Urban Design Committee

The Urban Design Committee provides advisory services to city government on the design of city-owned buildings and other public projects, major public/private developments, and any private projects constructed on city right of way or other city property. The Committee's intent is to make sure that new public facilities are exemplary -- that they provide functional and aesthetically pleasing facilities for the public, and model good design for the private sector.

Agenda

The Urban Design Committee meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 3:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers of the County/City Building, except when noted. 

Please note the meeting location as it may change to accomplish social distancing needs.

MASKS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED FOR OUR PUBLIC MEETINGS IN THIS BUILDING

NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the Urban Design Committee will hold a meeting on Tuesday, September 7, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. in the County-City Building, 555 S. 10th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, in City Council Chambers on the 1st Floor. For more information, please contact the Lincoln City/Lancaster County Planning Department at 402-441-7491.

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

View or download the full Agenda.

1.  Approval of UDC meeting record of August 3, 2021.

•   Memo from Stacey Hageman

DISCUSS AND ADVISE

2.  23rd & Y Street Redevelopment - UDR21056

3.  Central Lumber Redevelopment - UDR21077

4.  Tabitha Redevelopment - UDR21078

STAFF REPORT & MISC.

4.  Staff report & misc.

 

 

Accommodation Notice: The City of Lincoln complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guidelines. Ensuring the public's access to and participating in public meetings is a priority for the City of Lincoln. In the event you are in need of a reasonable accommodation in order to attend or participate in a public meeting conducted by the City of Lincoln, please contact the Director of Equity and Diversity, Lincoln Commission on Human Rights, at 402 441-7624 as soon as possible before the scheduled meeting date in order to make your request.

Members

The Urban Design Committee is comprised of seven voting members.

Member Term Expires
Mark Canney 02/01/2024
Emily Deeker 02/01/2022
Jill Grasso 02/01/2023
Peter Hind 02/01/2022
Tom Huston 02/01/2024
Gill Peace 02/01/2023
Michelle Penn 02/01/2023

Regulations

URBAN DESIGN

 The Urban Design Committee is governed by LMC Chapter 4.36: Urban Design Committee.

Special Design Districts

Urban Design is a focus within the larger realm of planning that emphasizes the physical form of the city and its visual and other sensory qualities. Excellence in urban design maintains and enhances the special "place-making" qualities of a city that provide its sense of identity. Urban Design emphasizes attractiveness as well as function, the appearance of buildings and how they are arranged as well as setbacks and parking requirements, and special care for the design and furnishing of public streets and other public spaces.

districts_250w.jpg(PDF, 602KB)

The Planning Department works to strengthen Lincoln's urban design quality in cooperation with three volunteer citizen design review boards. The Urban Design Committee has the broadest scope, advising city departments and the Mayor on a wide range of city and city-assisted projects. These include designs proposed for city buildings and other types of city-funded projects, and for private buildings and projects that are constructed with the city's financial assistance. The Historic Preservation Commission works with neighborhood groups, preservation advocates, property owners, and the State Historical Society to discover, protect, and share the community's heritage. In addition, the state and city together have recognized the special importance of the State Capitol building by establishing the Nebraska Capitol Environs Commission which is responsible for reviewing the design of buildings and public spaces in a defined area radiating out from the Capitol building.

The City has recognized certain other defined areas that deserve and receive special attention. The Downtown Design Standards express the community's expectations for new buildings and building alterations in the traditional central business district and nearby areas to the east (through the Telegraph District PUD) and west (through the South Haymarket Design Standards).

The Neighborhood Design Standards apply to new construction in the city's older (pre-1950) residential areas, and are intended to ensure that infill and redevelopment projects are generally compatible with the established character of these neighborhoods.

Annual Reports

Archived Agendas and Minutes

The Larry Enersen Urban Design Award was instituted in 1984 by the Urban Design Committee. Named in memory of the Committee's inaugural chairman, a prominent Lincoln landscape architect and urban planner, the awards are intended to "promote public education and appreciation of urban design: by recognizing outstanding public and private projects".


Award designed by 
The Clark Enersen Partners
and Metal and Art of Lincoln, Nebraska.

The Urban Design Committee's Enersen Awards program has operated under three general guidelines:

  • One or two awards are given annually; if two, they generally recognizing contrasting projects - one public, one private; or one small-scale, one large-scale, etc.
  • Projects are located within the Lincoln city limits.
  • Projects should be completed in the year preceding the recognition, although some projects, such as those involving landscape design or other long-term efforts may require a few years to mature and be recognized as "completed".

In 2013, a jury including several alumni of the Committee was implemented to assist with the Enersen Award process. The jury screens and recommends projects to the Committee.

The Enersen Awards are presented as part of the Mayor's Arts Awards celebration, produced by the Lincoln Arts Council. Further information on the Mayor's Arts Awards can be found on the Lincoln Arts Council website.

The 2019 winners (awarded in 2020) of the Larry Enersen Urban Design Award were Block 52 (Lumberworks Block) and N Street Bikeway/BikeLNK. 

Block 52 (Lumberworks Block)

The streetscape project addressed the Lincoln Electric System substation. Art panels were incorporated in a screen wall along N Street, in an entryway feature at the corner of 8th and N Streets, and in a canopy structure along 8th Street. These art panels incorporate Haymarket/South Haymarket buildings, a locomotive, a photograph of historic Haymarket workers, and product labels from items that were produced in the area. The N Street screen wall also incorporates 5 panels which provide a brief history of the area.

The block also includes the new Canopy Row building and the Schwarz building which has been renovated for commercial and residential uses. As part of the streetscape, this project added sections of historic canopy south of O Street, extending the Canopy into South Haymarket. Art panels were added to the public stairwell façade on Canopy Street, incorporating a spice can design from a Haymarket business.

N Street Bikeway/BikeLNK

The N Street Bikeway, along with the bike share stations, was the second award. With one terminus adjacent Block 52, the protected bikeway extends to Antelope Creek on the east. The bikeway opened in 2014 and sees about 100,000 riders per year. In addition, nineteen BikeLNK stations with 105 bikes are located in Lincoln. BikeLNK has just surpassed 70,000 rides since its inception in April 2018.

 Past Winners

Honor Roll of Winners(PDF, 100KB)

Contact Us

Phone

402-441-7491

Fax

402-441-6377

Email

plan@lincoln.ne.gov

Location

555 S. 10th St., Ste. 213
68508
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