Virtual Blight
In case you missed it, the City Council voted unanimously yesterday to declare 1,800 acres of land in north Lincoln blighted. It’s really just a financing trick, so it’s not nearly as big of a deal as the messier Samurai Sam’s and 48th & O blight designation boondoggles. And yet, I’m concerned. I see a pattern of behavior where Lincoln is tossing around blight designations rather flippantly. Need we fear a slippery slope, I wonder? Consider:
- In The Grand case, the City used a blight designation to help buy out property owners who were willing to sell anyway. The move kept Douglas Theater Company’s costs down significantly.
- In the so-called Samurai Sam’s case, a developer said “I want that land.” The City said “OK, here you go!” Public outcry halted the property theft, but just barely.
- At 48th & O, the City has a general redevelopment plan in mind. Rather than build upon the success of the businesses already there, the City wants to bulldoze the entire area and start from scratch.
- All of West O has been declared blighted (opening the door to land-takings and other shenanigans), when the City really means merely to encourage investment and development in the area.
- And now a huge swath of mostly-empty land in north Lincoln has been declared blighted.
Does blight actually have any meaning any more? Is a blight designation becoming an unnecessary show of force the City will use in less and less appropriate situations?
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