The Lincoln City Council on Monday signed off on an 150-acre annexation that aims to add 50 homes, more than 1,100 apartments and 850,000 square feet of commercial space north of Interstate 80 off 27th Street. Â
Stone Bridge Creek will sit on 190 acres southwest of 27th Street and Arbor Road, with 40 acres having previously been annexed.
Approved on a 6-1 vote, the annexation lines concerned Lancaster County Engineer Pam Dingman, and related zoning changes ruffled the feathers of a neighboring manufacturing company.
Dingman objected to the city carving a county bridge just west of the North 27th Street and Arbor Road intersection out of the annexation even though it took land directly south of the bridge.
"We would suggest that you take the entire bridge," Dingman said.
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The city wanted to let the bridge remain a county asset to avoid future maintenance costs, according to planning documents.
City staff defended the legality of the annexation, noting the bridge isn't immediately next to the land where the development will occur and thus beyond what's required by state annexation law.Â
"I just want to be fair," Dingman said, calling the issue an awkward and unfortunate disagreement.
Before the vote Monday, Councilwoman Sändra Washington pledged to introduce a measure to fix the partial annexation of another bridge jointly owned, but awkwardly maintained, by the city and county.Â
"I foresee that Arbor will be a much busier road," Washington said, "but I will leave that for a moment.â€
Within the proposed development, apartments would be built across the street from land zoned industrial and used by Dual Dynamics, a manufacturing company, on Humphrey Avenue east of Centurion Drive.Â
Tom Ackley, the attorney who represents landowner Kuck Investments, opposed mixing the land use there.
Kuck Investments has owned the land since 2005, and when it was initially platted, it was all supposed to be industrial, Ackley said.Â
His client worries about the mix of semitrailer traffic and cars, possible on-street parking and potential city measures to slow traffic on Humphrey Avenue, he said.Â
"Fifty-three-foot semis do not agree with curbs," Ackley said.
The developer, represented by Olsson, said the apartment building planned to abide by 300-foot setbacks and put a parking lot next to the road across from the industrial site.Â
The city amended the proposed ordinance Monday to address the concern about semitrailer traffic, but city transportation officials didn't believe it was the right time to ban parking on the street. Â
Councilman Richard Meginnis said the city will need to keep a close eye on what happens in the area as it grows, but he would hate for someone to lose rights because of development around them.
Councilman Roy Christensen, the lone opposition vote, said the council has historically heard from residents who complain about industrial properties near their homes.Â
"I can see this being an issue in years to come out at this location," he said.
Also Monday, the council unanimously approved the annexation of nearly 16 acres off South 84th Street and Yankee Woods Drive to add 47 homes to The Woodlands and Yankee Hill.  Â