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Bill would expand Urban Redevelopment Act eligibility to adjacent census tracts in Omaha and Lincoln
Summary
Sen. Danielle Conrad introduced LB234 to allow areas adjacent to qualifying census tracts to participate in the Urban Redevelopment Act incentives; supporters said modest expansion would increase small‑business investment in urban cores.
Senator Danielle Conrad (D‑46) introduced LB234, which would amend the Urban Redevelopment Act to permit eligibility to extend into census tracts adjacent to qualifying tracts in urban areas. The sponsor and supporters said the change is intended to increase the utility of the program for small businesses and startups by modestly broadening the geographic footprint available for incentives.
Supporters, including the Greater Omaha Chamber and the Lincoln Chamber, said cities are dynamic and that helping entrepreneurs and small businesses in and around urban cores fosters regional economic growth. Steven Oseberg, vice president for project development at Paul G. Smith Associates, testified on behalf of both chambers and said the tweak would help capture spillover job and investment benefits that occur in tracts immediately adjacent to currently eligible areas.
The bill would change the program’s reach from the currently designated census tracts to include adjacent tracts, increasing the number of eligible tracts (testimony cited an increase from 74 to 94 tracts under a related calculation). Proponents characterized the change as a small but meaningful tool to promote investment, entrepreneurship, and job creation where market pressure and transit connections make such growth most accessible to nearby residents.
Committee members asked about the geographic focus and whether the program should be expanded outside Omaha and Lincoln; witnesses said the current statute’s criteria (poverty and unemployment thresholds) define eligibility statewide but that the immediate urban cores are the places where the adjustment would most often matter. Senator Conrad said the proposal is intended as a complementary, targeted tool for small business growth rather than a large economic‑development program.
Ending: The committee heard proponent testimony but no opponents in the hearing room; Senator Conrad offered to follow up with utilization and fiscal‑note details if the committee wanted additional data.
