A housing development that would add nearly 300 homes on almost 100 acres of land near 93rd and A streets is among three projects that received initial approval from planning officials Wednesday.
A coalition of landowners behind the development, which would become part of east Lincoln, are proposing a range of single-family homes and town homes that would likely range in price from about $250,000 to more than $700,000.
Tom Huston, an attorney representing the developers, said their primary objective was to build a mix of housing with "different price points."
The location of some of the lower-priced housing didn't sit well with neighbors to the north of the proposed development.
A proposed plan for the site includes high-density "four-plex" town homes in its northwest corner, right next to Hillcrest Heights, which is a neighborhood of larger homes on one-acre lots.
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Residents of the area said they were not opposed to development next door but thought putting high-density housing next to an acreage development was out of character.
The proposal creates "an extreme contrast in residential design from one neighborhood to the next," said Terry Neddenriep, president of the Hillcrest Heights Neighborhood Association.
Developers did agree to make the lot immediately adjacent to the neighborhood a 100-foot-wide single-family lot, and while several neighbors said they appreciated that, they still didn't think it was enough.
However, the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission approved an annexation, zoning change and special permit for the development Wednesday. The annexation and zoning votes were unanimous. On the issue of the special permit, Commissioner Tracy Corr voted against approval, saying she felt the density of the housing next to the acreage lots was too high.
The other two housing developments both were unanimously approved with no opposition.
One calls for about 100 homes on 42 acres at the southwest corner of West Old Cheney Road and South Folsom Street. The other is much smaller, proposing 13 town homes on about 2.4 acres near Southwest 17th and West B streets.
Parts of each project must still be approved by the City Council.
In other business Wednesday, the Planning Commission also agreed that declaring the Lincoln Electric System's downtown headquarters building at 11th and O streets as surplus property so it can be sold is in line with the city's Comprehensive Plan.
LES is building a new headquarters at 98th Street and Rokeby Road and is in the process of taking bids on its current six-story building, which it does not plan to vacate until 2021.