Planning Commission Meeting – August 16, 2019
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Planning Commission Meeting – August 16, 2019
The Kearney Planning Commission met at 9:00 a.m. on August 16, 2019, in City Council Chambers, 18 East 22nd Street. The meeting primarily addressed a single parcel at 1201 Avenue B, involving a lot vacation, preliminary and final plats, and a rezoning request. The Commission also elected officers for the coming year and discussed land-use principles.
Consent Calendar
- July 19, 2019 Minutes: Approved with one abstention (Commissioner O’Neal).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Roger Scheckler (1211 Avenue B) presented a petition signed by neighbors on the block, all opposing the requested rezoning to R‑2 (Urban Residential Mixed‑Density). He stated that residents want to keep the area as single‑family and expressed concerns about increased density and parking from multi‑family development.
Discussion Items
- Partial Vacation (No. Prior to 1950‑1): The applicant, Chad Softley (Prestige Exteriors, LLC), represented by surveyor Trent Snow and real estate agent Pat Slack, requested vacation of the Southwest Quarter of Lot 1755 to replat the property. Staff supported the vacation.
- Preliminary and Final Plats (No. 2019‑10 – Prestige Addition): The proposed plat would create two lots: Lot 1 (vacant, 100 ft × 157.42 ft) and Lot 2 (existing house and garage). The applicant intends to build new rental units on Lot 1, possibly a triplex or duplex, to provide affordable housing. Staff supported the plats.
- Rezoning (No. 2019‑11): The applicant sought to rezone Lots 1 and 2 from R‑1 (Low‑Density Single‑Family) to R‑2 (Mixed‑Density). Staff recommended denial, noting that the area’s trend (new single‑family homes built in the 2000s, a 2012 plat for single‑family) and the future land‑use map (Low Density Residential) support retaining R‑1. Commissioner discussion highlighted that R‑2 would allow up to four units per structure (or five to six with a Planned Development), and that once rezoned, the property could be used for any R‑2 purpose regardless of the applicant’s current plans. Several commissioners expressed willingness to consider a Planned Development (PD) proposal that would specify the building footprint, but the applicant presented only conceptual plans.
Key Outcomes
- Vacation (Item 4): Approved unanimously.
- Preliminary and Final Plats (Items 5 & 6): Approved unanimously.
- Rezoning (Item 7): Denied (motion carried, exact vote tallies not fully recorded; at least six members voting, a majority affirmed denial). The denial is a recommendation to the City Council, which will consider the matter on September 10, 2019.
- Election of Officers (Item 8): Stan Dart was elected Chair (he abstained), and Rich McGuinness was elected Vice‑Chair (he abstained).
- Discussion: Commissioners held an extended conversation on land‑use principles, the role of the Future Land Use Map, property rights, and the use of Planned Developments to provide certainty for neighbors.
Meeting Transcript
That use a current copy of the open to meeting act is available for review and is posted on the meeting room over here. If you would uh give us a roll call, please. Ricker? Here. Malone. Here. McGuinness. Here. Dart? Here. O'Neal. Here. Cochrane? Here. We have a quorum. Before we move too much further along, I would welcome Patrick O'Neal to the Planning Commission. This is his first meeting. And welcome to you and hope you enjoy the experience. Thank you. Like we all do. You have meet the minutes of the meeting held on July 19th. So motion in regards to those would be in order. Mr. Chairman, I make a motion to approve the minutes or so written. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Nancy? McGinnis. Aye. Cochrane. Hi. Ricker. Dart. Aye. Malone. O'Neill? Abstand. The motion passes. We have seven items on our or we have five items on our agenda this morning. All of them relate to the same parcel of property. Before we begin, I would note for you that the planning commission is a recommendative body. The action we take here is a recommendation to the city council. The city council has final jurisdiction on this, and they make the final decision. In addition, I would appreciate it when you, if you are going to talk to us about any of the items on the agenda. If you please come to the center podium and uh give us your name and address and talk to us about what your interests are, and we'd appreciate that very much. So all of these items pertain to the same parcel of property. And it is a parcel of property located at 1201 and 1201 Avenue B. Portion of this is a vacation of a portion of the parcel. Vacation number 19501, and then a hearing on both the preliminary and the final plates of that property.
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