Article 07-701-RRE Rural Residential Estate District
ARTICLE 7 R RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS
The purposes and objectives of the Residential Districts are to preserve and protect areas in the City
which by their location, proximity to other land uses, the character of the natural environment, and
accessibility to public services and facilities exhibit a high potential as living areas for the people.
The regulations are intended to preserve the quality and character of existing residential
neighborhoods, as well as encourage continuing maintenance and rehabilitation by ensuring that
incompatible uses of the land will not encroach upon the residential areas.
SECTION 701 RRE RURAL RESIDENTIAL ESTATE DISTRICT
701.01 INTENT: This district is intended primarily for application to subdivision of land in
agricultural and scenic areas to: (a) permit the opportunity of developing estate-type lots which,
because of their size, cannot be economically accommodated within urban areas; and (b) to
encourage the provision of estate-type lots as a subdivision of land which will assure the provisions
of at least those minimum physical improvements necessary to protect the health, safety and general
welfare of people living on estate-type lots or parcels.
701.02 PERMITTED PRINCIPAL USES AND STRUCTURES: The following shall be permitted
as uses by right:
(1) Single-family dwellings;
(2) Raising of fruit and nut trees, vegetables and horticultural specialties;
(3) Breeding, hatching, raising and fattening birds, rabbits, chinchillas, hamsters, or other small
animals and fowl on a domestic and noncommercial basis, not to exceed one animal unit per acre,
provided that no structure housing poultry or small animals shall be closer than fifty (50) feet to any
property line, or closer than twenty-five (25) feet to any dwelling on the site.
(4) The raising or keeping of horses, not to exceed one (1) animal unit per acre provided that no
stable shall be located closer than fifty (50) feet to any property line or to any dwelling on the site.
(5) Public and private playgrounds, parks, community centers and other recreational facilities for
communal use on an exclusive noncommercial basis.
(6) Electrical distribution substations, gas regulator stations, communications equipment buildings.
(7) Public service pumping stations and/or elevated pressure tanks.
(8) Row crop agricultural production (planting, fertilizing, harvesting) or alfalfa / feed grass
production on parcels which have been regularly used for such production prior to January 1,
2011. No parcel in this zoning district shall be switched to this Use from a different use. Parcels
three (3) acres or larger may continue with this Use and other Permitted or Excepted Uses with a
minimum separation of fifty (50) feet from any other Use.
City of Blair Zoning Regulations Article 7, Section 701, page 1
701.03 PERMITTED ACCESSORY USES AND STRUCTURES: Accessory uses and structure
normally appurtenant to the permitted uses and structures and to uses and structures permitted as
exceptions shall be permitted.
701.04 EXCEPTIONS: After the provisions of this Ordinance relating to exceptions have been
fulfilled, the City Council may permit the following conditional uses as exceptions in the RRE Rural
Residential Estate District in accordance with ARTICLE 14 of this Ordinance.
(1) Home occupations.
(2) Temporary subdivision sales offices and signs and model home display areas.
(3) Signs subject to SECTION 1114 of this Ordinance.
(4) Family day care home, not operated within a private dwelling, group day care home, and day
care center.
(5) Borrow area.
(6) Private or Public Covered Bridges. Since covered bridges may cross or be located along property
lines, the Planning Commission and City Council may waive the Minimum Yard Requirements for
Primary Buildings and Accessory Buildings as well as the Creeks/Water Course Setback
Requirements as part of their consideration of the conditional use permit.
701.05 CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING EXCEPTIONS: The requirements of ARTICLE 14 of
this Ordinance shall apply as minimum requirements for granting exceptions in the RRE Rural
Residential Estate District.
701.06 PROHIBITED USES AND STRUCTURES: All other uses and structures which are not
specifically permitted or not permissible as exceptions shall be prohibited from the RRE Rural
Residential Estate District.
701.07 MINIMUM LOT REQUIREMENTS:
(1) The minimum lot area shall be:
(a) Three (3) acres, in which case a private sewer and private well are permissible, or
(b) 1.25 acres up to 2.99 acres with public water, or
(c) 30,000 square feet up to 1.249 acres with public water, sewer and paving.
(2) Each lot shall have not less than eighty (80) feet of frontage, when a lot fronts on a cul-de-sac or
loop street, where there are curbs and gutters and shall have not less than one hundred (100) feet of
frontage where there are not curbs and gutters.
(3) The minimum width of each lot shall be one hundred (100) feet.
City of Blair Zoning Regulations Article 7, Section 701, page 2
(4) Each lot shall have a depth of not less than one hundred fifty (150) feet.
701.08 MINIMUM YARD REQUIREMENTS:
(1) Front yard: There shall be a minimum front yard of not less than a depth of one-hundred (100)
feet from the center line of Federal Aid-Primary or Federal Aid-Secondary designated street or
highway or fifty (50) feet from the property line, whichever is greater. On all other streets or
highways there shall be a minimum front yard of not less than thirty-five (35) feet from the property
line. These yard requirements shall apply to any yard abutting a public street or highway regardless
of the lot being an interior or corner lot.
(2) Rear yard: The minimum rear yard of a principal structure shall be twenty-five (25) feet.
(3) Side yards: The minimum side yards of a principal structure shall be ten (10) feet.
(4) Driveways shall have a maximum grade of ten (10) percent. Driveways and curb cuts shall be
located not less than three (3) feet from the side lot line. Curb cuts for straight curbs and the flare for
rolled curbs shall be three (3) feet wider than the driveway pavement on each side.
(4) YARD REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCESSORY BUILDINGS:
(A) Side yard - Same as district in which accessory use is located except an accessory
building may be located in the side yard as close as five (5) feet to the property line,
providing it is located between the rear building line of the principle building and the
rear property line and no building shall be located within any easement or right-of-way.
(B) Unattached garages may be located in the side yard adjacent to the primary structure,
providing the design and construction of the garage are similar in style and color to the
primary structure. The side-yard setback shall be seven (7) feet and the distance
between the garage and the primary structure must be four (4) feet or more,
with proper fire-resistant construction.
(C) Front Yard – Accessory buildings may be located between the front building line of the
principle building and the front property line, provided said accessory buildings meet
front yard setback requirements only upon the approval of a conditional use permit.
The conditional use permit may include, but not limited to, requirements for additional
set back, landscaping, screening, etc.
(D) Rear Yard - Unless specifically permitted, no accessory building shall be located closer
than five (5) feet from the rear property line and no accessory building shall be located
within any easement or right-of-way along the rear property line. If the accessory
building requires vehicular access perpendicular to an alley, a minimum fifteen (15)
feet access driveway is required between said accessory building and the alley.
701.085 ADDITIONAL SETBACK REQUIREMENTS – CREEKS/WATER COURSES: In
addition to any other minimum yard requirements, no structure shall be installed or constructed in
City of Blair Zoning Regulations Article 7, Section 701, page 3
violation of Section 1110.5 of this Zoning Ordinance.
701.09 MAXIMUM LOT COVERAGE: The maximum lot coverage shall not exceed thirty (30)
percent of the total lot area.
701.10 MAXIMUM HEIGHT: The height of all structures shall not exceed thirty-five (35) feet for
the main structure. The size limitations for accessory structures shall be subject to the provisions of
SECTION 1103 and SECTION 1105 of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of Blair,
Nebraska.
701.11 SIGN REGULATIONS: All signs shall be in conformance with the regulations provided
herein and with the provisions of SECTION 1114 of this Ordinance.
701.12 OFF-STREET PARKING: In granting a conditional use permit, the City Council may
require that any or all of the proposed off-street parking be hard surfaced with either portland
cement, concrete, or asphalt.
Not withstanding the above, all such off street parking shall comply with the provisions of Section
1111.03 of this ordinance.
701.125 DRIVEWAYS: Driveways shall be paved as per section 303.01(51.5).
701.13 ADDITIONAL PAVING AND OTHER IMPROVEMENT REQUIREMENTS: In addition
to the other requirements set forth above, the following conditions shall be required for any
subdivision of land in the Rural Estate District:
(1) Paving Requirement – For any subdivision of land which has any platted lot(s) with an area
of thirty thousand square feet up to 1.25 acres, all streets, curb and gutter shall be paved with
asphaltic concrete or concrete in conformance with Section 603, et. seq. of the Subdivision
Regulations for the City of Blair, Nebraska, and shall also have a public water supply system
and a wastewater distribution system that conforms to the rules and regulations established
by the State of Nebraska, Department of Environmental Quality Rules and Regulations (See
Title 124 Chapter 4 of the DEQ Regulations, as amended from time to time)
(2) For any subdivision of land which has any platted lot(s) with a minimum lot size of 1.25
acres up to 2.99 acres, such subdivision shall have a public water supply system and shall
have a wastewater distribution system that conforms to the rules and regulations established
by the State of Nebraska, Department of Environmental Quality’s Rules and Regulations
(See Title 124 Chapter 4 of the DEQ Regulations, as amended from time to time)
(3) For any subdivision of land which has a minimum lot size of 3 acres, the developer must
include, as part of the preliminary plat and final, at least one soil percolation test for every
five lots spaced evenly throughout the subdivision and shall have a wastewater distribution
system that conforms to the rules and regulation established by the State of Nebraska,
Department of Environmental Quality’s Rules and Regulations (See Title 124 Chapter 4 of
the DEQ Regulations as amended from time tot time)
City of Blair Zoning Regulations Article 7, Section 701, page 4
(4) For any subdivision zoned Rural Residential Estate District shall contain a minimum of four
lots or be contiguous to land previously zoned as Rural Residential Estate District.
701.14 UTILITY AND LOT AREA FOR RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES PER SECTION 1107
(1) It shall be unlawful to occupy a residential structure or any building for living purposes that
does not have an approved waste disposal system.
(2) No waste absorption field (septic tank, cesspools, etc.) shall be constructed any closer than
twenty-five (25) feet from any adjacent property line.
(3) There shall be no waste absorption field located closer than fifty (50) feet from any other
residential structure.
(4) There shall be no waste absorption field located closer than fifty (100) feet from a water well
provided; however, where geology and subsurface conditions and topography would indicate
that seepage could reach the well supply, a greater distance shall be required.
(5) An individual residential waste absorption field shall contain a minimum of ten-thousand
(10,000) square feet, exclusive of the area required by structure. The entire tract shall contain
not less than twenty-thousand (20,000) square feet. If tract is less than two (2) acres, public
water must be available.
(END OF SECTION)
City of Blair Zoning Regulations Article 7, Section 701, page 5
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