Conditional use permit measure clears final round

A bill that sets new requirements for county boards and commissions when considering a conditional use permit or special exception for livestock siting received final approval Feb. 20.

Introduced by Whitman Sen. Tanya Storer last session, LB663 makes a number of changes to the application process for such permits.

Among other provisions, the bill:
• sets an educational requirement of two hours per term for certain county officials on matters relevant to the bill’s provisions;
• requires county officials to base conditional use permit decisions solely on county zoning regulations;
• adds county zoning administrators to the application review process;
• prohibits requiring a federal, state or other local permit when deciding on a conditional use permit; and
• sets a timeline for county commissions to follow when processing an application.

County officials will have 30 days to determine if an application is complete and 10 days to relay that information to the applicant. Once an application is deemed complete, counties will have 90 days to approve or deny the application.

If officials obtain information that materially affects an application before the 90-day deadline for its approval, they may require submission of a new application. Doing so will restart the approval deadline time clock, providing an additional 90 days for officials to review the new application.

If a county fails to act within the 90-day timeline, an application automatically will be deemed approved.

LB663 passed on a 43-5 vote.