A public hearing was held to discuss a zoning map amendment application for a property located near the intersection of Cottonmill Ave. at 100th St.at the Onion Crest Airpark, south of Riverdale, (Brian Neben, Central Nebraska Today)
KEARNEY — The Buffalo County Commissioners voted unanimously to deny a zoning map amendment which would have allowed commercial zoning near Onion Crest Airpark south of Riverdale during their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
A public hearing had been continued from the Dec. 23, 2024, meeting, which was discussing zoning map amendment application for a property located near the intersection of Cottonmill Ave. at 100th St.at the Onion Crest Airpark, south of Riverdale.
Craig Bennett with Miller & Associates appeared on behalf of Mark Meyer and Loren Bakko, manager of Bakko Land, LLC with a request to rezone around 30 acres of the property from Agricultural – Residential (AGR) to Commercial (C), during the Dec. 23 meeting.
The plan for the property would be to construct a metal building near the airstrip so that Bakko Land, LLC, could operate their custom hay grinder and repair business.
Loren Bakko also spoke and noted they would use the runway one or two times per week as a part of the business. He said they are smaller scale than a Case or John Deere implement dealership and work with 50 customers in Nebraska.
Deputy County Attorney Andy Hoffmeister did note to the commissioners during the December meeting that anything zoned as Commercial means it is use by right. A future landowner would not have to seek a conditional use permit to build any commercial business on the 30 acres.
When the floor was opened to public comment during the December meeting, there were a number of residents who opposed the zoning change and were especially concerned with the commercial zoning potentially being allowed near their homes.
It was brought to the commissioners’ attention that many of the landowners in the area had just learned about the proposed rezone and the public hearing date over the weekend in December. They noted other neighbors would likely want to speak on the matter, if given the opportunity.
To that end, the commissioners recessed the public discussion until the Tuesday, Jan. 28 meeting to allow more people to weigh in on the matter.
There was standing room only at the meeting when the zoning discussion came up.
Bennett with Miller & Associates once again appeared on behalf of the Bakkos and noted they had submitted an amendment to reduced the requested area to be rezoned from 30.13 acres to 17.56 acres.
Loren Bakko also spoke again, saying that they wanted to operate their small business from the location and wanted to live near it. He noted to the commissioners that he had met with several of the surrounding neighbors over the weekend for an informational meeting.
When questioned later in the meeting, Bakko said they have around 50 customers in the area and have one to three visits to their temporary site in Custer County per day.
There were around six people who spoke in favor of the rezone to allow the Bakkos to operate their business. One cited that it would be a benefit to have their hay grinders repaired locally, rather than having to take them to Bakko Land’s main site in Minnesota.
Mark Myer owns the property and is selling the airpark to Bakko Land. He said he supports their business, and they would be a benefit to Buffalo County. A Bakko Land employee also spoke and said it is a small family business that would be happy to work in the greater Kearney area.
He urged the commissioners to thank about “what is good for the county,” and said the business would be of benefit to the Kearney area.
There were a number of neighbors who spoke in opposition to the proposed rezone.
Michelle Widger said she lives on Cottonmill Ave. in the area and said that her “peace was threatened,” by this commercial zoning and said she was “devastated” to learn about it. She urged the commissioners not to allow the area to be zoned commercial.
Sam Widger spoke briefly and asked why the neighbors were being asked to fit the mold of an incoming business, he noted the area is and has been residential.
Josh Chaney, another neighbor to the west of the property in question, noted that the airfield had been built in the 1980s but in 2009, a request for an expanded airpark was denied and in 2011, permission to build additional hanger space was also denied.
Chaney noted there is a precedent to deny additional development in the area and he felt that approving the area to be zoned commercial would set a new precedent going forward, one the surrounding neighbors were opposed to.
He also noted that flooding in the area is a concern, and there has been standing water on the property in question, with the air strip acting like a dam at times.
Jamie Cudaback, who lives in the area, cited her concern for the increased truck traffic in the area. She noted issues on Cottonmill Ave, especially with trucks attempting to turn onto the roadway.
She said she is not opposed to the Bakko’s business but questioned if this is the right location for it.
Other neighbors raised concerns about the increased traffic a new business would bring to Cottonmill Ave.
There were questions about why this business was trying to build on the west side of Kearney when the east side of Kearney has been developed for more commercial and industrial uses.
Gary Hazard appeared and said he was confident the Bakkos would only run their small business, and it made sense in their business footprint.
He did question some of the neighbors in the area why they would choose to live near an airfield that has been in place for 40 years, but have issues with noise, lights, etc.
Hazard did note that there is already semi-traffic on Cottonmill Ave. going to the elevator in Riverdale. He closed by saying he was in favor of the business coming to the area.
After the comments of the neighbors were received, Bennett appeared again to answer some of the questions that were raised during the public comment period.
He noted that the Bakkos were here seeking the rezone and not a special use permit, because by county rules, this type of business must operate in a commercial zone. Although there are non-conforming businesses operating from AGR zoned land, Bennett said.
Speaking of the traffic in the area, Bennett said Cottonmill Ave. is an arterial road and not residential and handles traffic circumventing the Kearney area.
While they were only seeking a zoning change, Bennett said that drainage would be a future concern if the business was allowed to build in the area and there would be a detention cell built to handle stormwater.
The public hearing was closed, and the commissioners took up the discussion.
Several of the commissioners noted that this was by far the most communication they had received from residents in the past several years regarding this change.
Commissioner Dan Lynch expressed his concerns about setting the precedent of allowing commercial zoning in the area. He noted Cottonmill Ave. is not designed for a heavy amount of semi traffic.
Lynch said that he is not opposed to the Bakkos business but has concerns about the county infrastructure in the area. He noted around 80 people had reached out to him about this zoning issue.
Commissioner Ron Loeffelholz said he had lost track of the number of people concerned who had contacted him about the issue. He noted he had concerns about the zoning change and wished to see this discussed a special use permit.
Commissioner Ivan Klein said that rebuilding Cottonmill Ave. would cost around $20 million, funds the county does not have.
Several of the commissioners expressed support for the business but questioned if this location was the best for it. Many cited infrastructure issues being their key concern.
It was motioned by Loeffelholz and seconded by Lynch to deny the zoning map amendment, which was unanimously approved by the rest of the commissioners.
