The John Barnd House in Kearney, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The Kearney city council approved a rezone and conditional use permit that would allow for offices in a house that is on the National Register of Historic Places during their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
The applications had been submitted by Miller & Associates for GAMMA XV, LLC, owned by Russell G. Hilliard, to allow for a rezone from R-1, urban residential single family to R-1D, residential district and a conditional use permit for general office at 320 East 31st St.
The home in question is the John Barnd House, a historic house that has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983.
“It was built in 1892 for John Barnd, a veteran of the Union Army during the Civil War of 1861-1865 who founded the Mutual Loan and Investment Company of Kearney and was the co-owner of the Commercial and Savings Bank of Kearney. The house was designed in the Queen Anne architectural style,” according to the National Register of Historic Places.
Craig Bennett with Miller & Associates appeared to discuss the applications. He noted the Hillard’s have moved from the site but the family hopes to keep the house under their ownership and seek to operate a family business from the home.
Bennett said the small advertising business employs eight people, many who work remote and not all would be on site at the same time.
There is an elevator in the home that is maintained and inspected routinely.
There would be a need for parking to accommodate the employees and Bennett said there are four existing spots and two that could be added with some changes to the area on the north side of the home.
Bennett noted this is an “adaptive reuse,” of the historic home with no major changes to the structure or exterior planned.
The actions had been discussed by the Kearney Planning Commission, with the rezone vote passing unanimously, but the conditional use permit had past with a majority vote, the dissenting member being Chairman Stan Dart.
When asked about his vote, Dart said he had some uncertainty regarding the CUP and was concerned about the precedent that was being set.
During the city council meeting, Mayor Jonathan Nikkila questioned how this type of conditional use permit be enforced. City Manager Brenda Jensen said that like others, it would be on a compliant basis from neighbors if there were ongoing issues, such as parking or traffic.
Council member Tami James Moore said in her travels in the Pacific Northwest, she noted many historic homes that might be impractical as a residence have been converted to these uses, while still maintaining their integrity.
Council member Alex Straatmann noted that a conditional use permit for such a historic building in Kearney will likely be scrutinized by the community, which he said the council should be prepared for. He did say that the home would be equipped for the proposed use.
Council Vice-President Randy Buschkoetter said that he would hate to see the structure no longer being used as a private home but noted that this is likely the best option to help maintain its historic integrity.
Jensen did note that the conditional use permit would be transferable to a new owner if the property was sold, and that the city staff make a record of permit transfers for their records.
When taken up for a vote, both the rezone and conditional use permit were passed unanimously by the council.
