Proposed Wymore Group Home Meets With Resistance

By Gordon HopkinsA proposed group home for teenaged girls intended to occupy the former Hope-Wymore building has run into a dispute over the interpretation of zoning regulations.Dr. Gertrude Makgabenyana, PLMHP, a therapist with New Hope Agency of Omaha, filed an application for a Special Use Permit with the City of Wymore to open a youth residential facility in the building that was previously used as an assisted living facility. That permit was denied.On September 24, 2025, Wymore City Attorney K. Andrew Carothers send a letter denying the permit, stating in part, “Pursuant to the Zoning Regulations for the Residential Single and Multifamily District (R-2), tie City of Wymore cannot consider your application. A youth residential facility is neither a permitted principle (sic) use or a special permitted use in the R-2 District under section 5.32 or section 5,34. The use you intend to use the property for is not allowed in the R-2 District.”Per the Zoning regulations, permitted uses in the R-2 District include: Single family dwellings; Manufactured homes which comply with the provisions of Article 8.3; Two-family dwellings; Multifamily dwellings; Townhouses; Child care homes; Community buildings; Public uses: including but not limited to public parks, playgrounds, recreational uses, fire stations, public elementary and high schools, public utilities and utility distribution systems; and Places of worship such as churches and synagogues.Carothers discussed the matter at the City Council meeting Wednesday evening, October 1. It was noted that assisted living facility was not listed among the permitted uses.When asked why Hope-Wymore was allowed to operate in the R-2 District, Carothers explained, “Because that was a, basically an assisted living facility, which falls under the confines of a nursing home, because a lot of nursing homes that has assisted living components to them, a lot of nursing homes provide transitional care. So that's the way it got done here.”The Hope-Wymore building has sat empty since the facility closed a year ago.

Gage Co. Supervisors Hear CO2 Pipeline Presentation

Lord’s Acre Day

Related Articles

High Winds Fuel Multiple Wild Fires in SE Nebraska

Sen. Ricketts Makes the Case for War

City Offices Closed During Move

A Broken Wire Over Railroad Tracks Leaves City in the Dark