In rural Adams County the permit you need is a zoning permit from Adams County Planning & Zoning, 500 N. Denver Avenue in Hastings (402-461-7174), filed on the county’s paper Application for Zoning/Building Permit with a scaled site plan. The county regulations give the Zoning Administrator 20 days to approve or deny it. The City of Hastings issues its own building permits inside the city and within 2 miles of it.
What needs a zoning permit in Adams County?
Under the county’s zoning regulations, no building or structure may be excavated for, built, rebuilt, enlarged, altered or moved, and no new use or water or sewer connection may begin, until the Zoning Administrator has issued a zoning permit. A separate application is needed for each building.
Zoning permit
- New houses, accessory buildings, commercial and industrial buildings
- Additions to existing buildings
- Decks, repairs and building relocations, all listed on the application
- Signs
- Farm buildings on parcels that do not qualify as a farm (see below)
- Temporary construction buildings, by a temporary permit of up to 6 months
Certificate or nothing
- A new farm building on at least 20 acres producing at least $1,000 of agricultural products a year gets a Certificate of Zoning Compliance instead
- Irrigation wells, center pivots, re-use pits and well houses need no zoning permit if they stay out of the road right-of-way and sight triangle
A Certificate of Zoning Compliance is also used to confirm that a building or use meets the conditions of a variance or conditional use approval. Before a new structure can be used, the regulations require a Certificate of Occupancy from the Zoning Administrator, applied for together with the zoning permit.
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Get a free quote →Who issues permits in Adams County?
Adams County Planning & Zoning administers the county’s zoning regulations; Judy Mignery is the Director and Zoning Administrator. The county regulations and application deal with land use, setbacks, floodplain status and occupancy. They do not adopt a building code or set out plan review or construction-stage inspections, and the county is not on the State Electrical Division’s list of local electrical inspection programs.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Office | 500 N. Denver Avenue, Suite 2, Hastings, NE 68901 |
| Phone | 402-461-7174 (call for an appointment) |
| Hours | 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday |
| Floodplain administrator, driveways and culverts | Adams County Roads, 415 N. Adams Central Avenue, Juniata; 402-461-7172 |
Who issues permits in each town:
- Hastings: the City’s Development Services Department (615 W. 3rd Street, 402-461-2331) issues building and trade permits in the city and the area within 2 miles of the city limits, which the county’s zoning regulations exclude.
- Juniata: applications go to the village hall (911 N. Juniata Avenue, 402-751-2687), and the Adams County Zoning Administrator reviews building, moving and fence permits for the village.
- Kenesaw: the village takes building permit applications (402-752-3222) and the Adams County Zoning Administrator signs them off.
- Ayr, Holstein, Prosser and Roseland: these villages share the county’s Area Planning and Zoning Commission, joint subdivision regulations and Certificate of Zoning Compliance form, but none publishes its own permit procedure; ask the village clerk where to file.
- Trumbull: only a small, unpopulated part of the village lies in Adams County; the rest is in Clay County.
The county zoning regulations exclude the six villages and their extraterritorial zoning areas, which reach up to 1 mile beyond each village’s limits.
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Get a free quote →Adams County permit fees
The county zoning regulations say every zoning and subdivision fee is set by a separate resolution of the County Board and must be paid before a permit is issued or an application is investigated. The application form does not print an amount; Planning & Zoning (402-461-7174) gives the current fee.
| Project | Fee |
|---|---|
| Kenesaw: new construction, addition, garage, shed, deck, fence or porch | $10 for the first $10,000 of value, plus $1 for every $1,000 after that |
| Kenesaw: new sidewalk or driveway | $25 (driveways also need a $500 refundable performance bond) |
| Juniata: work started before the permit is issued | $50 or double the permit fee, whichever is greater |
Kenesaw counts value as labor plus materials (or the ICC building valuation table), so a house valued at $150,000 pays $150 ($10 for the first $10,000 plus $140). Culverts the county Roads Department requires are paid for by the property owner.
What to include with an Adams County application
- The completed Application for Zoning/Building Permit, signed by the applicant
- A site plan drawn to scale showing the lot, all existing and proposed buildings with their dimensions, and the distance from each building to the lot lines
- The project’s legal description, parcel number, estimated cost of materials and value of the structure
- Names of the contractor, the electrician and the certified sewer installer
- Whether the site is in a floodplain, the building height, and for homes the number of bedrooms and bathrooms
- For a building being moved in, where it is coming from
Before the permit is checked, mark the lot corners and the corners of the new building on site so the setbacks can be measured.
Rather talk it over?
Call 1-855-478-4290 →How to get an Adams County zoning permit
Use the county zoning map to confirm the parcel is outside Hastings’ 2-mile area and the villages’ 1-mile areas.
Ask the county Floodplain Administrator at the Roads Department whether the site is in a floodplain, and, if a culvert is needed, file the culvert application there before an address can be assigned.
Call Planning & Zoning at 402-461-7174; the office is open Monday to Thursday.
Bring the completed form, the scaled site plan and the fee.
Stake the lot corners and building corners so the Zoning Administrator can confirm the setbacks.
Start and finish within the time limits on the permit, then obtain the Certificate of Occupancy before the building is used.
The application form gives 6 months to start and 2 years to finish. The zoning regulations (as amended through 2023) say a permit expires after 90 days if work has not begun and after 1 year if it is unfinished, unless the Zoning Administrator extends it in writing.
Electrical and septic work
Adams County has no electrical inspection program of its own, so electrical permits and inspections outside Hastings come from the State Electrical Division (Lincoln office 402-471-3550), which also inspects all public educational facilities and state-owned property, even inside local programs. Hastings inspects electrical work inside its jurisdiction.
Rather not deal with the Adams County building department?
Get a free quote →On rural lots served by a septic system, the regulations allow a larger minimum lot where the state’s Title 124 onsite wastewater rules require one, and the application asks for the certified sewer installer doing the work.
Local Adams County details
Planning Commission: the Area Planning Commission holds its meetings at 6:00 p.m. at the South Wallace Annex Building, 2975 S. Baltimore Avenue, Hastings. It reviews subdivisions for the County Board and village cases such as rezonings, which it sends to the village board with a recommendation.
Special uses: the county has adopted separate resolutions for wind energy systems (2018), solar (2019), floodplain management (2018, amended 2022) and data centers (2023). A data center may not be within half a mile of an existing home, public park, cemetery, house of worship or hospital without an impact easement from that owner.
Covenants: the permit form warns that subdivision covenants can be stricter than zoning, and the permit holder is responsible for meeting them.
Nebraska building code
Nebraska's state building code applies by default where a city, village or county has adopted none; local codes must conform generally, and the energy code is mandatory statewide. Nebraska rules
Want this handled start to finish?
Get a free quote →Official Adams County resources
- Adams County Planning & Zoning
- Adams County Application for Zoning/Building Permit
- Adams County Certificate of Zoning Compliance application
- Adams County Zoning Regulations (2010, amended through September 2023)
- Adams County regulations, resolutions and zoning map
- Adams County Roads Department and floodplain administrator
- Village of Juniata planning and zoning
- Village of Kenesaw building permit application
- Village of Kenesaw general permit application (driveways, sidewalks, demolition)
- City of Hastings Development Services
- State Electrical Division local inspection programs
Adams County permit FAQs
Do I need a building permit in rural Adams County?
You need a zoning permit from Adams County Planning & Zoning before building, enlarging, altering or moving any building outside Hastings’ 2-mile area and the villages’ 1-mile areas. Qualifying farm buildings get a Certificate of Zoning Compliance instead.
Inspections are where schedules slip.
Get a free quote →Who issues permits near Hastings?
The City of Hastings issues building permits inside the city and within 2 miles of the city limits; the county’s zoning regulations do not apply there.
How long does the county take to issue a zoning permit?
The zoning regulations require the Zoning Administrator to approve or deny an application in writing within 20 days of accepting it.
Do farm buildings need a permit in Adams County?
A new farm building on a parcel of at least 20 acres that produces at least $1,000 of agricultural products a year gets a Certificate of Zoning Compliance. Irrigation wells and pivots need no zoning permit if they stay out of the road right-of-way.
Who inspects electrical work in rural Adams County?
The State Electrical Division; the county has no local electrical inspection program.
Is my property in a floodplain?
The county Floodplain Administrator at the Roads Department (402-461-7172) confirms floodplain status, and the zoning permit application asks for it.
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More Nebraska permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Adams County permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.