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Council hears new 84th & Adams plan

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By DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star

Tuesday, Jan 30, 2007 - 08:36:02 am CST

Change some boxes around on a map, alter their sizes and take the word “Wal-Mart” out of the equation, and you get a much better reception when you bring your development plans to the Lincoln City Council.

No roomful of opponents, no anti-Wal-Mart signs, no letters to the editor, no mayor threatening a veto.

This time around, the northeast Lincoln development at 84th and Adams streets was unable to inspire a single Lincoln resident to show up at the Monday night City Council meeting.

Story Photo

It’s been more than a year since Mayor Coleen Seng threatened to veto the Prairie Village North development because it included a big box store — a 230,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Supercenter — that she said was too big for the area. She said the big box should be limited to 175,000 square feet.

So the developer came back with plans that include not one, but two 175,000-square-foot big box stores. And nobody cared. At least not enough to show up.

Developer Steve Champoux’s new plans call for two big boxes with a more pedestrian-friendly “town center” in the middle.

Last year after Seng said the big box should be limited to 175,000 square feet, Wal-Mart spokesmen said that would be too small for them. But Champoux told the Journal Star Monday that while he doesn’t have anchor tenants yet, he’s still talking to both Target and Wal-Mart.

“It’s wide open right now,” he said. “I’ve never stopped working with both of them.“

The new plans call for about a half million square feet of retail space, more than 300,000 square feet of office space and 540 homes and 267 townhomes and apartments.

The only issue that was remotely controversial was the Public Works Department’s opposition to two “right in, right out” driveways the developer wanted along 84th Street. But even that issue was ironed out when the developer agreed to just one.

The council will decide whether to OK the development and annex another 23 acres for it next week.

Champoux’s attorney, Peter Katt, said if the plans are approved, they hope to begin moving dirt in March.

In other business Monday, the City Council:

 Approved a motion to reconsider its decision last week not to pay for a new road near a future Hy-Vee grocery store at 50th and O streets. In approving Councilman Ken Svoboda's motion, the council noted that it is only agreeing to consider a possible new arrangement to pay for the street with the help of nearby property owners.

Agreed to sell 19 acres of land at Northwest 48th Street and West Cumings to the school district for a new school. The city will retain a few acres for a possible recreation center, pool or parks. The city may co-locate a mini-library with the school that would only be open when the school is closed.

Delayed action for a week on a pilot early retirement incentive program for city employees. The incentive is a $15,000 contribution to the employee’s Post-Employment Health Plan (a tax-free investment account employees use for health care costs after they retire) and an additional 15 percent sick leave payout over and above the employee’s normal payout. To be eligible, employees would have to be older than 62 or age 55 with at least 20 years of city service.

Delayed for one week the redevelopment agreement and annexation for a development near the 56th Street and Interstate 80 interchange. The developer and city had not yet come to an agreement on a couple of sentences in the agreement.

Heard public testimony on renaming seven blocks of 15th Street Goodhue Boulevard to honor Bertram Goodhue, architect of the state Capitol. The council will vote next week.

Delayed action for a week on an appeal of a soil mining permit the city-county Planning Commission approved for land along U.S. 77 between Waverly and Mill roads. Neighbors have environmental and safety concerns.

Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.


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Roger wrote on January 30, 2007 6:29 am:
" Taking dirt off land is not agricultural use, when you are selling the land for something else, that is selling land for other uses and not considered farming in my book, As to the North 84 and areas around, that all sounds good, with exception of street growth, whose paying for that, the 50th and O scene should only be done if the private sector picks up the bill for the street no city funds should be used, as to the retirement funds and retirement issues, that will be a catch 22 and could end up costing the city more than expected. There are two sayings that I would go with on any of these things, "if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, its a duck" and "if it looks too good to be true it probably isn't" "
Big Bro wrote on January 30, 2007 7:15 am:
" Bring on Wally! "
brian in Lincoln wrote on January 30, 2007 8:01 am:
" Walmart was too big, but two stores that are WAY bigger are ok.......Miss Mayor, you are not going to be missed come election time. Lincoln amazes me "
yoshiki wrote on January 30, 2007 8:30 am:
" "environmental and safety concerns". What a novelty >_> ... "
humm wrote on January 30, 2007 8:44 am:
" Cann't we make a decision? Do we have to keep hammering things to death? "
George wrote on January 30, 2007 8:49 am:
" One 230,000 sq ft pad is too big!!!! I will veto…..Okay how about two 175,000 sq ft? Yeah that’s okay. What a joke process this is. "
Michele wrote on January 30, 2007 9:12 am:
" My vote is a Russ Market and a Target. Wouldn't that be awesome to finally have somewhere to shop in NE Lincoln?? TAR-GET! TAR-GET! TAR-GET! "
still waiting for a grocery store wrote on January 30, 2007 9:26 am:
" all this yada and still no grocery store for NE Lincoln...where oh where is the NE lincoln city council rep??!! "
Too Funny! wrote on January 30, 2007 9:34 am:
" Get rid of Bad Mayor, put in Good Mayor, and Git R Done. "
Walmart! Walmart! wrote on January 30, 2007 9:36 am:
" I hope it's a smaller Walmart instead of Target! "
My vote wrote on January 30, 2007 9:50 am:
" I vote for a WalMart and a Target. I live in north Lincoln and I can't stand shopping with the "rough" looking crowd in the north walmart so I drive all the way across town to the south store. Maybe once Grandma Seng is out of office this town will start to shape up. "
Lisa wrote on January 30, 2007 9:59 am:
" How about two nice restaurants? We could use some on the north side of town. Famous Dave’s and Macaroni grill?? "
Tender wrote on January 30, 2007 10:09 am:
" If this was Omaha it would have been already developed a year ago and on with the next project. "
russ wrote on January 30, 2007 10:12 am:
" Would've loved to see a Wal-Mart, seeing as how they pay for a large amount of their own infrastructure needs, but if I have to settle for something else I'd say Target. "
KB wrote on January 30, 2007 10:22 am:
" Maybe they (the city) can do all of the dirt removal by dragging their feet. Why does development and improvement of the city take so long? Get it done and start collecting the revenue!! "
big D wrote on January 30, 2007 10:56 am:
" I didn't know there was a dress code for shopping at Wal-Mart. Next time I shop there, I will try to keep from dragging my knuckles on the ground. My question is: Why are you "hoity-toity highbrows" shopping in a Wal-Mart in the first place? Get the developer to fill the area with another group of over-priced stores like those at South Point. "
KG wrote on January 30, 2007 11:14 am:
" How about slowing down the traffic on 84th street? The city is putting in and proposing all these new businesses along N. 84th street, and the speed limit is still 50 mph. I have seen several accidents and I'm sure I will see many more before something gets done. "
Lack of planning analysis wrote on January 30, 2007 11:27 am:
" Soil mining doesn't belong next to housing. Planning dept needs to be more thorough. Why do private citizens have to inform planning dept and developer there's a transcontinental cable that you can't mine through? If counsel "knew about it" why submit original plans to mine 1,000,000 yds of soil, then turn around and say they had to revise plans to 700,000 yds because of it? We're tired of county roads being trashed by sideloaders and the city/county looking the other way. "
sigh wrote on January 30, 2007 11:28 am:
" It saddens me to hear "nice restaurants" and "Famous Dave's and Macaroni Grill" in the same sentence. When will Lincoln get a restaurant that doesn't have 6,000 twin sisters across the country?!?! Why not SuperTarger? The groceries are cheap and they're actually decent to their employees! "
Develop 84th wrote on January 30, 2007 11:35 am:
" Give us Walmart or Taget, get something in the NE. Restaurants would be nice too. Then maybe someone could entertain getting serious about developing a motel out by the Event Center. There's a lot of out of town traffic to support develoment out here, along with country people and Waverly residents. "
Jonathan wrote on January 30, 2007 12:15 pm:
" Kudos to Mr Champoux. I hope it passes to prove (not that any of us needs proof), how inept our council and Mayor are. Isn't 175,000x2=350,000 BIGGER than 230,000x1=230,000?? Gee, the math seems to prove so. Obviously the mayor has something against Wal-Mart and/or has some underlying reason why she won't let Wal-Mart build on that particular piece of ground. Isn't corruption just wonderful. Whoever has the right name and waves the most $$$ in the city's face gets exactly what they want. "
Shsss wrote on January 30, 2007 12:23 pm:
" No opponents? I Think people are to the point they just don't give a damn. At least thats what alot of my neighbors are saying, plus anymore taxes and they are out of this state. Just go ahead and put in a few Runza's and your friends groceries and crap, I already shop in Omaha. "
DUH wrote on January 30, 2007 1:27 pm:
" I agree with Lisa we could use a couple nice restaraunt's on that side of town. Even though there are 6,000 of them in the country, there is only one in Lincoln. Unlike the sister Target stores that are on every other block in Nebraska "Sigh" "
free enterprise??? wrote on January 30, 2007 2:10 pm:
" I would like to know what happened to the free enterprise system. Remember the good ol' days when if someone wanted to open a store, pay for the building, etc...they could do it. I say whatever company is willing to take a chance on building whatever size building they want to put in, it's their own risk. Why not have both Walmart and Target if they both want to come in? And really what difference is a few thousand square feet more or less going to make? Does our city council really think they need to play god on everything? For pete's sake! "
Don't care wrote on January 30, 2007 2:40 pm:
" My life isn't going to end if what end up in this area isn't what I want but I do know that it would be really nice to not have to drive all the way to the haymarket and the way to Pine Lake for some good food! I would be nice to have another Wal-Mart but Super Target would be even better!! "
Your next NE City Council Rep wrote on January 30, 2007 3:09 pm:
" In response to--still waiting for a grocery store--I'm LaRae Eifert and I am running for City Council in NE Lincoln. I have lived in the Havelock area for over 20 years and I am for lower taxes, creating new jobs and enhancing neighborhoods. New ideas, strategies and visions for NE Lincoln, vote for me on April 3. My web site is www.eifert2007.com As President John F. Kennedy appropriately noted, "A rising tide lifts all boats." "
I Agree wrote on January 30, 2007 4:09 pm:
" We don't need any more franchise restaurants in town, we need something unique, something local. But I'm afraid the residents of Lincoln's taste is for franchise food only. When is the last time someone started a restaurant that was not a franchise that succeeded? I remember several have been started over the years but have folded after a short time because people would not support it. I for one am tired of franchised food. "
IT'S A BUSH-LEAGUE TOWN!!! wrote on January 30, 2007 5:27 pm:
" If you want good food and good shopping, don't hold your breath waiting for development at 84th & Adams. It's here right now...you just have to take the quick trip up the road to Omaha. Of course, you'll need to be patient because Lincoln drivers haven't yet grasped the fact that you really aren't supposed to drive indefinitely in the passing lane of the interstate system. But, I digress. Yep, the best thing I ever did was to move to the dreaded north side of Lincoln and closer to I-80 -- now for spending my hard-earned dollar, a real city's only 45 minutes away. That's only a few minutes longer than it takes me to drive to the retail and gastronomic mecca of south Lincoln! But boy, is it worth it. The sooner Lincolnites wake up to the fact that they live in at best a bedroom community to Omaha, the less griping and complaining we'll all have to endure from those feeling we're getting slighted. "
Approve the soil mining wrote on January 30, 2007 6:49 pm:
" The council needs to take a united stand and approve this. Shut down the idiots rather than encourage them. If they deny this, they have to deny any soil mining, and I-80 won’t get done. Progress stops. The guy is simply doing what has been done hundreds of times over decades in this county. It hasn't caused any problems. Get real. It looks more like the people against the drag strip. I heard that the location of the track might move down to that other property. "
Soil Mining Expert wrote on January 30, 2007 7:53 pm:
" In watching the City Council procedings on TV, I see the opposition called upon Karen Kurbis as an expert for testimony against soil mining. She is on a Motorsports Task Force on public record saying racing at Topeka is obnoxious, she is on public record against soil mining at Hwy 77 and Davey Road, and she is on public record against a potential Drag Strip that according to a recent UNL impact study would bring 10 million dollars to our county. Denying these permits will cost the contractors more to buy soil farther out of town to build roads on I-80 which cost us the taxpayers more. One has to ask, why are these same 10 people in northern lancaster county costing all of us more in taxes and denying us revenue to help our county? "
Dave wrote on January 30, 2007 8:19 pm:
" You cant pick up a paper anymore and not read about neighbors along Hwy 77 protesting soil mining, race tracks and commercial development. Dont these people realize they built along a major 4 land hwy? Please people, quit wasting our council and counties time with your protesting development. We need jobs, we need sales tax revenue, the city of waverly need property tax dollars to support their schools. North 77 is ripe for development as illustrated with the recent approval for city services to Hwy 77 and I-80, lets make Lincoln grow and be prosperous. "
Bob workman wrote on January 30, 2007 10:14 pm:
" Karen kurbis is one of my top employees. She really does a good job keeping people HONEST. "
Pass the Mining please wrote on January 30, 2007 11:03 pm:
" Will you please pass the mining permit please, along with some commercial development and would take a heaping helping of a NHRA Motorsports facility on Hwy 77. C'mon council, dont let these country folk pull the "wool" over our taxpaying eyes and pass this application. The County Board finally figured it out and passed their jurisdiction portion of this land. You ain't livin' in the country if you live 1 mile from a 250,000 metropolitan city. These country folks are costing our whole county tax dollars if these permits for soil for public works projects are not passed. "
Karen Svehla wrote on January 31, 2007 7:56 am:
" Can someone tell me what credentials that Karen Kurbis has as an expert for testimony against soil mining? Could they not have sought out an nuetral expert? This is nothing but a circus. I find it simply amazing how you act or claim to have superior intelligence. Seem to think that Lincol-nites or any other race fans are of second class to the so called rural community. Not wanting the pollution of such people with enthusiasm for racing. Yet you expose yourself with your name calling using redneck or other disrespectful names when you are trying to debate issues. I can bet you make your mother and rest of your family proud with you skills of name calling? Who do you think you are Mel Gibson? Did you really learn anything in school? You must have a long way to go in the do unto others dept huh? "
bj wrote on January 31, 2007 1:06 pm:
" I have to disagree with DUH when they said "there is a Target store on every other block in Nebraska"!! To get to ANY Target store from where we live, we have to drive 100 miles!!!! There is one in Salina, Ks...100 miles, one in Lincoln...100 miles, and one in Kearney...100 miles!!! That is just three!! Right, we live in a rural area, but it sure would be nice to have a Target store closer to our area! Don't knock Target...I have shopped Wal-Mart for a long time, then wwent to Target and they carry much better quality items then WM ever will!!! It just too many miles to drive to shop there often!! "
Get a life wrote on January 31, 2007 2:06 pm:
" Who cares about a drag strip. Target or walmart will have more economic impact on a day to day basis.Northeast Lincoln needs more shopping areas. "
Happy I'm From Omaha wrote on January 31, 2007 5:14 pm:
" Used to be from Lincoln. I lived in Havelock and was proud to call NE Lincoln home. The wonderful city council is doing a great job of making Lincoln look like a strip mall meca from every entrance. North Forty golf course might not have been bringing in millions per acre, but at least it gave Lincoln character. Not any more- Oh well- Build another "box store" that'll bring em runnin.! "

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