Who Would Create the Most Jobs

Several Neighborhoods Speak Out to the City Council

Floating around on the neighborhood email distribution lists this week and published in the Omaha World Herald, A response from several prominent Omaha neighbors and neighborhoods.

At the Omaha City Council meeting on Jan. 13, Councilman Jim Suttle asked that neighborhood associations think about a number of issues, including the nature of free enterprise, the effects of empty storefronts on communities and the appropriate role for neighborhood associations to play in our city.After much and careful consideration, the undersigned neighborhood associations offer the following response:Neighborhood associations form when groups of citizens band together to improve their neighborhoods. Some form around a rallying cause; some, around a desire to have standards for upkeep and maintenance; some, when the safety of homes and neighbors is in danger. These groups of residents want to have a voice in what our neighborhoods look like.We have a common objective: keeping neighborhoods safe, healthy and vibrant.Neighborhood associations tackle a broad range of public issues. While neighbors don’t always agree about the solutions to problems, they always agree that the problems must be addressed and solutions brought forward.Asked why neighborhood associations don’t support whatever businesses choose to locate within their borders or on their periphery, our answer is quite simple. When zoning laws enable predatory businesses to fill in the empty storefronts of our neighborhoods, we see increased crime, decreased property values and neighbors afraid to walk outside their doors after dark.Predatory businesses — like payday loan operations or convenience stores with off-sale liquor licenses — prey on those whose ties to society already are weakened.In this time of extreme crime and violence in Omaha, the common good is not served by allowing more predatory businesses in neighborhoods already struggling with crime, where investments are needed in businesses that enhance our communities.No one wants empty storefronts or neighborhoods full of empty buildings. We see the repercussions of that every day. But we do expect — demand — that the city planning and zoning officials and City Council members pay attention to the types of businesses they allow to operate.We don’t need civics lessons from our elected officials. We need elected officials who care as deeply about the well-being of our neighborhoods as those of us affected by these issues.So what, then, is happening to the role of the neighborhood association? In short, the neighborhood association is filling the gap left when city employees and elected officials fail to protect our citizens and neighborhoods from those elements that bring crime and violence to our doorsteps.Our role is to pay attention to the needs of those who live within our borders, to protect our communities from those who would prey upon those least able to protect themselves, to be advocates for growth and change that bring hope and betterment to our citizens.Councilman Suttle’s comments display a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of enterprise in this country. Our Constitution grants rights to our citizens, not to corporations.It is disingenuous of the councilman to suggest that regulating where a business can operate and what it can sell thwarts the free enterprise system. We regulate those activities each and every day — as we should. We regulate our businesses both to protect our citizenry and to reflect the moral standards we hold dear. Neighborhood associations often act as the watchdogs of these activities.Yes, neighborhood associations plant trees and sponsor social events. But we are also on the front lines of the struggles our city faces. We get involved in extraordinarily difficult issues like group home regulations, zoning code violations, crimes against property, violence against our neighbors — and appropriate economic development.If we believe that our issues are not being adequately addressed by our elected officials, we have an obligation to speak out. Others will speak more directly and forcefully on the density of off-sale alcohol outlets, the issue that sparked this response. But none will speak more powerfully than those groups of citizens who band together to protect our homes, our neighbors and our community.

Joel Davies, president of the Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Association, and cosigned by the Aksarben/Elmwood Park Neighborhood Association; Bemis Park Neighborhood Association; Gifford Park Neighborhood Association; Ford Birthsite Neighborhood Association; Joslyn Castle Neighborhood Association; Miller Park/Minne Lusa Neighborhood Association; Orchard Hill Neighborhood Association.

Business Permit Wild West - Neighborhood Rebuttal

I recieved this via email floating around the city. I thought it had some good points for our City Council to consider pertaining to the Councilmen Suttle outburst about neighborhoods.

Empty storefronts

We might point out that certain businesses (chiefly those that sell liquor, and are open late in the night) are attractive nuisances, serving as gathering places for people who often cause any number of problems for neighborhoods. As those same people often congregate during the day and evening hours, they serve as a deterrent to other, more responsible people, who often support responsible businesses and contribute their time and effort to neighborhoods to work towards a better quality of life. By allowing such troublesome businesses to operate, the City Council is effectively making the district unsuitable for other, more valuable businesses that would provide services and jobs to neighborhood residents. Certainly we have seen the difficulty of attracting new business to the 33rd and California area due to troublemakers congregating at the store and convenience mart. It is a simple fact of life that, with many options and choices for shopping and dining, good people will avoid areas where there are troublemakers, and will not patronize businesses in those areas.
It should be the responsibility of the City Council to assess the compatibility of proposed businesses with the conditions and goals of neighborhood improvement, rather than rubber-stamping any businesses, under the belief that any business is better than no business. It should be the responsibility of the City Council to recognize businesses that have historically caused problems or been a locus of problems, and deny permission for such businesses to operate in areas where their existence will contribute to neighborhood deterioration. We are asking for the City Council to accept that responsibility.
We recognize that neighborhood associations are not the sole arbiters of what works and what does not. But what we observe every day, coupled with police records and reports, must carry some weight in the decision process. Clearly, businesses that derive the majority of their revenue from the sale of alcohol create problems for neighbors and businesses in the area. Allowing such businesses will create more empty storefronts as other businesses are driven out. Such businesses also make it much harder to revitalize marginal residential areas. It is difficult to see where allowing such businesses to move in is to the benefit of the city in general. Certainly it is not a benefit to the neighborhood.

Sincerely,
Retired & long time resident of Gifford Park Neighborhood