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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Kearney Planning Commission Meeting – March 20, 2026

Planning Commission — Friday, March 20, 2026

BodyKearney, Nebraska

SessionPlanning Commission

DateFriday, March 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:01:06

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:09

It's nine o'clock.

0:11

You're in the planning commission of the city of Kearney.

0:14

Welcome.

0:15

I'd like to call the meeting to order and first read the open meetings act statement as follows.

0:22

In accordance with section 84-1412 of the Nebraska revised statutes, a current copy of the Open Meetings Act is available for review and is posted in the meeting room, and that would be right by the water cooler if anyone has any interest in reading that.

0:39

I'm new to this chair.

0:41

I'm acting uh chair.

0:43

The previous chair resigned, so it asked for everyone to kind of uh bear with me if I struggle uh time to time.

0:51

Um at this particular point, uh I will uh ask for a roll call, please.

0:58

McGuinness here Malone here, Rickard, here y'all, here Baker, here Scott Pandor here, taken here Cochran is absent.

1:08

We have a quorum.

1:10

Um all of us have a copy of the minutes of the February 20th, 2026 Planning Commission meeting.

1:18

Is there a motion to approve those?

1:20

Um just as a point of order, there is an a-correct um date on the agenda.

1:26

So the approval of the minutes will be from February 20th, 2026.

1:32

So will the motion uh have to state that would be appreciated.

1:38

Okay, thank you.

1:39

Mr.

1:39

Chairman, I move we approve the uh corrected agenda item, the minutes of the February 20, 2026 meeting.

1:49

Second we have a motion and a second.

1:52

Any discussion?

1:54

Hearing none, roll call, please.

1:55

Hello, all right, Rickard, hi, y'all, Baker, I Scott Pandor.

2:01

I Dakon, McGuinness.

2:04

Yes, I motion carries.

2:07

We will now move to agenda item number four.

2:12

The first item on the agenda uh is to rezone from District M1, limited industrial district to district R3, urban residential, multifamily, medium density for property located at 2106 East Avenue.

2:30

If you could state your name and address, name is Zach Wolfe.

2:34

Uh my personal address is 1405 C Avenue here in Kearney, and the address for the property is 2106 Avenue E.

2:43

Please go ahead.

2:46

And we're looking to rezone this from an M1 to an R3.

2:49

You can see how to use this.

2:52

Here's the house.

2:54

Um all of this is R3, as you see.

2:58

This here is like a auto repair shop.

3:04

Uh and then the house is for my understanding an Airbnb with multiple units, and then this is Middleton Electric across the street.

3:13

Um we are also looking to do a duplex in this.

3:17

Uh the one side would be a full-time rental of three-bedroom, two-bath, and then the other side will be a two-bed, two-bath, um, and more of like a midterm traveling nurses uh working professionals in the area.

3:32

So when we went to pull the building permit um, in order for it to be a duplex, it has to move from M1 to R3.

3:39

So that's the purpose of the rezoning application.

3:45

Okay, thank you.

3:46

Uh staff have any observations?

3:51

Yes, the staff's findings a factor that the proposed rezoning is compatible with the flu designation and purpose.

3:56

The proposed R3 zoning district is compatible with the surrounding development in the area and is a less intensive zoning district than the M1 zoning district.

4:05

The property has been a long-standing residential property as indicated by the reported year of construction 1910, according to the Buffalo County Assessor data.

4:15

And the proposed rezoning is consistent with the 2016 comprehensive plan as reference.

4:19

Staff recommends approval of the rezoning as presented.

4:24

Thank you.

4:24

Do the commissioners have any questions for the applicant or city staff?

4:29

So this will be a new construction.

4:31

You're not remodeling the old uh remodeling.

4:34

So yeah, not tearing anything down, not adding to the structure.

4:38

Um we just had to add a bedroom and a bathroom.

4:42

Okay.

4:42

Um but the house had been added on to multiple times, so kind of the layout just didn't flow.

4:47

And I think this made a lot more sense.

4:49

So anybody else have any questions?

4:54

Okay.

4:55

Uh that being so, uh, I'd like to point out this is uh an open uh meeting to the public hearing.

5:02

And is there anyone else in the audience that would like to provide any comments uh to the commissioners on this proposal hearing none?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Zoning and Land Use█████████████████████████████████████████████56%

Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████22%

Affordable Housing██████7%

Transportation Safety███4%

Procedural███4%

Economic Development██2%

Public Safety██2%

Public Engagement██2%

Arts And Culture█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Kearney Planning Commission Meeting – March 20, 2026

The Kearney Planning Commission met on March 20, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. in City Council Chambers. Chairperson Dave Malone presided (acting chair after previous resignation). Commissioners present: Malone, Rickard, Yaw, Baker, Scott-Pandorf, Dakan, McGuinness. Commissioner Cochran was absent. The commission considered multiple zoning, conditional use permit, plat, and annexation items, with many approvals advancing to the Kearney City Council.

Consent Calendar

Minutes of February 20, 2026 – Approved unanimously by roll call vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

Item 6 (Bluestem Glasshouse CUP): Public comments were received via email from Nancy S. Breberg (read into record). Oral testimony from Kyle Babel (6125 53rd Avenue) expressed concerns about light pollution, noise, traffic, and the venue’s fit with the rural residential character. Andrew Hoffmeister (5630 46th Avenue) argued the proposal constituted a civic/commercial use rather than an agricultural market and raised concerns about liquor licenses, parking, and land-use compatibility. No other public testimony was offered on other items except item 7 and item 17.
Item 7 (Hilltop Mall Apartments PD): Judy Hoffman (8775 2nd Avenue) spoke about potential parking overflow onto Parklane Drive and traffic congestion on 48th Street.
Item 17–22 (Fountain Hills Sixteenth Addition): Kevin Matson (1405 West 50th Street) asked about a potential lot purchase and was directed to a future administrative lot split.

Discussion Items

Item 4 – Rezoning 2026-02 (2106 Avenue E): Applicant Zachary Wolf requested rezoning from M-1 (Limited Industrial) to R-3 (Urban Residential Multi-Family Medium Density) to allow a duplex. Staff recommended approval, noting compatibility and long-standing residential use. Approved unanimously.
Item 5 – Conditional Use Permit 2026-01 (546 Sweetwater Avenue): Terry Dolzall (representing Vertical Bridge/Verizon) presented a proposal for a 165‑foot telecommunications monopole tower with space for three carriers. Staff recommended approval with conditions on height, screening, and ownership notification. Approved unanimously.
Item 6 – Conditional Use Permit 2026-02 (Bluestem Glasshouse): Applicants Hannah Connealy and Grant Calarose (with architect Matthew Klaus) proposed an agricultural market/community event venue with a glass conservatory on AG‑zoned land west of 56th Street. Staff recommended approval with 10 conditions (hours, setbacks, lighting, parking, etc.). After public testimony and commissioner discussion, the motion carried 6‑0 (Baker absent later in meeting).
Item 7 – Planned Development Plan 1991-07, Folder #5 (5110 Parklane Drive): Jacob Reiter (Olsen Engineers) presented a 75‑unit multi-family development (three buildings, one two‑story and two three‑story) on a vacant lot adjacent to Hilltop Mall. Staff recommended approval with conditions to add a street tree and finalize a parking agreement with the mall. Approved unanimously.
Items 8–11 – 12 Kids Addition: Craig Bennett (Miller & Associates) presented a rezoning, preliminary plat, final plat, and annexation for 12.75 acres south of 11th Street (between Avenue H and Avenue M) to create 43 duplex lots (86 units) with R‑2 zoning. All items approved unanimously.
Items 12–16 – Spruce Hollow Estates Ninth Addition: Craig Bennett presented a subdivision vacation, rezoning to R‑1, preliminary and final plats, and annexation for 22 acres north of 56th Street near Buffalo Hills Elementary School, creating 46 single‑family lots. All items approved unanimously.
Items 17–22 – Fountain Hills Sixteenth Addition: Craig Bennett presented three rezonings (portions to R‑1, R‑2, and C‑2) plus preliminary plat, final plat (eastern portion), and annexation for 36 acres at the southeast corner of 54th Street and 15th Avenue. The final plat includes 25 lots (mix of single‑family and duplex). All items approved unanimously.

Key Outcomes

All rezoning, conditional use permit, subdivision plat, and annexation items were approved by the commission, with the following forwarded to the Kearney City Council for final action (scheduled April 28, 2026):
- Item 6 (Bluestem Glasshouse CUP) – Approved 6‑0.
- Item 7 (Hilltop Mall Apartments PD) – Approved unanimously (with additional condition on parking agreement).
- All other items (4, 5, 8–22) approved unanimously.
Staff conditions attached to Item 5 and Item 6 are binding; the parking agreement for Item 7 must be submitted before council consideration.
The meeting adjourned after item 23 (reports) with no further business.

Meeting Transcript

It's nine o'clock. You're in the planning commission of the city of Kearney. Welcome. I'd like to call the meeting to order and first read the open meetings act statement as follows. In accordance with section 84-1412 of the Nebraska revised statutes, a current copy of the Open Meetings Act is available for review and is posted in the meeting room, and that would be right by the water cooler if anyone has any interest in reading that. I'm new to this chair. I'm acting uh chair. The previous chair resigned, so it asked for everyone to kind of uh bear with me if I struggle uh time to time. Um at this particular point, uh I will uh ask for a roll call, please. McGuinness here Malone here, Rickard, here y'all, here Baker, here Scott Pandor here, taken here Cochran is absent. We have a quorum. Um all of us have a copy of the minutes of the February 20th, 2026 Planning Commission meeting. Is there a motion to approve those? Um just as a point of order, there is an a-correct um date on the agenda. So the approval of the minutes will be from February 20th, 2026. So will the motion uh have to state that would be appreciated. Okay, thank you. Mr. Chairman, I move we approve the uh corrected agenda item, the minutes of the February 20, 2026 meeting. Second we have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none, roll call, please. Hello, all right, Rickard, hi, y'all, Baker, I Scott Pandor. I Dakon, McGuinness. Yes, I motion carries. We will now move to agenda item number four. The first item on the agenda uh is to rezone from District M1, limited industrial district to district R3, urban residential, multifamily, medium density for property located at 2106 East Avenue. If you could state your name and address, name is Zach Wolfe. Uh my personal address is 1405 C Avenue here in Kearney, and the address for the property is 2106 Avenue E. Please go ahead. And we're looking to rezone this from an M1 to an R3. You can see how to use this. Here's the house. Um all of this is R3, as you see. This here is like a auto repair shop. Uh and then the house is for my understanding an Airbnb with multiple units, and then this is Middleton Electric across the street. Um we are also looking to do a duplex in this. Uh the one side would be a full-time rental of three-bedroom, two-bath, and then the other side will be a two-bed, two-bath, um, and more of like a midterm traveling nurses uh working professionals in the area. So when we went to pull the building permit um, in order for it to be a duplex, it has to move from M1 to R3. So that's the purpose of the rezoning application. Okay, thank you. Uh staff have any observations? Yes, the staff's findings a factor that the proposed rezoning is compatible with the flu designation and purpose. The proposed R3 zoning district is compatible with the surrounding development in the area and is a less intensive zoning district than the M1 zoning district. The property has been a long-standing residential property as indicated by the reported year of construction 1910, according to the Buffalo County Assessor data. And the proposed rezoning is consistent with the 2016 comprehensive plan as reference. Staff recommends approval of the rezoning as presented. Thank you. Do the commissioners have any questions for the applicant or city staff? So this will be a new construction.

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