Declaring, "There will be no slums on my watch," Mayor Chris Beutler unveiled an initiative Thursday to tackle deteriorating housing, falling homeownership rates, increased crime and drug abuse in Lincoln'
DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Wednesday, March 5, 2008 6:00 pm
Declaring, “There will be no slums on my watch,” Mayor Chris Beutler unveiled an initiative Thursday to tackle deteriorating housing, falling homeownership rates and increased crime and drug abuse in Lincoln’s core neighborhoods.
Beutler said Lincoln has a long history of strong neighborhoods, but some core neighborhoods have fallen into distress and are at a tipping point. And when one neighborhood falls, the whole city suffers, he said.
“If we do not act now, we risk witnessing the kind of urban decay and hopelessness which plagues too many cities in the U.S.,” Beutler said. “These areas still remain proud neighborhoods and filled with people and resources that can help us meet those challenges.”
His “Stronger Safer Neighborhoods” program will focus on restoring housing and reviving commercial activity; rebuilding neighborhoods and reducing crime and blight.
The police department will oversee the effort, but Police Chief Tom Casady said it takes much more than police officers to tackle blight and disorder.
“It’s a very difficult problem to deal with,” he said. “You cannot arrest your way out of this.”
He said “systemic change” is needed, and his department will recommend policy changes to the mayor.
“I can assure you that we can make a difference,” Casady said.
A new mayoral aide will coordinate the effort out of the police department: Former planning commissioner Jon Carlson. Carlson owns apartments and has long been a neighborhood leader in the Near South Neighborhood, where he owns a historic home.
Carlson and the police department will decide where to focus their efforts initially, and then move on to other areas as they see success.
The city is already targeting the Near South Neighborhood with a blight study, which would open the door to urban renewal financing tools.
The city will partner with nonprofits and eventually, developers, to revitalize neighborhoods.
NeighborWorks Lincoln is a key partner. The non-profit housing organization which works to revitalize communities is already:
* Applying for state funding to convert old houses from rentals to single homes in core neighborhoods, such as Near South.
* Partnering with a national organization to help low-income homeowners make minor repairs for free.
NeighborWorks head Michael Snodgrass — who worked in the Kansas City core before moving to Lincoln — said revitalizing neighborhoods is difficult work.
He has big plans for Lincoln though. NeighborWorks will build and rehab more homes than in past years. And Snodgrass formed a group called the Lincoln Policy Network to push for new neighborhood revitalization tools on the city, county and state level.
Carlson said his goal is for every Lincoln neighborhood to be a place where people want to buy a home, start a business and have a family.
“We’re gonna do it,” he said.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.