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Planning commission recommends changes to definitions for accessory buildings, recreational facilities and signs
Summary
The Lincoln Lancaster County Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of text amendment 24015 to clarify the municipal code definitions for floor area in accessory buildings, recreational facilities, and to update references to Nebraska Parkway in salvage yard and off‑premise sign rules.
On April 2, 2025, at a regular meeting, the Lincoln Lancaster County Planning Commission voted 9-0 to recommend approval of text amendment 24015, a package of code clarifications that adds a definition for floor area for accessory buildings, revises definitions for types of recreational uses and updates two code sections to include Nebraska Parkway.
The amendment, presented by Jacob Schlening of the Planning Department, would add a new definition so that the table that limits allowable floor area for accessory buildings is interpreted to include spaces used to store automobiles. "This is basically just to update with a new definition that allows us to interpret that table the way that it has always historically been interpreted," Schlening said. He also described two related definition changes intended to distinguish clubs from indoor and outdoor recreational facilities so that facilities that are essentially academies for sport instruction cannot avoid special‑permit requirements by calling themselves clubs.
The proposal would reclassify a small number of existing facilities currently licensed as clubs into the updated categories for indoor or outdoor recreational facilities; the department told commissioners that such uses would remain grandfathered and could continue operating under their existing permits. Schlening named the Cooper YMCA and the Boys and Girls Scouts facilities as local examples that would be reclassified under the updated definitions but said the change "does not change the way that any of these facilities operate." He also told commissioners the department contacted identified facilities in January and that he met with the Boy Scouts, who were supportive.
A separate cleanup in the same amendment updates two sections — the salvage yard rule and the off‑premise sign rule — to add Nebraska Parkway while retaining references to Nebraska Highway 2 where portions of that highway remain within the city’s extra‑territorial jurisdiction.
No public testimony was offered on the amendment. Commissioners moved to close the public hearing and then voted to recommend approval. The planning commission's action is a recommendation to the city council or county board, which will take a final decision at a later date.
The commission did not identify any expert communications or ex parte site visits related to the amendment during the meeting.
