Urban Design is a Must for 10th Street!

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According to The City of Omaha Master Plan Concept Element, the community of Omaha should dedicate itself to “promoting and maintaining a high quality of life for all its people.”

Over the last several decades, Omaha’s development trends have turned to suburban patterns, putting pedestrian activity on the backburner to vehicular dominance. These patterns are quite prevalent in West Omaha, and tend to separate areas of activity with long stretches of roads, parking lots and businesses.

Traditional development patterns boast the blend of businesses and homes together as well as large areas laid out for pedestrian activity mixed with a gorgeous dose of landscaping. The more traditional development patterns in older areas of the city, particularly along 10^th Street, have suffered erosion through the two conflicting development styles. We can’t allow this to happen.

Historic 10^th Street’s future is in the hands of its own people – if the community chooses to allow suburban patterns into 10^th Street, the magic of the area will be destroyed.

The Omaha City Council collectively approved the implementation of urban design regulations for the City of Omaha back in August 2007, addressing physical characteristics of development that were previously unmonitored.

These regulations will help stabilize important areas and increase the overall quality for Omaha’s built environment while balancing the needs of all users.

Accommodations for all types of pedestrian mobility, a “park-once-and-walk” design like that of the Old Market, attractive landscaping and historic preservation are key characteristics that will make the 10^th Street area blossom into something fantastic.

“These well designed streetscapes will function like urban villages where one can walk freely and safely to enjoy a community environment involving commercial retail and office services, living, entertainment and public spaces,” according to The Urban Design Handbook for Omaha.

Rezoning 10^th Street will bump the area’s status up from an Area of Civic Importance to a Neighborhood Conservation and Enhancement district. The future of 10^th Street as an NCE district will continue to hold its significant history while also allowing new development.

The process of rezoning will take many years to complete – the new regulations will apply only when new development or construction occurs; but putting these codes in place now ensures a tourist and neighborhood friendly area for the future. Without these regulations in place, the historic area we know now, graced with homes, businesses, beauty and charm, will dwindle down to nothing more than an impersonal cluster of streets and cars.

There is no doubt that 10^th Street is one of the key tourist and residential areas of the Midwest – the new goals and regulations for future growth can only help our community take charge and truly establish a high quality of life for all people.

** To view the Omaha Municipal Code, visit www.municode.com - go to the online library, select Nebraska and then Omaha. Look for Chapter 55 – Zoning and then Article 22 – Urban Design.

** Contact Jed Moulton, Manager of Urban Design for the City of Omaha (444-5208) with questions regarding the NCE district overlay zoning.