Jefferson County Zoning Regulations Finally Approved

By Gordon HopkinsAfter two years of work, Jefferson County Commissioners voted to approve the updated zoning regulations. However, the vote was not unanimous and, despite the amount of time already spent on the zoning changes, one commissioner insisted it was not enough.The previous regulations consisted of 68 pages. The new version is 215 pages. It is an enforceable document intended to guide land use decisions in Jefferson County. The ProcessThe county hired Marvin Planning Consultants to help update the zoning regulations to ensure they are consistent and comply with state regulations. The new regulations were then handed over to the county’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) for review and recommendation. That recommendation was then forwarded to county commissioners for final approval. The VoteAfter holding several ‘working sessions,’ open to the public, and making a few changes to the recommendations county commissioners voted on the final version at a meeting Tuesday morning, April 7, 2026.The final vote was 2-1, with commissioner Danielle Schwab voting ‘No.’“I still think that the whole review was not good enough,” said Schwab. “The whole point of having the two bigger boards (P&Z and county commissioners) was more oversight, and I don’t think we did that.”Schwab attended meetings of P&Z that reviewed the regulations, “It wasn’t about time. It was about them not reviewing it properly. If you had been at the meeting, you would know that they were very clear that they didn’t…they weren’t thorough. The first board wasn’t thorough.”According to Schwab, both P&Z and county commissioners focused on solar energy regulations and didn’t look hard enough at other regulatory changes, “And then we had work sessions where we discussed solar, but that’s it out of a 200-page document.”A moratorium on permits for solar energy facilities was put in place by the county to allow time to review and update those regulations.Former commissioner Gale Pohlmann also spoke at the meeting, “Well, you have to realize it’s been over a year since this moratorium was put on.”The Nebraska Legislature has recently considered multiple ‘shot clock’ bills that would set deadline for zoning decisions. Pohlmann said, “Well, that’s why the legislature passed a bill this year to stop this stuff. And it had to be done because we’re stalling around too much.”Schwab responded, “Are you comfortable knowing that the land use regulations were not thoroughly looked at for the entirety of that document? I’m not comfortable putting my name on that.”Commissioner Mark Schoenrock asked, “Danielle, I respect and I think I understand your concern, but what would be your proposal for the way ahead?”“I don’t know what my proposal is for the way ahead,” said Schwab. “I think probably the way ahead is, you guys are going to have to make a decision. I will have to vote no, and then I hope that we get a stable Planning and Zoning Board in there that maybe re-looks at this stuff.”Schoenrock said, “I believe it’s incumbent upon a person that if you’re not going to support something, that you have a proposal for the way ahead.”“I understand, but I don’t have a team that I feel I can be thoroughly going through this with,” said Schwab. “I don’t have a solution for that except a better review.”“It appears to me that some of them (P&Z) were wanting to get it over with, too. I understand that,” said Commissioner Michael Dux. “We’re saying they didn’t do a good enough job? Why even have a committee, then?”Former Fairbury City Council member Doug Brown was also in attendance. He said, “Some (P&Z) committee members just work harder than others. You’re going to find that all the time.”Schoenrock said, “The way I see it, we’ve gone through a very long and extensive process. Any process is not going to be perfect, because it’s comprised of human beings, and I believe that we’ve gone through a very good, process with our committee, with our professional planner, with our full-time staff here. We’ve gone through that process, flawed as it is.” Solar Energy and Prime FarmlandThe new regulations for industrial solar energy projects include a 330-foot setback from non-participating residences and limits on the use of prime farmland.A major sticking point had been how prime farmland to allow for solar energy use. Prime farmland is defined by the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), not by the county.The recommendation from P&Z had been to allow no more than 10 percent of prime farmland in any one section of land. However, a number of landowners found this too restrictive. At one point, commissioners suggested 25 percent, but a number of people felt that would allow too much prime farmland to be used for be used for something other than farming.Schoenrock recommended a compromise, “I am recommending that the board consider some kind of a middle position on this so that we can accomplish the objective of projecting our prime farm ground, and that’s the principal concern that I’ve heard from my constituents, but also that we can find a way so some solar can come into the county.”The regulation was changed to allow 25 percent in a quarter section.“We would break it down to a restriction on a quarter section of ground, which is 160 acres,” explained Schoenrock. “For each one of those quarter sections, there could be no more than 40 acres.”Schoenrock also pointed out that the restriction only applies to prime farmland and that Jefferson County has a great deal of land that is not prime as defined by USDA.Once the vote was held and new regulations approved, the moratorium was lifted.After the meeting, FJN asked Commissioner Schwab if she would have voted for the new solar regulations if they could have been voted on separately. She did not respond as of press time.

Ervin Dale Sokolik,

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