Seward County focuses on growth in housing, revitalizing towns

Seward County has seen an increase of people who want to move to the area.

On a county-wide scale, Planning and Zoning Superintendent Becky Paulsen said a large portion of the population growth is taking place on the eastern third of the county.

She said that side of the county is likely attractive to home builders because of its location near Lincoln.

“This is where most people want to live,” Paulsen said.

The western two thirds of the county, Paulsen said, are mainly agricultural, focusing on seed production.

To track growth in the county, Paulsen shared the number of building permits for new homes from the last few years.

• 2013 - 14 new homes.
• 2014 - 16 new homes.
• 2016 - 21 new homes.
• 2017 - 15 new homes so far.

Building permits for these homes are outside any municipality and their one-mile radius of jurisdiction. Outside of cities, home builders must apply for building permits through the county.

However, the eastern side of the county is also the area’s water conservation district. Paulsen said the west side of the county gets its water supply from the Ogallala Aquifer, while the eastern portion uses the Dakota Aquifer.

With the limited water supply, Paulsen said the county takes care with zoning regulations and water management.

“As density gets higher, zoning issues become increasingly harder to manage,” Paulsen said.

That means the county considers the homeowners’ needs, neighbors’ needs, county zoning regulations and state statutes when deciding to rezone an area for homes.

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