Comprehensive Plan

The Planning Department is leading an update of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Comprehensive Plan. Public engagement will kick off in the second half of 2025 with Plan completion scheduled for the end of 2026. Sign up below to stay notified of plan updates through email.

The Comprehensive Plan update is coordinated with two other planning efforts: an update to the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and the Lincoln Mobility Plan.

Comprehensive Plan Update

The Lincoln-Lancaster County 2050 Comprehensive Plan embodies Lincoln and Lancaster County's shared vision for the future, out to the year 2050. The theme of the Comprehensive Plan is "Plan Forward," because it envisions a future that not only looks forward in time, but also forward in concept with new and innovative ideas to support our growing community.

A Comprehensive Plan identifies the community’s desired future vision and the roadmap for how to get there. The core of a Comprehensive Plan is the community vision, which describes what the community wants to be. That vision is implemented through goals and policies used to guide future changes. Comprehensive Plans illustrate where, how and when the community intends to grow, how to preserve and enhance the things that make it special, and strategies for implementing the vision for how residents will live, work, play and get around in the future.

The development of the Comprehensive Plan includes extensive public input with contributions from all facets of the community – from local leaders and topic area experts, to regular citizens who have a shared interest in building a strong vision for Lincoln and Lancaster County.

PlanForward is the Lincoln-Lancaster County 2050 Comprehensive Plan. The Plan embodies Lincoln and Lancaster County's shared vision for the future, out to the year 2050. The Lincoln-Lancaster County 2050 Comprehensive Plan is a roadmap to “plan forward,” not only in time, but in concept, to envision a community that is Thriving, Livable, Equitable, Innovative, and Resilient. These five themes are found throughout the new Plan and build the long range vision for our One Community.

The development of PlanForward was coordinated with the formulation of the 2050 Long Range Transportation Plan, a separate document that is required for the City and County to receive federal transportation funds. The development of the Long Range Transportation Plan and other related activities is undertaken through a separate entity established by the City, the County, and the State called the Lincoln Metropolitan Planning Organization (LMPO).

The Comprehensive Plan and LRTP go through a major review and update process every 5 years. The Planning Commission, which is charged by state law with developing the Comprehensive Plan, also reviews the Plan regularly. The Planning Department prepares and submits two documents to the Planning Commission annually to assist with the regular review, a Community Indicators report and a Residential Land Inventory Report.

Please visit the web version of PlanForward or click the links below to access the PDF files  

PDF of complete book(PDF, 96MB) - Note large file size

Project Website (archive)

These amendments have been incorporated into the text

A Comprehensive Plan identifies the community’s desired future vision and the roadmap for how to get there. The core of a Comprehensive Plan is the community vision, which describes what the community wants to be. That vision is implemented through goals and policies used to guide future changes. Comprehensive Plans illustrate where, how and when the community intends to grow, how to preserve and enhance the things that make it special, and strategies for implementing the vision for how residents will live, work, play and get around in the future.

Comprehensive Plans involve input from all city and county departments and coordinating agencies, along with significant input from the general public. Public input is critical to ensure that goals and policies reflect the community’s values.

A Comprehensive Plan typically includes plans and policies for the following:

• Goals for the future
• Future land use patterns
• Housing needs
• Transportation improvements
• Community facilities
• Public utilities
• Environmental resources
• Other initiatives to further the community’s vision

Plan Forward is the theme for the Lincoln-Lancaster County 2050 Comprehensive Plan. The Plan will envision a future that not only looks forward in time, but also forward in concept with new and innovative ideas to support our growing community.

The Comprehensive Plan goes through a major update every ten years, with the last major update being Plan Forward 2050 adopted in 2021. Minor updates are conducted in the interim, about every five years.

This current process is a minor update that will maintain the 2050 planning horizon. This update is an opportunity to evaluate all facets of the existing Comprehensive Plan, and it will incorporate new ideas identified since 2021.

The update process will last through the end of 2026. It will include significant public engagement to help identify new ideas and trends not included in the existing Comprehensive Plan. 

Many states require Comprehensive Plans as the legal foundation for zoning ordinances. In Nebraska, cities of the Primary Class (Lincoln) are required to have a Comprehensive Plan if they wish to exercise zoning powers (per NE Rev Statutes 15-902). In addition, any local ordinance or resolution (in the city or county) that deals with public rights-of-way or other public improvements must be reviewed for conformity with the Comprehensive Plan (15-1104, 23-174.07).

State statute (15-1102, 23-174.05) broadly describes the types of items required to be in a Comprehensive Plan, including the pattern and intensity of land use, the provision of public facilities including transportation and other governmental services, the effective development and utilization of human and natural resources, the identification and evaluation of area needs including housing, employment, education, and health and the formulation of programs to meet such needs, surveys of structures and sites determined to be of historic, cultural, archaeological, or architectural significance or value, long-range physical and fiscal plans for governmental policies and action, and coordination of all related plans and activities of the state and local governments and agencies concerned.

The Comprehensive Plan is adopted by the Lincoln City Council and Lancaster County Board of Commissioners.

The Comprehensive Plan is a guiding document, and it is used at various levels of local government as well as the private sector. In a broad sense, the Comprehensive Plan is utilized by staff when considering development proposals and public investments, and by the private sector to help guide development decisions. Zoning and other City and County ordinances are directly influenced by the Comprehensive Plan, and zoning, specifically, is the primary tool for implementing the Plan on a day-to-day basis. In addition, all projects in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) are reviewed for their conformance with the Comprehensive Plan to ensure that major public investments are aligned with the community vision.

The purpose of a Comprehensive Plan is to identify the shared community vision and develop goals and strategies for how to achieve that vision. The plan gives direction to local government decision making, including where and when to make major investments, to ensure that these decisions positively contribute to the shared community vision.

In addition, state statute requires Lincoln to have a Comprehensive Plan in order to exercise zoning powers, and both Lincoln and Lancaster County are required to review Comprehensive Plan conformance when making decisions regarding public rights-of-way and other public improvements.

The Comprehensive Plan includes Lincoln and the unincorporated areas of Lancaster County. Other incorporated communities in the County have their own planning jurisdiction and thus their own Comprehensive Plans. Even though these incorporated communities aren’t directly included in the plan, their input and planning considerations are still important to having a complete picture of the county.

The Comprehensive Plan provides broad guidance for achieving the community’s stated vision. Fleshing out the details takes additional effort. One means of doing this is through the preparation of subarea plans. Subarea plans offer greater details about the intended future of an area of the community — including land uses, infrastructure requirements, and development policies and standards. Many of these subarea plans are prepared by the City-County Planning Department, while some are prepared by other agencies and departments. Subarea plans and planning documents incorporated into the Comprehensive Plan include the Downtown Master Plan, 33rd & Cornhusker Subarea Plan, South Haymarket Neighborhood Plan, University Place Subarea Plan, several Watershed Master Plans, Parks and Recreation 10 Year Facilities Plan, Transit Development Plan, Water and Wastewater Facilities Master Plans, LPS 10 Year Plan, and other miscellaneous local plans.

The Comprehensive Plan update process is being guided by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Department with the Planning Commission serving as the steering committee. The committee will make recommendations to the Mayor, City Council, and County Board.

The City of Lincoln first adopted a Comprehensive Plan in 1952. The first joint Lincoln-Lancaster County Comprehensive Plan was completed in 1961. Updates to the Comprehensive Plan were completed in 1977, 1985, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021.