TIF, Streetscape and NCE Thumbs Up
December 01, 2009
The Omaha Planning Board voted 6-0 to recommend the creation of a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district in downtown Benson at its Dec. 2 meeting. Omaha City Councilman Pete Festersen, who represents the area, spoke in favor of the action, as did a number of representatives from the neighborhood and the Benson-Ames Alliance (B-AA).
The creation of such a district would enhance the B-AA’s efforts to revitalize the area in conjunction with The Maple Street Corridor Project, said Lisa Dale, chair of the Benson-Ames Alliance Steering Council and principal at Benson High School. The project includes a new streetscape design for downtown Benson, a housing and retail marketing analysis, and the Benson Beat – a community outreach initiative designed to spark civic pride and investment in redevelopment opportunities that match the local vision for the area.
In other action, the planning board recommended approval of a new streetscape master plan for the Dundee Business District as well as the creation of a Neighborhood Conservation and Enhancement (NCE) District for the area. The NCE, part of the package of Urban Design Element zoning code revisions and additions approved by the Omaha City Council in 2007, is a zoning overlay that helps conserve the unique characteristics of established neighborhoods and commercial areas and enhance the aesthetic qualities of their newer counterparts. If approved by the Omaha City Council, Dundee’s NCE would be the first to be created in the city.
The planning board’s recommendation on these items will be considered by the city council in 2010.
The Benson-Ames Alliance, dedicated to revitalizing the city’s Benson-Ames sector, selected downtown Benson as its first priority area. The Maple Street Corridor Project partnership is comprised on the Benson Business Association, the Benson Neighborhood Association, the Benson-Ames Alliance, Omaha by Design and the City of Omaha Departments of Planning and Public Works. For more information, call 402.554.4010 or email info@bensonbeat.com.
See the proposed TIF Map, Downtown Benson (PDF file).