Should Nebraska Allow Omaha to Annex Across County Lines?

[OmahaFan]

This has probably been brought up multiple times on this forum, and I don’t know if this is the right spot to post it, but when do you think a realistic legislative push will happen to make cross-county annexation possible for Omaha, Nebraska? Omaha still has areas in Douglas County where it can expand, but eventually, I think within 10 to 20 years, Omaha might be out of space in Douglas County to expand. How would you structure the legislative bill allowing Omaha to annex over county lines? Which cities would Omaha most likely like to annex in other counties if it could?

[Busguy2010]

I think the city is already too big for its own good. Adding more land mass to be responsible for and lowering population density doesnt sound like a recipe for success.

For reference, Omaha is bigger (area) than:
Las Vegas
Detroit
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Portland
Orlando
KC
Tampa
Seattle

I would rather see surrounding cities grow on their own accord. I could see them nab Bennington, but that'll probably be the end of it.

[OmahaFan]

I think the city is already too big for its own good. Adding more land mass to be responsible for and lowering population density doesnt sound like a recipe for success.

For reference, Omaha is bigger (area) than:
Las Vegas
Detroit
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Portland
Orlando
KC
Tampa
Seattle

I would rather see surrounding cities grow on their own accord. I could see them nab Bennington, but that'll probably be the end of it.

I get what you’re saying but I counter with this. Omaha needs to expand its tax base to continue to fund services in the greater Omaha area such as road maintenance, police and fire protection. That can only be done through annexation. Secondly I agree with you that Beinngton should be eyed for Annexation asap but I don’t agree with you that it should be the last city to be annexed. Waterloo and Valley both should be considered for future annexation. Also increasing the population by 30,000 like the city wants is most easily done through aggressive annexations. Stopping Omaha’s growth would hinder its ability to attract companies and talent.

[damonhynes]

So, you're saying Omaha needs...breathing room?



Having been born and raised in St. Louis City, I understand what your point is, I just don't see how this benefits Sarpy, Saunders, Cass, etc.

[OmahaFan]

So, you're saying Omaha needs...breathing room?



Having been born and raised in St. Louis City, I understand what your point is, I just don't see how this benefits Sarpy, Saunders, Cass, etc.

I know the historical comparison you’re alluding to, but Omaha’s annexation powers are exercised through Nebraska law and are fundamentally different from military conquest. The purpose is municipal governance and accommodating metropolitan growth, not coercion or territorial expansion through force.

As for what Sarpy County would gain, the benefits could include better long-term transportation planning, a larger and more competitive metropolitan economy, reduced duplication of government services, stronger regional infrastructure planning, and greater political influence for the metro as a whole. Since many Sarpy residents already commute to Omaha and rely on shared infrastructure and employment, a more unified regional government could potentially coordinate those services more efficiently.

[OmahaFan]

Only counties that Omaha should focus on for potential annexation if given the authority would be Sarpy , Saunders and Washington county.

[locoluke]

I get what you’re saying but I counter with this. Omaha needs to expand its tax base to continue to fund services in the greater Omaha area such as road maintenance, police and fire protection. That can only be done through annexation.

Annexation is not the only way this can be done.

Infill development and densification can also increase the tax base without expanding the area the city then also needs to spend money on for services and infrastructure. It also can be done in a way that promotes active and public transportation, which then also reduces wear on roads, demands on emergency services related to car accidents, health burdens inflamed by air pollution and particulate matter from cars, and health burdens caused by sedentary lifestyles which are exacerbated by car-oriented development. Even if you still choose to drive, densifying can decrease overall vehicle miles traveled by bringing people closer to their destinations.

It’s much easier posted on a forum than done IRL, but annexation is really not the only path

[Garrett]

There's really no point for Omaha to be able to annex across county lines. Sarpy County has been pretty effectively carved up at this point, and none of those cities would be under the 10k population for unilateral annexations. Omaha will barely be able to grow across the Elkhorn, let alone make the second jump over the Platte River into Saunders county. As for Washington county, Omaha doesn't have a ton of growth pressure going north. The Ponca Hills stop any northern development east of 72nd St, and there's no substantial transportation infrastructure to support development.

[nativeomahan]

Well, let’s all just accept the fact that it is not ever going to happen.

[GenX]

Why not just merge Douglas and Sarpy counties?

[JDirte]

As long as they keep the 10,000 cap, I dont think it will be that big of deal to allow Omaha to spill over. Bellevue, La Vista, Papillion, Gretna, and Fremont will all be over 10,000 by then. With Sarpy to the South, this would really only be West and North. The actual towns that it would really only effect would be who, Blair (who could probably annex to get over 10,000) now, Wahoo, and Fort Calhoun. The rest of the the 'towns' that it would effect are like 100 people.

It will have to pass one day, but still probably 20-30 years away from it being a real issue. Its filling up fast, but Omaha still has quite a bit of room to run northwest towards Washington and Saunders County.

By the time Omaha would even be in position to annex Washington, Arlington, Kenard, Yutan, etc, these places would be huge suburbs already full of suburban people. No one is really gonna care if Washington is annexed by Omaha. It not like there a bunch of native Washingtonians.

Also I think Omaha has set the precedent that if you dont actively annex to get above 10,000 they will leave you along. I dont anticipate Omaha to annex Bennington proper as long as they stay below 10,000. They will just annex everything around it.

[nebugeater]

This is State law as I understand it. I would imagine there would be little to no support in rural Nebraska for making the changes needed to do this.

Bottom line is it is an interesting discussion but will never happen.

[Dundeemaha]

I firmly believe both that Omaha's broad annexation powers has greatly benefitted the city and that there is no reason to expand them.

There is a diminishing return on expansion and while the city would be far worse off of it had been trapped in its 1913 boundaries like St. Louis, the answer today is to focus on infill and maintaining the land area we have which is substantial.

[CrankyOldDude]

As I understand it Hal Daub mentioned that the law about annexing across county lines had its genesis in Peter Sarpy. Google the rest. But Hal once mentioned "You can blame Omaha's growth limits on Peter Sarpy"

[Busguy2010]

I do believe Sarpy County is too good off to ever want or allow Omaha to reach over the county line. I think the what if youre most likely looking for is what if Douglas County, as originally drawn went all the way down to 370. I do think with the hindsight we have today, they would have drawn Douglas County further south than Harrison. Omaha is oriented along a road thats 2/3 of the way down the county. So perhaps what if Douglas County were drawn the whole thing shifted south by 3 miles, with 370 and Rwinwood road being the boundaries.

Its a big what if, but if it had been drawn that way, we'd easily have Bellevue, Ralston, LaVista, Papillion, and Gretna to Omaha's name. Its kind of a shame that it didnt happen that way, as to this day, the northern part of the county has lagged in development. We're finally almost built out to Bennington, but thats Bennington... vs all the Sarpy cities.

[Garrett]

I do believe Sarpy County is too good off to ever want or allow Omaha to reach over the county line. I think the what if youre most likely looking for is what if Douglas County, as originally drawn went all the way down to 370. I do think with the hindsight we have today, they would have drawn Douglas County further south than Harrison. Omaha is oriented along a road thats 2/3 of the way down the county. So perhaps what if Douglas County were drawn the whole thing shifted south by 3 miles, with 370 and Rwinwood road being the boundaries.

Its a big what if, but if it had been drawn that way, we'd easily have Bellevue, Ralston, LaVista, Papillion, and Gretna to Omaha's name. Its kind of a shame that it didnt happen that way, as to this day, the northern part of the county has lagged in development. We're finally almost built out to Bennington, but thats Bennington... vs all the Sarpy cities.

Originally Sarpy County was part of Douglas County, though only for a few years between Nebraska’s incorporation as a territory in 1854 and the division in 1857. I imagine some motivation for it was Omaha’s faster growth, but I can’t seem to find an exact reason online

[Busguy2010]

Originally Sarpy County was part of Douglas County, though only for a few years between Nebraska’s incorporation as a territory in 1854 and the division in 1857. I imagine some motivation for it was Omaha’s faster growth, but I can’t seem to find an exact reason online

I really figured it may have been pretty fluid back in the day. Too bad they decided on Harrison Street. I looked up instances of county-county and city-county mergers, and there isnt much. Every instance was a matter of the county (Sarpy in our case) being in dire financial straits and joining the city/county to alleviate that stress. And that is the exact opposite of what Sarpy is today. Hence why itll never happen.

But I really believe it should have been drawn to include more of what is Sarpy County today. We'd be so much better off as a tax base when you think about all those cities and the large population they have now. Missed opportunity, but I wouldnt expect them to know 150 years ago what our growth pattern would have been.

[Garrett]

Originally Sarpy County was part of Douglas County, though only for a few years between Nebraska’s incorporation as a territory in 1854 and the division in 1857. I imagine some motivation for it was Omaha’s faster growth, but I can’t seem to find an exact reason online

I really figured it may have been pretty fluid back in the day. Too bad they decided on Harrison Street. I looked up instances of county-county and city-county mergers, and there isnt much. Every instance was a matter of the county (Sarpy in our case) being in dire financial straits and joining the city/county to alleviate that stress. And that is the exact opposite of what Sarpy is today. Hence why itll never happen.

But I really believe it should have been drawn to include more of what is Sarpy County today. We'd be so much better off as a tax base when you think about all those cities and the large population they have now. Missed opportunity, but I wouldnt expect them to know 150 years ago what our growth pattern would have been.

From a governance perspective, a lot of counties should just consolidate these days anyway. They were drawn up in an era where the county seat was intended to be a maximum day of round trip travel away, which was a far different distance in an era of horse and carriage travel. Of Nebraska’s 93 counties, 12 have fewer than 1,000 people, and only 27 have more than 10,000. You could give the expectation of an hour or two drive to a county seat, and consolidate a lot of duplicate services. I mean really, there should be a metro level government for Omaha and Lincoln to engage in more full fledged regional planning, but that’s a larger topic.

[OmahaFan]

Well my next question is if the Nebraska legislature did amend the law to allow Omaha to Annex across county lines how would Omaha honestly operate within 2 counties? What government structure would be needed to make that happen? Wouldn’t it just be easier to expand Douglas county?

[nebugeater]

Well my next question is if the Nebraska legislature did amend the law to allow Omaha to Annex across county lines how would Omaha honestly operate within 2 counties? What government structure would be needed to make that happen? Wouldn’t it just be easier to expand Douglas county?

Not a chace

Would need statewide support. Again, this is all great for discussion but it will never happen

[Louie]

I think the consolidation of Omaha and Douglas county is inevitable. Just wonder how long it will take.

[damonhynes]

Does Omaha have an extra-territorial jurisdiction statute?

[locoluke]

Does Omaha have an extra-territorial jurisdiction statute?

Cities of at least 400,000 residents have a 3 mile extra-territorial jurisdiction in NE

[damonhynes]

Does Omaha have an extra-territorial jurisdiction statute?

Cities of at least 400,000 residents have a 3 mile extra-territorial jurisdiction in NE

[omaha79]

No. the only valid answer to this question is no: Omaha should not be allowed to annex across county lines.

that is all.

[OmahaFan]

No. the only valid answer to this question is no: Omaha should not be allowed to annex across county lines.

that is all.

Fully disagree with that viewpoint. Without growth and expansion Omaha slowly withers away. Allowing Omaha to annex across county lines benefits the residents of Omaha by spreading the tax burden even more.

[omaha79]

No. the only valid answer to this question is no: Omaha should not be allowed to annex across county lines.

that is all.

Fully disagree with that viewpoint. Without growth and expansion Omaha slowly withers away. Allowing Omaha to annex across county lines benefits the residents of Omaha by spreading the tax burden even more.

Omaha can barely manage what it has now.

And, other municipalities have grown, built, and created spaces independent of Omaha with people and infrastructure designed with a mind towards not wanting to be part of Omaha. Maybe if municipalities like Bellevue (over 50k), Papillion, La Vista, were allowed to vote and chose it, I'd be ok with it. But, not otherwise. And, those places would not willingly dissolve their local governments and choose to be a part of Omaha. non starter. It then becomes Omaha simply trying to leech onto what others have built and selfishly absorb. hard pass.

[damonhynes]

Remember when Millard got Borg-ed by Omaha? When Elkhorn ingested Skyline Acres and in turn was assimilated by Omaha? Same as it ever was.

[almighty_tuna]

We need to get Ricketts on this ASAP at the federal level so we can also annex Council Bluffs and properly develop Riverside GC.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

No. the only valid answer to this question is no: Omaha should not be allowed to annex across county lines.

that is all.

Fully disagree with that viewpoint. Without growth and expansion Omaha slowly withers away. Allowing Omaha to annex across county lines benefits the residents of Omaha by spreading the tax burden even more.

Outward expansion is not necessary for growth and what you’re describing with needing to further expand to support what we have is akin to a Ponzi scheme. It’s not sustainable and eventually the city will be in deep trouble.

Densifying accomplishes the same goal and is easier on the taxpayer because it largely relies on infrastructure we already have instead of building new. Most core cities do not have the capability to annex new territory and it's hard to argue that most cities are withering away. However, many second ring suburbs have tried what you are suggesting and have wound up in big financial trouble. It's not an if, but a when outward expansion stops and the bills pile up.

[BRoss]

I agree with others that we don't really want sprawl into other counties as that isn't sustainable. We already can't keep up with the infrastructure demands from what exists today. Imagine needing to widen roads to four lanes every 12 blocks all the way out to 672nd Street! (yes I know it doesn't go out that far)

But I do think Sarpy County never should have been split from Douglas. Although there is no point combining them now as like mentioned, the part bordering Omaha is pretty much divided up already so there is nowhere it could even expand into.