By Jared Stranberg
The Omaha City Council voted 5-2 in favor of a housing development project at 96th and State streets Tuesday after holding a public hearing.
The housing project, which is planned to have 229 single family detachments and 19 town houses, raised concern for some county residents attending the city council meeting. A concern raised by several opponents was how out of place the development would be having 248 housing units in the area.
Teri Teutsch, a nearby resident, said, “It’s way too dense of a development given where it’s surrounding. They have acreages to the north all the way to Bennington road. There’s farmland, acreages and cattle farm less than half a mile west of that area.”
During Teutsch’s testimony, she also remarked about several issues that may develop after the housing project is completed. There is a carburetor repair company across the street from the planned location for the town homes, which produces a significant amount of noise. Teutsch explained there is a likelihood that potential residents would avoid the area as a result, leaving the town houses empty and developers without revenue.
Paul Wenninghoff, the owner of a produce farm directly east of the proposed project, expressed concern for the timeframe for completion. He listed two developments that have taken longer than their expected time, one of which is finally aimed to end after 50 years of changing ownership.
In addition to timeframes, Wenninghoff is also concerned the problems of an increasing population near his farm.
“I can tell you in the past few years the amount of theft and those kinds of related issues are going up significantly,” said Wenninghoff.
After detailing his own recent experience with crime, he summarized what the police suggested he do to prevent crime. “Mister Wenninghoff, things are changing out here and the reality of the world is, anything you have with keys, remove the keys and lock them. Any buildings that aren’t lockable, figure out how to lock them and at least get a camera.”
Despite the previous concerns of high-density housing and the project not fitting within the context of the location, attorney Larry Jobeun assured the council that the project meets all requirements for approval.
“This is low-density under the future land use map of the master plan that calls for this property to be low-density residential housing. Low-density housing is defined as anything that’s 14.5 unites per acre or less. This particular development is four unites per acre,” said Jobeun.
After Jobeun’s rebuttal, the public hearing was closed and the project was approved. While there is no current estimated completion date for the project, Jobeun did mention that the county would be making adjustments to the intersection of 96th and State streets to comply with the project plans by 2021.
