OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Driving around Omaha it's nearly impossible to not notice the constant change and development popping up. Much of it is housing as the city, along with its suburbs, continues to expand.
As the metro area grows, so do complaints about development. It's not uncommon for Omaha residents to tell the city they don’t want a new apartment building in their backyard.
At Omaha City Council meetings there's a regular phenomenon: a development project comes up, and neighbors line up to fight it.
Their reasoning can depend on the project but usually ranges from changing property values to not fitting into the neighborhood. Many don't want extra traffic on suburban streets filled with children. Others worry they’ll lose their view of the neighborhood.
To be clear, most developments receive little to no pushback, but the ones that do can take hours of city council time.
There is a term for folks that fight development projects. They're called ‘NIMBYs’ — short for ‘not in my backyard.’
Wendy Sarkissian has spent much of her life in community engagement and planning, across the world.
“Always asking 'Why are people responding this way?'” said Sarkissian.
She’s literally written the book, or in her case books, on community planning and engaging neighbors. She’s even spoken to Harvard on the subject and now lives in Vancouver, Canada.
She said these neighbors are often well-intentioned, and split politically but respond to development near their home in a visceral way.
“We are animals. Despite what we might think, humans are animals. We’re hardwired to get attached to the nest, to the home. It’s just in our DNA we’re hard-wired for it,” said Sarkissian.
And, therefore, she believes people say what they need to say to try and stop or slow projects.
“I can’t go in there and say to you, if you’re the city planner, 'This is breaking my heart. I'm crying all night,'” said Sarkissian. “So I say, 'You’re destroying my property values. You’re creating more noise, congestion, parking problems, traffic.”
So how do these projects get approved?
It begins at the planning department, which guides developers through the process and largely focuses on the rules and regulations. They deal with the nuts and bolts.
“We don’t give advice or feedback based on neighborhood opposition,” said Dave Fanslau, Planning Director for the City of Omaha.
Specifically, the planning department hones in on the city’s wide-ranging master plan and if the project meets the broad standards of the master plan, and is subdivided properly, it moves forward.
“We don’t recommend in favor of projects that are not master plan compliant,” said Fanslau.
And then projects go to the Omaha Planning Board for approval. Once the appointees on the board approve it, the project moves to the Omaha City Council.
And so when neighbors object, sometimes projects get modified, but rarely are they canceled outright.
On Tuesday, 3 News Now will have a report on why these projects almost always get approved. There are also ways neighborhood groups can fight the project before it goes to the Omaha City Council because — as it turns out — you can fight city hall.
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
