Find More Info: @ lnkinsight.com  or  PATS Search and search applications MISC25013 & MISC25014

We, the undersigned residents of Lincoln, Nebraska call on the City Council and Mayor to delay and reject the current Blight and Extreme Blight Designations for the University Place and Clinton Neighborhoods until a new, accurate study is completed with full public participation.

The City of Lincoln has resubmitted the same flawed studies that community members and neighborhood boards have already brought to their attention multiple times, as being factually inaccurate and a complete misrepresentation of the area.

Key Issues Include:

• ’Examples of Blight’ shown in the blight study are outside the study area. Which directly conflicts with Nebraska Revised Statute 18-2103(11) requiring that all findings of blight be based within the proposed area.
• The Extreme Blight study excludes unemployment and poverty data from the actual proposed area, using inflated statistics from unrelated census tracts to falsely meet state blight criteria.
• Public notice and engagement were incomplete, with key neighborhoods left out of communication.

A blight designation has long-term (minimum of 25+ years) consequences—lowering property values, creating stigma, accelerating displacement, and diverting tax resources through TIF projects that rarely benefit existing residents.

We are not against growth or revitalization. We are asking for honesty, transparency, and lawful governance in how our city defines and applies “blight.”

We urge the City of Lincoln to:

1. Conduct a corrected, data-based study using accurate local information & data.
2. Include neighborhood residents in the process.
3. Publicly release all supporting data before any new designation is approved.

Lincoln deserves development grounded in truth, fairness, and integrity — not data manipulation.

This Blight Designation is slated to be voted upon by Council members November 17th, 2025.

Consider Emailing Lincoln City Council Members:

James Michael Bowers NE District 1 (the area affected)  jbowers@lincoln.ne.gov

Tom Duden SE District 2 tduden@lincoln.ne.gov

Justin P. Carlson SW District 3 Chair jpcarlson@lincoln.ne.gov

Brodey Weber NW District 4 Vice Chair bweber@lincoln.ne.gov

Sändra Washington At-Large swashington@lincoln.ne.gov

Tom Beckius At-Large tbeckius@lincoln.ne.gov

Bennie Shobe At-Large bshobe@lincoln.ne.gov