Lincoln council adopts Belmont Neighborhood Subarea Plan to guide future investments

The Lincoln City Council on Sept. 29 unanimously adopted a subarea plan for the Belmont neighborhood, approving Comprehensive Plan Amendment 25004 to add the Belmont Neighborhood Subarea Plan to the 2050 Lincoln–Lancaster County Comprehensive Plan.

The plan, presented by staff from the city’s Urban Development Department, identifies 25 projects and highlights three priorities: safer multimodal crossings (including pedestrian upgrades at the Fourteenth Street bridge over Cornhusker Highway), enhancements and a potential expansion of Belmont Park, and expansion or replacement options for the Belmont Community Center (BCC).

Urban Development Director Dan Marvin and planners Andrew Theroff and Jennifer Hyatt told the council the plan grew from a series of neighborhood meetings and four well‑attended open houses; the city worked with consultant teams funded in part by the Lincoln Community Foundation and the Community Health Endowment of Lincoln. Theroff said the planning team coordinated with neighborhood stakeholders to ensure residents’ priorities shaped the list of projects.

Longtime residents and neighborhood leaders urged the council to approve the plan. Virginia Geiger, a Belmont resident and member of the Belmont Revitalization Project, said the community’s voices “were heard” during planning and described the Fourteenth Street bridge crossing as “a serious traffic and pedestrian hazard.” Bob Ehrlich, a member of the Belmont Community Center board and School Neighborhood Advisory Council (SNAC), described Belmont as a multigenerational neighborhood and said the plan would support children and families.

Belmont Elementary Principal Kim Rosenthal and Belmont Community Center Executive Director Emily Koopman also spoke in favor, describing community needs the plan aims to address, including sidewalk gaps, limited crossing signals on Fourteenth Street, food access programs the BCC runs, and services for families. Koopman said philanthropic support for the planning process allowed the community center to continue operating services while participating in planning.

Council members praised the outreach and the resident involvement. Councilman Brodie Weber, who introduced the amendment, thanked the funders, consultants and residents and said the plan creates “a road map for investing in this neighborhood” while honoring its legacy. The council voted 6–0 in favor.

Implementation details and costs were not fully specified during the hearing. City staff said some projects—such as bridge improvements—are planned through the city’s capital improvement program (CIP) and would be advanced through the CIP process; park enhancements tied to Parks & Recreation’s 10‑year plan may already be scheduled. Staff said renderings exist for park ideas but they had not yet developed detailed cost estimates for all items in the subarea plan.

The council’s approval adds the Belmont Subarea Plan to the city’s guiding comprehensive plan, which makes the project list and priorities available for future capital budgeting, grant applications and interagency coordination.

Votes at a glance: Comprehensive Plan Amendment 25004 (Belmont Neighborhood Subarea Plan) — Introduced by Brodie Weber; motion carried 6–0.