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Council designates part of 70th–Second corridor a Community Redevelopment Area after contested public comments
Summary
City planning recommended and the council approved a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) designation for part of Block Group 3 in Census Tract 68.06 (70 Second/Cedar area), with supporters citing low incomes and high unemployment in the study area and opponents challenging the data and scope.
The Omaha City Council voted 6–0 on March 4 to designate a portion of the 70 Second/Cedar area as a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA), a step that enables the potential use of tax increment financing (TIF) for redevelopment within the designated boundaries.
Don Seaton of the Planning Department told the council the department had focused on Block Group 3 within Census Tract 68.06 and prepared a study showing the area meets state-law criteria for CRA designation. Seaton highlighted socioeconomic indicators cited in the staff study: a per-capita income in the block group of about $15,600 (compared with a citywide figure near $40,000) and a notably higher unemployment rate in the study area. The planning recommendation excluded a nearby cemetery, a hospital campus and an established single-family neighborhood from the proposed CRA boundary and stopped short of recommending an Extremely Blighted Area designation.
Supporters at the hearing said CRA designation would enable TIF to be used to assist redevelopment of a deteriorated, formerly hotel property and to encourage community investments adjacent to the 70 Second commercial corridor.
Opponents raised concerns about the statutory criteria and the accuracy of the socioeconomic figures. Andrew Adams, referencing U.S. Census sources, asked staff to clarify a discrepancy between the unemployment number in the study and the American Community Survey data he could retrieve. Larry Storer and Luis Jimenez urged the council to focus on other areas they considered more blighted and warned against expanding CRA boundaries to include commercial parcels that opponents said were not blighted.
Planning Director Seaton and staff defended the methodology. Seaton said the department uses the most recent five-year American Community Survey (ACS) data for income and unemployment figures and that staff had compared their tables with the State Data Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He said the department had double- and triple-checked numbers and stood by the study’s findings.
Councilmember Harding moved to approve the CRA designation and noted that the city’s review process for TIF and CRA requests is detailed and that staff scrutiny is part of the process; the motion passed 6–0.
What the designation does and does not do
CRA designation allows the city to consider using tax increment financing to assist redevelopment projects within the boundary; it does not itself commit funds or approve specific projects. Seaton emphasized that the staff recommendation was limited to the portion shown in the study and that an EBA (Extremely Blighted Area) designation was not being recommended.
Next steps
Designation on the council’s record makes the area eligible for future redevelopment tools that rely on a CRA; any project-specific TIF or assistance would require separate approvals and financial analyses. Opponents at the hearing indicated they may pursue further scrutiny of the study’s data.
