Douglas County planning commissioners unanimously approved the special use permit for the 28,600-square-foot expansion of the Douglas County Law Enforcement and Judicial Building.
However, there were concerns about adequate parking.
Planning commissioner Lawrence Howell asked if the proposed five additional parking spaces added to the 200-plus existing spaces would be enough to accommodate increased visitors created by 110 additional jail beds.
"I want to make sure we can defend our decision," Howell said.
Community Development Director Mimi Moss said the number of visitors to the building fluctuates during the week and the weekends depending on how many people visit inmates and depending on what's happening in court.
"We added new parking for new staff but no new parking for the inmates," she said. "It's hard to control what the court does." Moss said there is no specific county parking requirement for a judicial building.
"We don't want a sea of parking like Walmart that 95 percent of the time is empty," she said.
