City asked to alter regulations in advance of Cabela's development

On Monday night the planning commission made recommendations to the city council to change city ordinances to accommodate The Ranch, Cabela’s unconventional subdivision planned for the east Sidney development.

These changes included decreasing the minimum width restrictions for residential lots and removing the maximum front yard setback restrictions.

Before the changes, the minimum lot width was 70 feet for lots zoned for single family homes.

“That’s rather large compared to other communities,” said city manager Gary Person.

Now the minimum will be 60 feet. Lots in the new development are pie-shaped, so older regulations for a grid patterned subdivision don’t make sense when regulating these properties. The city also removed a regulation which required no more than a 50 foot setback from the street on the front of residences, although the minimum setback will stay at 25 feet.

Some of the houses in the new subdivision may be 75-125 feet from the road. This will add costs for the builders and the homeowners but will add green space in the front of the homes. The curving streets planned for the subdivision cause the pie shaped lots.

“We think we’ll get a better subdivision because of it,” said Cabela’s project manager Pat Mayer. “It’s just gonna feel like you’ve got a lot more green space on both sides of the road as you drive through the community.”

Chairperson Jerry Spiker commented that these changes work for this development, but that they might not work in other more traditional subdivisions. Person answered that the rear setback restrictions still in place would protect the city from any problems.

The minimum square footage will stay the same at 7,000 square feet per lot. Most lots in the Cabela’s development will be much larger than the minimum requirement.