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Record of Proceedings

Kearney City Council Meeting: January 27, 2026 - Short-Term Rental Code Amendments Approved

City CouncilTuesday, January 27, 2026
BodyKearney, Nebraska
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record

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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Own of silence followed by the pledge.

0:10

Please join us by the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:13

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:18

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:20

One nation under indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:30

In accordance with section 84 1412 of the Nebraska revised statutes, a current copy of the open meetings act is available for review and posted on the wall of the council chambers.

0:39

Peggy, please call roll.

0:43

Here Schmidt.

0:44

Here at here.

0:55

They pertain to the proposed code amendments to Section 12-103 of terms of chapter 12, uh excuse me, of Chapter 46 supplemental use regulations of the code of the city of Kearney, and that they were postponed from the January 13th meeting as a reminder, planning commission by majority of vote, approved the original code amendments at their December 19th, 2025 meeting.

1:19

Melissa.

1:20

Melissa Doherty, city planner.

1:22

So as you stated, these were postponed from the January 13th meeting.

1:26

Um hearing the feedback from that meeting and additional feedback that we heard from city council members.

1:31

We essentially went in and revised three points of the short-term rental code.

1:35

I'm just gonna run through my presentation real quick to clarify what we've changed and not change.

1:40

Um under Chapter 46-103 AMB, clarifying the residential units in downtown, no changes.

1:48

Um that table 46-1 with the regarding group density requirements, no changes.

1:53

And again, that's no changes from what we discussed two weeks ago.

1:56

Correct.

1:56

I just want to make sure because these are actually changes to get to what we all too, yes.

2:02

They're not changes of the changes, they're just the changes.

2:04

Okay, okay.

2:05

Um, so then when we get into the short-term rental, um, we didn't provide any changes to the definitions under chapter 12 for short-term rental or the sleeping areas.

2:16

Um, what we did change is some of the regulations under the supplemental guidelines.

2:23

So what we've updated and hearing feedback was the maximum occupancy.

2:27

We've no longer have a cap at 12.

2:30

Your maximum occupancy for your short-term rental is based on the number of sleeping areas times the two occupants.

2:37

So if you have a six-bedroom house with potentially four um areas that quantify as a sleeping area, that's 10 sleeping areas times two.

2:47

So the max occupancy on that dwelling would be 20 occupants.

2:52

Um, after hearing feedback from the public regarding our application fees, um, we have revised those.

2:59

So the first year the application fee and permit will be a hundred dollars, and then the annual renewal fee will be twenty-five dollars.

3:07

Then lastly, we revised the language regarding verified complaints to essentially remove the word noise because that was causing a lot of confusion about what would be considered a complaint versus a non-complaint or how many complaints.

3:21

So we still left it at the three strikes you're out rule, and we move the word noise to just say verified code complaints.

3:28

And one thing on the that I just want to highlight too is that it's the three strikes and you're out within a calendar year.

3:33

So, you know, we again could have complaints a couple years ago, maybe two, and then next year we have one more.

3:42

That's not your third strike, right?

3:43

Start the clock starts over.

3:44

Yep.

3:46

All righty, and that concludes the changes that we're bringing forward for this meeting.

3:51

Um, again, I've just put up the short-term rentals FAQs, they're gonna be issued annually.

3:56

There is the 60-day compliance period once we approve them today.

4:00

If they are approved today, um, there's no inspections required for the permit approval.

4:05

However, if you would like us to do a no-charge consultation inspection, we are more than happy to come out and do that.

4:11

Basements, living rooms, and other areas with two means of egress can be considered part of those sleeping areas.

4:16

Um, again, the complaints are verified by code enforcement, and operators will be allowed to address such complaints.

4:22

So just because we're getting calls that your that short-term rental is too noisy, does not mean that that is a verified complaint.

4:29

We will go out and investigate that.

4:31

Either have contact the police department or we'll go out ourselves and verify what's going on on the property.

4:37

And again, there's no regulations included that limits the number of short-term rentals or the number of short-term rentals owned by an individual.

4:46

And then I judge provide the occupancy requirements example again, and I can answer any questions.

4:52

Okay.

4:53

Any questions for Melissa?

4:57

Thank you.

5:00

And I I I appreciate the extra work that kind of went through and all the revisions and things like that that we've kind of done in the last couple of weeks.

5:06

I thought we had a really good dialogue.

5:08

Yeah.

5:08

I I appreciate the uh openness to review some of the things that we suggested, and so appreciate that.

5:17

Yeah, I met with one individual who came in after we kind of discussed through the changes, and he had a really good edit about the noise complaint, so we took that under consideration and a couple of phone calls as well.

5:27

There, and essentially after speaking with all three individuals, they essentially supported the changes that we were proposing.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Zoning and Land Use████████████████████████████████40%
Military Service███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Kearney City Council Meeting

Date: January 27, 2026 | Time: 5:30 p.m. | Location: City Council Chambers, 18 East 22nd Street, Kearney, Nebraska

The Kearney City Council held a regular meeting, primarily focused on two ordinances amending the city's code to regulate short-term rentals. Following a public hearing (postponed from January 13, 2026), the council voted to adopt both Ordinance No. 8780 (definitions) and Ordinance No. 8781 (supplemental use regulations) after incorporating revisions based on community and council feedback. The consent agenda, including approval of minutes, claims, and various resolutions, was also approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved unanimously (4-0) items 1 through 7:
    1. Minutes of the January 13, 2026 regular meeting.
    2. Claims approval.
    3. Setting February 10, 2026, at 5:30 p.m. as the date and time for hearings on Planning Commission applications.
    4. Resolution No. 2026-9 – Approving Adrian Bueno-Hernandez as a member of the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department.
    5. Resolution No. 2026-10 – Accepting public improvements under a Developer Constructed Infrastructure Agreement for Oak Park Center Fourth.
    6. Resolution No. 2026-11 – Approving Change Order No. 2 ($10,966.80 increase, 12-day extension) for the Apron Reconstruction Project at Kearney Regional Airport.
    7. Resolution No. 2026-12 – Approving the Annual Redevelopment Project Report (TIF) as required by state statute.

Public Hearings & Testimony

  • No public testimony was offered during the hearing. The Mayor asked for speakers, and none approached the podium.

Discussion Items

  • Short-Term Rental Code Amendments (Public Hearing Items III-1 and III-2) – City Planner Melissa Doherty presented revisions to the proposed code amendments, which had been postponed from January 13, 2026, to allow for additional input. Key changes presented:

    • Maximum occupancy: Removed a fixed cap of 12. Now occupancy is calculated as the number of sleeping areas multiplied by two (e.g., a dwelling with 10 qualifying sleeping areas allows up to 20 occupants).
    • Application fees: Reduced to $100 for the first year (permit and application) and $25 for annual renewals.
    • Complaint process: Removed the word "noise" from the "verified complaints" definition to reduce confusion. The three-strikes rule (within a calendar year) remains, with verification by code enforcement before counting.
    • No inspections required for permit approval; a free consultation inspection is available upon request.
    • Basements, living rooms, and other areas with two means of egress can qualify as sleeping areas.
    • No limit on the number of short-term rentals per owner.
    • A 60-day compliance period will begin after adoption.

    Doherty noted that after hearing feedback from the public and council, three points were revised. She reported that all three individuals who provided input after the previous meeting supported the changes.

Key Outcomes

  • Ordinance No. 8780 (amending Section 12-103, definitions of terms for short-term rentals) was adopted on final passage by a vote of 3-1 (Council Member Tami James Moore voted no; Mayor Jonathan Nikkila absent; Council Members Schmidt, Stratman, and Buschkoetter voted yes).
  • Ordinance No. 8781 (amending Section 46-103, supplemental use regulations for short-term rentals) was adopted on final passage by the same 3-1 vote (Moore no; Schmidt, Stratman, Buschkoetter yes; Mayor absent).
  • Council Member Ben Stratman announced that he will be deployed by the Army to Newport, Rhode Island for approximately ten months starting the second week of July 2026.
  • Council members and the city manager expressed appreciation for the constructive dialogue with short-term rental owners during the process.

Meeting Transcript

Own of silence followed by the pledge. Please join us by the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under indivisible with liberty and justice for all. In accordance with section 84 1412 of the Nebraska revised statutes, a current copy of the open meetings act is available for review and posted on the wall of the council chambers. Peggy, please call roll. Here Schmidt. Here at here. They pertain to the proposed code amendments to Section 12-103 of terms of chapter 12, uh excuse me, of Chapter 46 supplemental use regulations of the code of the city of Kearney, and that they were postponed from the January 13th meeting as a reminder, planning commission by majority of vote, approved the original code amendments at their December 19th, 2025 meeting. Melissa. Melissa Doherty, city planner. So as you stated, these were postponed from the January 13th meeting. Um hearing the feedback from that meeting and additional feedback that we heard from city council members. We essentially went in and revised three points of the short-term rental code. I'm just gonna run through my presentation real quick to clarify what we've changed and not change. Um under Chapter 46-103 AMB, clarifying the residential units in downtown, no changes. Um that table 46-1 with the regarding group density requirements, no changes. And again, that's no changes from what we discussed two weeks ago. Correct. I just want to make sure because these are actually changes to get to what we all too, yes. They're not changes of the changes, they're just the changes. Okay, okay. Um, so then when we get into the short-term rental, um, we didn't provide any changes to the definitions under chapter 12 for short-term rental or the sleeping areas. Um, what we did change is some of the regulations under the supplemental guidelines. So what we've updated and hearing feedback was the maximum occupancy. We've no longer have a cap at 12. Your maximum occupancy for your short-term rental is based on the number of sleeping areas times the two occupants. So if you have a six-bedroom house with potentially four um areas that quantify as a sleeping area, that's 10 sleeping areas times two. So the max occupancy on that dwelling would be 20 occupants. Um, after hearing feedback from the public regarding our application fees, um, we have revised those. So the first year the application fee and permit will be a hundred dollars, and then the annual renewal fee will be twenty-five dollars. Then lastly, we revised the language regarding verified complaints to essentially remove the word noise because that was causing a lot of confusion about what would be considered a complaint versus a non-complaint or how many complaints. So we still left it at the three strikes you're out rule, and we move the word noise to just say verified code complaints. And one thing on the that I just want to highlight too is that it's the three strikes and you're out within a calendar year. So, you know, we again could have complaints a couple years ago, maybe two, and then next year we have one more. That's not your third strike, right? Start the clock starts over. Yep. All righty, and that concludes the changes that we're bringing forward for this meeting. Um, again, I've just put up the short-term rentals FAQs, they're gonna be issued annually. There is the 60-day compliance period once we approve them today. If they are approved today, um, there's no inspections required for the permit approval. However, if you would like us to do a no-charge consultation inspection, we are more than happy to come out and do that. Basements, living rooms, and other areas with two means of egress can be considered part of those sleeping areas. Um, again, the complaints are verified by code enforcement, and operators will be allowed to address such complaints. So just because we're getting calls that your that short-term rental is too noisy, does not mean that that is a verified complaint. We will go out and investigate that. Either have contact the police department or we'll go out ourselves and verify what's going on on the property. And again, there's no regulations included that limits the number of short-term rentals or the number of short-term rentals owned by an individual.

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