Archive for April, 2012

The City of Omaha is on its way to opening up some new corners of Omaha to property tax incentives.

This week, the Omaha Planning Board signed off on plans to set up redevelopment districts in downtown Elkhorn, southwest of 72nd and L, in Old Mill and near North 42nd Street.

The City Council still will need to declare those areas blighted, as the Planning Board endorsed.

But it’s clear the city wants to stretch its redevelopment efforts into new areas, offering a property tax break as the lure.

The city has gotten pushback in the past for its expanding efforts. So we’ll have to see how these new moves play out.

Last year, Fairacres homeowners objected to the city’s attempt to declare their upscale neighborhood as “blighted.”

Westside school officials objected that a large portion of its tax base could get tied up in tax incentive projects.

A key state lawmaker proposed a bill that would have shut down Omaha’s use of the redevelopment tool.

Now the city wants to use the incentive for streets around TD Ameritrade’s new headquarters. This comes long after the company’s plans were approved and construction started.

The other three redevelopment areas also have projects on the table already, including a Menards at 72nd and L. Now, it looks like they’re in line for tax incentives to move their projects along.