planning board recommends approval of eo document
October 07, 2010
OMAHA – The Omaha Planning Board has given its seal of approval to a new policy document that outlines a comprehensive environmental vision for the city.
The board voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the Environment Omaha document at its Oct. 6 meeting. The Environment Omaha team – a partnership of the City of Omaha, the community and Omaha by Design – developed the document, which proposes a set of 25 goals in five areas to form a comprehensive new environmental section for the City of Omaha’s Master Plan. The entire document, which contains more than 600 recommendations, is available online at www.environmentomaha.com.
The seven goals in the natural environment section seek to preserve and enhance the city’s natural environment. The six goals in the urban form and transportation section seek to improve how Omahans move around the city and determine what shape its future growth should take. The four goals in the building construction section seek to help Omaha become a national leader in innovative building construction, renovation and operation. The five goals in the resource conservation section seek to help the city conserve its natural and material resources and capitalize on the potential of its human resources. The three goals in the community health section seek to help Omaha become more active, safe and healthy.
Each goal is accompanied by a set of objectives and strategies, and a set of measurements has been developed for each of the five areas. A summary document outlining the goals in each of the five areas is also available on www.environmentomaha.com.
The Omaha City Council will consider the planning board’s recommendation later this year. The end goal is the adoption of the document as a component of the city’s master plan.
Funding for Environment Omaha, which has received significant city staff and resource support, has been provided by grants from the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District, the Metropolitan Area Planning Agency and the City of Omaha’s Stormwater Management Plan Program Grant from the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Omaha by Design serves as the project manager. For more information, call 402.554.4010 or email info@omahabydesign.org