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 Law Firm presented for the applicant and said, “it is simply not in dispute that the residents of this property are disabled for purposes of federal and state law.” Daniel Hahn, regional manager for Oxford House Incorporated, described the organization’s intake practice and internal governance, saying entry to an Oxford House typically requires an internal acceptance vote and community connections with treatment and court systems. “To enter an Oxford house, it takes an 80% vote of acceptance for the people that arrive,” Hahn said.

Staff described regulatory and factual constraints the commission weighed. The subject property is in an R‑7 residential zoning district; staff said the lot area is just under 6,000 square feet, which by right could conditionally allow a collaborative living facility for up to six unrelated persons. Staff also noted the municipal collaborative-living parking standard (one parking space per two residents) would normally require five spaces for 10 residents; the lot appears to accommodate four on-site spaces. Carey reported Lincoln Police Department records showed 14 calls for service to the property during the studied period beginning Jan. 1, 2023, while other nearby addresses had higher counts.

Commissioners asked how Oxford House verifies that residents are persons in recovery. Hahn said there is no formal medical “certification” for substance-use recovery; instead the Oxford House network relies on peer review and partnerships with local treatment providers, courts and probation offices, and the house members’ internal voting processes. Counsel also told the commission Oxford House nationally often operates without prior local approvals and that federal fair-housing law informs their approach; the applicant offered to accept the collaborative-living classification with the requested reasonable accommodation for occupancy and parking.

Commission discussion acknowledged the legal limits on local discretion under the Fair Housing Act. Commissioners noted that denying the accommodation could expose the city to legal challenge, and that the city’s other codes (for example, registered-offender proximity to schools) remain separate issues. After discussion the commission moved to approve the accommodation and parking waiver; the motion passed unanimously, with the vote recorded as yes by Paul, Cruz, Edens, Pfeiff, Joy, Ronenberg and Ryman.

The commission’s approval designates the property as a collaborative living facility with a reasonable accommodation for up to 10 unrelated persons and an on-site parking waiver reducing the required spaces from five to four. The action is a recommendation to the City Council or County Board only for most items; staff clarified that some special permits on other matters are final actions, but this accommodation decision was made by the Planning Commission at the meeting.

The applicant and staff said they will follow up on permit paperwork and any required recordkeeping. No enforcement or operational conditions beyond the approved accommodation and the parking waiver were specified in the motion or the staff report at the hearing.

Sources at the hearing included Planning Department staff and the applicant’s counsel and Oxford House representatives. The commission made the vote on Aug. 20, 2025, during its regular meeting.