City Planning – Millions More in Bonding

I recently testified before the Lincoln Planning Commission to talk about the proposed Lincoln Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).  The CIP includes millions of dollars in new bonding that would be paid for by increasing your property taxes. LIBA posed a number of questions and concerns to city staff. Among the projects drawing concern include the StarTran Multi Modal Center, the city’s investment in construction of a brine production facility, and the proper appropriation of the funds identified for various aspects of different projects. LIBA intends to continue to work with city staff and city council members about these concerns, but we focused on the broad and very real impact of the inclusion of a $42 million general obligation bond for construction of a new downtown library on the Pershing Center site.  $42 million is twice the bonding amount the library had been seeking.

In 2012, an RFP process undertaken by Mayor Beutler, with the help of a 12-member selection committee, considered three proposals for reuse of the Pershing Center location. Two of the proposals were from private developers looking to inject this area of downtown with a mix of retail development, residential living, and office space. The third was an iteration of the library proposal included in the new CIP draft. Mayor Beutler rejected all three proposals, including the construction of the library on the Pershing Center site, concluding that he didn’t “sense community support for that kind of public expenditure” at the time.

LIBA has repeatedly made clear its position that the Pershing Center site should be made available for private development, recently calling on city officials to renew the effort to redevelop Pershing and issue a new RFP. LIBA wholeheartedly agrees with Mayor Beutler’s belief that “the site in a prominent spot along the [recently] renovated Centennial Mall is a good place for private development.”

Lincoln cannot afford to miss this opportunity to transform a full city block of prime downtown real estate into a thriving hub of economic activity in central downtown. To be responsible in planning for a bright future in Lincoln, the CIP and Comprehensive Plan must be responsive to our core needs, and must not foreclose opportunities for growth and development. Including this bond issue and identifying the Pershing Center site in the CIP as the intended location of a new downtown library could have the effect of discouraging private developers from giving serious consideration to possibilities for the site’s reuse. It may even go so far as to provide city staff a basis for denying proposals from private developers because the CIP reserves the space for a library or may allow staff to require private proposals to include space for the library. LIBA believes this possibility should raise serious concerns for members of the Planning Commission who are charged with overseeing the responsible growth and development of our city.

LIBA urged the city to reflect upon the true impact inclusion of this item will have on the long-term development of Lincoln and the restriction it will place on downtown development.  Contact your city council if you agree.

LIBA studies and promotes these types of issues that are important to businesses and our community.  If you have an interest in joining LIBA, please call me at (402) 466-3419.  LIBA membership is not restricted to just businesses.  We also have “individual” memberships for those who want to help influence our local government decisions.

For more information on LIBA, visit Liba.org.