Omaha By Design: Omaha, Only Better

OMAHA – Environment Omaha is now official.

The Omaha City Council voted 7-0 to adopt the document – a comprehensive environmental vision for the city – as a component of Omaha’s master plan at its Dec. 14 meeting. The document, developed through a two-year process led by the City of Omaha and Omaha by Design, includes more than 600 recommendations in five sections – the natural environment, urban form and transportation, building construction, resource conservation and community health.

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 sections. The entire document and a summary document are available online at www.environmentomaha.com.

The next step is moving the document from the planning process to the implementation process. City officials are working with their energy management consultant team to create a framework for implementation. Omaha by Design will begin assessing the document for recommendations related to partnerships, education and outreach, said Connie Spellman, director of Omaha by Design.

Funding for the Environment Omaha process, which received significant city staff and resource support, was 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 served as the project manager. For more information, call 402.554.4010, email info@omahabydesign.org or follow Environment Omaha on Facebook and Twitter.