Business park project boundary change advanced

Lawmakers gave first-round approval Feb. 28 to a bill intended to provide greater flexibility in the siting of a proposed North Omaha business park.

The Economic Recovery Act, passed by the Legislature in 2022 and updated in 2023, provided funding for pandemic recovery projects in North and South Omaha and other communities that were disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the act, the state Department of Economic Development has granted $90 million to a nonprofit economic development organization for the development of a business park located within the boundaries of a metropolitan class city and within two miles of a major airport. Omaha is the state’s only metropolitan class city.

LB290, introduced by the Urban Affairs Committee, instead would require the project to be located within the boundaries of an inland port district in Omaha. Under the bill, grant funds could not be used in the downtown or northern downtown areas of Omaha.

Omaha Sen. Terrell McKinney, the committee’s chairperson, said building the business park in the originally intended area could displace residents or require spending approximately $40 million on environmental cleanup before development could begin.

Changing the boundary requirements would give the grantee and the Omaha Inland Port Authority — which will oversee the business park — flexibility to explore other sites, he said.

Sen. Bob Andersen of Omaha opposed LB290 and questioned whether the business park is a good use of funds in light of the state’s projected revenue shortfall.

“I’m saying we need to back up and reassess before we move forward with this project at all,” he said.

Omaha Sen. Christy Armendariz supported LB290, saying the project’s funding was not currently in question. She said the governor’s budget proposal recommended cutting millions of dollars from an array of programs — including ones in North and South Omaha — but the business park is not among them.

“I would ask that you give [the community] a little grace to take that time [and] do it right,” Armendariz said of the project. “Because it is needed.”

Senators voted 31-5 to advance the bill to select file.