Developers are pushing for a medical clinic at 70th Street and Nebraska Parkway

Robert Otte, an attorney representing the developers, addressed the city planners’ objections, primarily that the land should be residential, not commercial, and that access to the development should not be allowed beyond the Nebraska Parkway.

Because of this opposition, planners are recommending the council deny the zoning change, comprehensive plan amendment and use permit that would waive the various setbacks.

Otte said if his clients could convert the land into residential use, they would.

“We’ve offered this property to a lot of developers and builders and, frankly, we haven’t been able to deliver it,” he said. “Simply put, housing is not working. If it worked, we would do it.”

Although the city opposes allowing access from Nebraska Boulevard, the issue has already been resolved because, as the city learned after developers proposed building a medical clinic, the state controls access to what was once a state highway.

After the South Beltway opened, the city took ownership of Nebraska Highway 2 within the city limits and renamed it the Nebraska Parkway. Because the road has been designated as an expressway for the past 40 years, city policy does not allow exits from it, despite two exceptions.

However, this is a state decision, and after initially denying the access permit request, the developers submitted a second study and Nebraska Department of Transportation officials changed their minds.

Glenbrook LLC wants to build 51,000 square feet of office space for a medical clinic on the triangular-shaped plot of land. Their plans include adding a right turn lane on South 70th Street and adding a deceleration lane from the westbound lanes west of the 70th Street intersection along Nebraska Boulevard.

The developers claim semi-trailer traffic has fallen since the South Beltway opened and that providing such access is an “innovative solution for a complex site”.

Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Liz Elliott told the council Monday that crash data at the intersection of 70th Street and Nebraska Parkway is twice that of similarly busy intersections in Lincoln.

She said the project will add about 100 vehicles during peak hours.

In addition to the right turn lane at 70th Street on the north side of the intersection, the city also wants developers to pay to extend the left turn lane at 70th Street on the south side of the intersection.

The developers asked the council to waive the requirement to pay to extend the left-turn lane on the south side and also asked the city to help pay for the right-turn lane on the north side of Nebraska Boulevard.

The Southfork Neighborhood Association, which represents the area adjacent to the proposed development, supports the plan.

Ann Post, their attorney, said their biggest concern is increased traffic on 69th Street, which is part of their development and not serviced by the city.

The developers worked extensively with Southfork residents and agreed to a broad set of agreements that include restrictions on various issues such as buffers, landscaping, retail uses and height restrictions.

Residents of other neighborhoods, including those in the Country Meadows Association across the Nebraska Parkway, oppose the development, although none spoke at Monday’s public hearing.

Otte said their biggest concern is that motorists will turn around on 66th Street to get to the clinic, and there are ways to mitigate that.

David Clausen, who represents the developers, said the clinic would add $213,000 in property taxes to the city, more than the apartment complex.

The Planning Commission voted 5-3 to recommend denial, but only after Commissioner Dick Campbell, who supported the proposal, changed his vote to recommend denial simply to ensure there was enough votes for the matter to go before the city. advice.

The City Council postponed a vote on the issue until November 18.