ADU rules in Kearney

Kearney has no accessory dwelling unit use, and its Unified Land Development Ordinance bars living space in any detached outbuilding: under Sec. 47-105(A)(1)(j) 'No accessory building shall be used as an independent dwelling unit or for living quarters.' A second detached house on the same lot is not a listed use either, because the single-family use type is 'the use of a site for one (1) dwelling unit' (Sec. 13-104(A)). Quoted full-code searches for 'accessory dwelling', 'guest house', 'guest quarters', 'accessory apartment', 'secondary dwelling', 'garage apartment' and 'granny' return nothing. The city's own ADU page records that after a 2024 outreach effort 'the City has decided not to proceed with changes to allow ADUs at this time.'

There is no attached or basement ADU either, but a second unit inside a house is lawful where the district permits a duplex, defined as 'two (2) dwelling units, each occupied by one (1) family within a single building' (Sec. 13-104(B)). Table 14-1 lists Duplex as permitted by right in R-1D, R-2, R-3, R-4, RM, UC, C-O, C-1, C-2, CBD and C-3, and not at all in AG, RR-1, RR-2 or R-1, the low-density single-family district. The lot must also meet the duplex site rules: in R-2 a conventional duplex lot needs 6,000 sq ft, 3,000 sq ft of site area per unit and 70 ft of width (Sec. 20-102); in R-1D (created by Ord. No. 8660 in January 2024) the cap is 12 units per acre with a 60 ft minimum lot width (Sec. 19-102). A house in R-1 cannot add a second unit without a rezoning.

Because Kearney has no ADU, the ULDO sets no ADU floor-area or percentage limit. The only route to a second unit, a duplex in a district that permits one, is limited by that district's site development regulations rather than a unit cap: in R-2, site area of 3,000 sq ft per unit and a 6,000 sq ft minimum lot, 45 percent maximum building coverage, 55 percent impervious coverage and a 35 ft height limit (Sec. 20-102); in R-1D, a density of 12 units per acre, a 60 ft lot width, 45 percent building coverage and 35 ft (Sec. 19-102). Accessory buildings (garages, carports, sheds) may not hold living quarters at any size (Sec. 47-105(A)(1)(j)).

No ADU exists for an owner-occupancy rule to attach to, and the one lawful way to add a second unit, a duplex in R-1D, R-2 or a denser district, is a use permitted by right with no residency condition (Sec. 14-112, Table 14-1; Sec. 13-104(B)). Quoted full-code searches for 'owner-occupied' and 'owner occupied' return no hits. Both duplex units may therefore be occupied by tenants.

Table 49-1 requires, for Duplex Residential, '2 spaces per dwelling unit that contain up to 3 bedrooms and 3 spaces per dwelling units that contain 4 or more bedrooms', the same ratio as a single-family house, so splitting a house into two units doubles the requirement. Ord. No. 8822 (passed 9-8-2026, in the Municode ordinance bank and not yet codified) restates Table 49-1 to add data-center parking and leaves the residential rows unchanged. In R-1D a duplex split by minor subdivision must keep each unit's parking on its own lot (Sec. 19-102, Note 3).

There is no ADU permit. Where a duplex is listed with a 'P' (R-1D, R-2, R-3, R-4, RM, UC, C-O, C-1, C-2, CBD, C-3), Sec. 14-112(A) makes it a use 'permitted subject to issuance of a building permit by the Building Official', with no hearing. In AG, RR-1, RR-2 and R-1 the cell is blank ('Use not permitted in zoning district'), so there is no conditional-use route and the only path is a rezoning or planned development approved by the Planning Commission and City Council. A detached living unit has no route in any district (Sec. 47-105(A)(1)(j)).

Quoted full-code searches for 'rental registration', 'rental license' and 'rental housing' return nothing, so long-term rental of a lawful dwelling unit needs no city license. Since January 2026, Sec. 46-103(F) lets short-term rentals operate 'in dwelling units that meet the requirements of the residential building code', but 'A Short-Term Rental permit is required to operate within the City of Kearney and its extraterritorial jurisdiction', renewed every year, with occupancy capped at two persons per sleeping area, smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules, and payment of the Hotel Occupation Tax. The city's page states the first-year permit fee is $100 and renewal $25. A garage or shed cannot be rented as a unit at all, because accessory buildings may not be living quarters (Sec. 47-105(A)(1)(j)).