The Kearney Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Monday to rezone about 7.405 acres at the northwest corner of Nation Road and Cottonwood Creek Avenue from commercial to RP-1 low-density residential, clearing the way for a 22-lot single-family addition to the Cottonwood Creek subdivision.

City Community Development Director David Pavlich said the original rezoning and preliminary plat for Cottonwood Creek were approved in 2017; commercial frontage along Nation Road and Highway 92 was left unbuilt. The applicant, Deer Valley LLC, asked to convert 7.405 acres of that commercial frontage to RP-1 so the developer can build 22 single-family lots under a planned-district format because some lots would not meet the city’s minimum dimension or width requirements.

“Cottonwood Creek Subdivision is at the northwest quadrant of Nation Road and 92 Highway,” Pavlich said. “The original rezoning and preliminary plat were approved in 2017… 7.4 acres would be rezoned from commercial to RP-1 for 22 single-family lots.”

Neighbors who spoke at Planning and Zoning raised concerns about water and ponding on adjacent existing lots. The developer’s engineer described grading and drainage features aimed to keep water generated on the new plat on-site, including a one-foot berm along the property line and a detention area at the west corner of the plat. An alderman present summarized the engineer’s explanation: runoff from the new lots is designed to flow to the street or the rear of lots, with a detention basin intended to prevent overflow toward Highway 92.

Planning and Zoning recommended the rezoning, and the board read the ordinance by title and approved it on first and second readings. The motion to approve passed unanimously with aye votes recorded from Alderman Holt, Alderman Lehman, Alderman Spencer and Alderman King.

The rezoning modifies the comprehensive zoning regulations in Chapter 400 of the Kearney municipal code. The developer and the city will proceed with platting and any required engineering inspections; board members did not detail additional conditions or bonding during the meeting.