Lincoln-Lancaster Planning Commission grants Oxford House request for 10 residents at 1007 South 16th St., waiving one parking space

The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a request to classify an existing Oxford House at 1007 South Sixteenth Street as a collaborative living facility with a reasonable accommodation allowing up to 10 unrelated residents and a waiver reducing the required on-site parking from five spaces to four. The motion passed 7–0.

Staff and applicants told the commission the request was submitted under the federal Fair Housing Act and the Nebraska Fair Housing Act and sought an accommodation to the municipal zoning definition of “family” (Chapter 27 of the Lincoln Municipal Code). David Carey, director of the Planning Department, explained the legal framework and zoning alternatives before the commission. “This is a request for reasonable accommodation under chapter 1.28 of the Lincoln Municipal Code. The Fair Housing Act…is unlawful to discriminate in the sale of rental or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of disability,” Carey said.

The applicant is Oxford House Horizon and Oxford House Inc.; attorney Mark Falson of Rembold Latti…