Commission approves Still Waters Recovery special permit for rural residential treatment campus, neighbors raise safety and infrastructure concerns

Lincoln 2d Lancaster County planning commissioners granted final action on Sept. 17 to a special permit allowing Still Waters Recovery LLC to operate a residential health care facility for substance use disorder treatment on 31.45 acres at 12788 West Roca Road, authorizing up to 44 residents, subject to conditions including state licensure and required water/wastewater permits.

Planning staff described the application as a residential health care facility allowed in AG zoning through a special permit and said the proposed campus would include an existing house retrofitted for administrative and common use plus four modular structures to house residents. George Westlawoff of the planning department said the 31.452dacre lot could support many more residents under the county density rule, but the applicant requested 44 beds (about 16% of the maximum allowed by the zoning's density metric).

Attorney Derek Zimmerman spoke for the applicant and noted the developer and operator accept the conditions in the staff report, including wastewater and state licensure requirements. Owner Matt Rennerfeldt described personal motivations for the project, saying in his own words the initiative…