, March 17, 2026

StatusFILED

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Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

5:31

We'll go we'll go ahead and start.

5:33

We can do a lot of we can do the discussion and things that we do at the end of the meeting while we're waiting to get a quorum here.

5:39

A meeting for the Hastings Planning Commission has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th, 2026 at 4 p.m.

5:46

at the Hastings Municipal Airport.

5:49

I'm Chuck Rosenberg filling in for Greg Center who was not able to be here.

5:54

At this time, Alyssa, would you want to read the roll?

Speaker 2

6:02

Ken Dig, Schnazy, Hubbard, Colley, Center, Rosenberg, Ad Rosenberg.

6:12

Rosemary, yes, here.

6:14

Adler Rossi.

Speaker 3

6:16

Here.

Speaker 2

6:17

We have a quorum, or we don't have a quorum.

Speaker 1

6:20

Sorry.

6:21

Okay.

6:22

Well, why don't we stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

Speaker 4

6:33

To the Republic for which it stands.

6:36

One nation under a indivisible liberty and justice scroll.

Speaker 1

6:43

First order business like to welcome Rick Schnazy to the planning commissioner.

6:50

He was appointed by the mayor recently and approved by the council.

6:54

And then Craig Hubbard, who has been our alternate, is now a full-time commissioner as well, which only leaves one full-time vacancy mayor and one uh alternate vacancy.

7:08

So if you could get those people here, we could start with quorums easier.

7:13

So appreciate that.

7:15

Um there are any citizens that would like to speak or address the commission on any topic.

7:25

I forgot that last time, but I guess we have none this time.

7:29

Alyssa, would you want to read the public notice into the record?

Speaker 2

7:35

Public notice official notice of the regular meeting was published in accordance with Nebraska revised statute section 84-1411.

Unassigned speaker

7:43

Pursuant to Nebraska revised statute section eighty-four-fourteen twelve.

Speaker 2

7:48

The public is advised that a copy of today's agenda and all reproducible written material, which will be discussed at today's meeting, is available for public review.

7:57

Additionally, a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted and accessible to the public.

Speaker 1

8:04

Okay, thank you.

8:07

We have to get one more member here so that we can uh vote on the minutes and uh actually vote on the adopting the agenda first, and uh then we can move through some of those items.

8:19

I guess we could jump down to reports and hopefully we'll have those folks here.

8:25

We don't have any standing committees at this time.

8:29

Uh chairman reports.

8:31

I was fortunate to go to the NPZA convention, which was held march uh the first week in March and Carney.

8:39

Uh all the planners from all over the state were there is very informative, and I know uh Kevin was there as well as Amber is as well, and maybe they'll have something to say on that.

8:54

Basically, our meeting today appears to be more of a work session, and I know Kevin will be going through some zoning code uh changes that they would like to make eventually, then we'll get to vote on those as well.

9:08

So I guess um I would ask uh if you have uh Kevin, do you want to go ahead and is it okay for Kevin to go ahead and discuss the zoning changes, Jesse?

Unassigned speaker

9:25

Yeah,

Speaker 5

9:25

I mean

Speaker 1

9:26

there's

Speaker 5

9:26

not a quorum, so you can discuss whatever.

Unassigned speaker

9:28

Yeah, okay, yeah.

Speaker 1

9:30

Okay.

Unassigned speaker

9:31

Well, like I said, if you want to go ahead and then when we get another commissioner here, we'll move back to the voting portions that we need to do.

Speaker 6

9:40

Okay.

9:40

Um this is the next step in rewriting our zoning code, which will match up with our comp plan and our future land use.

9:49

So my intent here is to educate you on some of the changes and ask you for your input.

9:55

I need your ideas, your thoughts in of if we're doing this right or we're doing it wrong, because this you represent the community just like I do, so your your ideas are just as important as mine in numbers.

10:08

So we'll do this, and if you have any questions, please I want you to ask.

10:15

Even the new member, ask away.

10:17

If I don't know the answer, we'll look it up for you.

10:20

Okay.

10:21

Um, and like I said, this is the next step in our phase of rewriting our zoning code to more align it to actual use and to the future land use and to the comp plan.

10:32

Okay, that's just a picture of our current zoning map.

10:36

And we'll start up with the agricultural district.

10:38

We named it A1 instead of A.

10:42

And these are some of the parameters in that district.

10:46

So we went from existing regulations for maximum height of 35 feet to the peak.

10:53

We changed that to 20 feet to the eve of the structure.

10:57

So we're not measuring the roof.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning Code█████████████████████████████████████████████67%

Affordable Housing███████████17%

Procedural██████9%

Community Engagement██3%

Transportation Safety█2%

Comprehensive Planning█2%

Summary of Proceedings

Hastings Planning Commission Meeting March 17, 2026: Zoning Code Changes and Officer Elections

The Hastings Planning Commission met on March 17, 2026, at 4:05 p.m. at the Hastings Municipal Airport. The meeting began without a quorum and proceeded with a work session on proposed zoning code amendments until a fifth commissioner arrived. Once a quorum was established, the commission adopted the agenda, approved prior meeting minutes, and elected officers. The remainder of the meeting was dedicated to a staff-led review of comprehensive zoning updates intended to align with the comprehensive plan and state statutes, with extensive commissioner discussion on density, neighborhood character, and affordability. The meeting adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

Consent Calendar

The current agenda for the March 17, 2026 meeting was adopted by a 5-0 vote (motion by Rossi, second by Hubbard).
The minutes of the January 21, 2026 meeting were approved by a 5-0 vote (motion by Hubbard, second by Rossi).

Discussion Items

Staff Presentation on Zoning Code Rewrite: Director of Development Services Kevin Kubo presented proposed changes to the zoning code, explaining they are driven by state statute updates encouraging "missing middle" housing and increased affordable housing options. The commission reviewed 3-D models comparing existing and proposed regulations across all districts, including new districts such as R-O (Residential Estates), R-4 (Residential Village), C-4 (Highway Commercial), and MU (Mixed Use). Key principles included allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), modifying height measurements to the eave, adjusting lot sizes and setbacks, and increasing density in residential districts.
Commissioner Concerns on Density: Commissioner Hubbard raised concerns about the 10-foot side street setback on corner lots, citing traffic safety issues near schools and existing neighborhood patterns. Commissioner Rossi asked how the proposed density compared to peer cities; Kubo stated Hastings is in the middle range (less dense than Grand Island, denser than Kearney). Commissioner Hubbard and Rossi expressed worries that increased density in R-1 and R-2 districts could lead to investor-driven redevelopment, loss of single-family character, and conversion of older homes into multi-unit apartments, particularly near the university. Kubo acknowledged these concerns and noted that density could be adjusted downward based on input, estimating only 0–10% of lots may redevelop over 20 years.
Industrial District Standards: Commissioner Hubbard questioned the proposed 50% lot coverage minimum for industrial zones, arguing it could be too restrictive and discourage industry. Kubo responded that coverage allowances could be raised to 80–100% if desired, and that the code cannot anticipate every scenario.
Public Engagement: Kubo announced two public meetings scheduled for March 25 and March 26, 2026, and encouraged commissioner and public feedback. Chair Rosenberg emphasized that builder and developer input would also be sought after the public meetings.

Key Outcomes

Officer Elections: By unanimous 5-0 votes, the commission elected the following officers for the upcoming term:
- Chairperson: Chuck Rosenberg
- Vice-Chairperson: Shawn Rossi
- Second Vice-Chairperson: Greg Sinner
Next Steps: Staff will hold public meetings on March 25 and 26 to gather community input. Following those, the proposed code will be refined, brought back to the Planning Commission for further review and potential revisions, and eventually presented to the City Council by the end of 2026.
Commission Guidance: The commission directed staff to consider lowering density allowances in residential zones (e.g., reducing from five to three units where appropriate) and to coordinate with engineering on setback and traffic safety standards.

Meeting Transcript

We'll go we'll go ahead and start. We can do a lot of we can do the discussion and things that we do at the end of the meeting while we're waiting to get a quorum here. A meeting for the Hastings Planning Commission has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 17th, 2026 at 4 p.m. at the Hastings Municipal Airport. I'm Chuck Rosenberg filling in for Greg Center who was not able to be here. At this time, Alyssa, would you want to read the roll? Ken Dig, Schnazy, Hubbard, Colley, Center, Rosenberg, Ad Rosenberg. Rosemary, yes, here. Adler Rossi. Here. We have a quorum, or we don't have a quorum. Sorry. Okay. Well, why don't we stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, please? To the Republic for which it stands. One nation under a indivisible liberty and justice scroll. First order business like to welcome Rick Schnazy to the planning commissioner. He was appointed by the mayor recently and approved by the council. And then Craig Hubbard, who has been our alternate, is now a full-time commissioner as well, which only leaves one full-time vacancy mayor and one uh alternate vacancy. So if you could get those people here, we could start with quorums easier. So appreciate that. Um there are any citizens that would like to speak or address the commission on any topic. I forgot that last time, but I guess we have none this time. Alyssa, would you want to read the public notice into the record? Public notice official notice of the regular meeting was published in accordance with Nebraska revised statute section 84-1411. Pursuant to Nebraska revised statute section eighty-four-fourteen twelve. The public is advised that a copy of today's agenda and all reproducible written material, which will be discussed at today's meeting, is available for public review. Additionally, a current copy of the Nebraska Open Meetings Act is posted and accessible to the public. Okay, thank you. We have to get one more member here so that we can uh vote on the minutes and uh actually vote on the adopting the agenda first, and uh then we can move through some of those items. I guess we could jump down to reports and hopefully we'll have those folks here. We don't have any standing committees at this time. Uh chairman reports. I was fortunate to go to the NPZA convention, which was held march uh the first week in March and Carney. Uh all the planners from all over the state were there is very informative, and I know uh Kevin was there as well as Amber is as well, and maybe they'll have something to say on that. Basically, our meeting today appears to be more of a work session, and I know Kevin will be going through some zoning code uh changes that they would like to make eventually, then we'll get to vote on those as well. So I guess um I would ask uh if you have uh Kevin, do you want to go ahead and is it okay for Kevin to go ahead and discuss the zoning changes, Jesse? Yeah, I mean there's not a quorum, so you can discuss whatever. Yeah, okay, yeah. Okay. Well, like I said, if you want to go ahead and then when we get another commissioner here, we'll move back to the voting portions that we need to do. Okay. Um this is the next step in rewriting our zoning code, which will match up with our comp plan and our future land use. So my intent here is to educate you on some of the changes and ask you for your input. I need your ideas, your thoughts in of if we're doing this right or we're doing it wrong, because this you represent the community just like I do, so your your ideas are just as important as mine in numbers. So we'll do this, and if you have any questions, please I want you to ask. Even the new member, ask away.

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Hastings Planning Commission Meeting March 17, 2026: Zoning Code Changes and Officer Elections

Consent Calendar

The current agenda for the March 17, 2026 meeting was adopted by a 5-0 vote (motion by Rossi, second by Hubbard).

The minutes of the January 21, 2026 meeting were approved by a 5-0 vote (motion by Hubbard, second by Rossi).

Discussion Items

Staff Presentation on Zoning Code Rewrite: Director of Development Services Kevin Kubo presented proposed changes to the zoning code, explaining they are driven by state statute updates encouraging "missing middle" housing and increased affordable housing options. The commission reviewed 3-D models comparing existing and proposed regulations across all districts, including new districts such as R-O (Residential Estates), R-4 (Residential Village), C-4 (Highway Commercial), and MU (Mixed Use). Key principles included allowing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), modifying height measurements to the eave, adjusting lot sizes and setbacks, and increasing density in residential districts.

Commissioner Concerns on Density: Commissioner Hubbard raised concerns about the 10-foot side street setback on corner lots, citing traffic safety issues near schools and existing neighborhood patterns. Commissioner Rossi asked how the proposed density compared to peer cities; Kubo stated Hastings is in the middle range (less dense than Grand Island, denser than Kearney). Commissioner Hubbard and Rossi expressed worries that increased density in R-1 and R-2 districts could lead to investor-driven redevelopment, loss of single-family character, and conversion of older homes into multi-unit apartments, particularly near the university. Kubo acknowledged these concerns and noted that density could be adjusted downward based on input, estimating only 0–10% of lots may redevelop over 20 years.

Industrial District Standards: Commissioner Hubbard questioned the proposed 50% lot coverage minimum for industrial zones, arguing it could be too restrictive and discourage industry. Kubo responded that coverage allowances could be raised to 80–100% if desired, and that the code cannot anticipate every scenario.

Public Engagement: Kubo announced two public meetings scheduled for March 25 and March 26, 2026, and encouraged commissioner and public feedback. Chair Rosenberg emphasized that builder and developer input would also be sought after the public meetings.

Key Outcomes

Officer Elections: By unanimous 5-0 votes, the commission elected the following officers for the upcoming term:

Chairperson: Chuck Rosenberg
Vice-Chairperson: Shawn Rossi
Second Vice-Chairperson: Greg Sinner

Next Steps: Staff will hold public meetings on March 25 and 26 to gather community input. Following those, the proposed code will be refined, brought back to the Planning Commission for further review and potential revisions, and eventually presented to the City Council by the end of 2026.

Commission Guidance: The commission directed staff to consider lowering density allowances in residential zones (e.g., reducing from five to three units where appropriate) and to coordinate with engineering on setback and traffic safety standards.

Meeting Transcript