August 01, 2009
One of the goals of Environment Omaha’s Urban Form & Transportation content area is to increase alternative transportation trips.
Omahans are putting in the long hours and sometimes tedious work necessary to create a more sustainable city.
On Nov. 6, 2008, city officials and Omaha by Design launched Environment Omaha, a multi-year initiative that will result in the creation of an Environmental Element for the city’s master plan. Environment Omaha is addressing five major content areas – the natural environment, urban form and transportation, building construction, resource conservation and community health.
Below are progress updates on the first three content areas.
Natural Environment
The final draft of the natural environment document will be posted on www.environmentomaha.com Monday, Aug. 17. The public is encouraged to review the document, leave comments and view the comments of others.
Urban Form & Transportation
The Urban Form & Transportation Advisory Committee, chaired by Marty Shukert of RDG Planning and Design, has finished drafting the urban form and transportation document, which focuses on six subgoals:
- Large-Scale City Form
- Land Use and Development Policy
- Land Development
- Transportation Network
- Transit
- Active Transportation
The committee, a group of 29 volunteers representing a diversity of professions and perspectives, considered suggestions from the public in developing the content.
The draft document will now be reviewed by the Environment Omaha Core Committee. The final draft document will be posted on www.environmentomaha.com by the end of September, and public comments will be sought at that time.
Building Construction
The building construction component of Environment Omaha will kick off Thursday, Sept. 10, with the first meeting of the Building Construction Advisory Committee and an information open house to gather input on what issues this content area should address.
The 28-member Building Construction Advisory Committee is chaired by Jay Noddle, Noddle Companies, and facilitated by Joe Lang, RDG Planning and Design. The group will meet from 1:00 to 5:00pm at the Truhlsen Campus Events Center in the Michael F. Sorrell Center for Health Science Education on the campus of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC).
The information open house, which is free and open to the public, will be held Sept. 10 at the Sorrell Center at UNMC from 6:30 to 8:00pm. The evening will kick off with a presentation by Elaine Gallagher Adams, a senior consultant with the Rocky Mountain Institute’s Built Environment Team. Adams has a wide range of experience in architectural design, historic preservation, energy conservation and green operations with expertise in passive solar energy design and rehabilitating existing buildings.
The presentation will be followed by a brief overview of issues associated with building construction and the information open house. A series of information stations pertaining to building construction issues will be set up. City staff and members of the Building Construction Advisory Committee will be available at each station to answer questions and record comments.
Funding for Environment Omaha, which is receiving significant city staff and resource support, is provided by grants from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and the City of Omaha’s Stormwater Management Plan Program Grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Services.
For more information, visit www.environmentomaha.com or contact Omaha by Design at 402.554.4010 or info@omahabydesign.org.