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The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission on Wednesday recommended approval of two projects officials said will benefit Lincoln — one that makes the sale of produce from urban gardens in residential neighborhoods possible, the other a plan to revitalize northeast Lincoln’s University Place. Under ordinance changes championed by Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, residents with gardens at their homes would be able to sell their produce there, and individuals could also purchase vacant lots in residential areas to grow and sell produce. The changes also would allow community gardens in residential neighborhoods to sell on site.
Sales would be limited to eight days a month and 30 days a year, and a soil test by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department would be required. There also would be specific requirements and limitations for such things as signage, building area (for sheds or greenhouses) and composting. People are also reading.
.. The changes increase the ability of residents to grow their own food, as well as allowing residents to buy fresh produce closer to home, said City Planner Andrew Thieroff.
Kim Morrow, the city’s chief sustainability officer, said the initiative supports two goals in the city’s local food plan: increasing access to healthy, fresh food and making the city more resilient. Now, she said, it takes 1.5 million pounds of food a day to meet Lincolnites’ dietary requirements, and grocery stores stock only three days worth of food.
She said the city’s also excited about increasing the diversity of fresh produce available because it will allow immigrants and refugees to grow herbs and vegetables not readily available here — and make them more available to all residents. Several people spoke in support of the change, including Ken Winston, who represents the Nebraska Sierra Club and Nebraska Interfaith Power and Light. He said the changes will benefit low-income residents by making fresh produce more readily available.
Gardens also bring people together. “I’m very proud I get to live in a community that does stuff like this,” he said. Kim Walter, a local food advocate who created an urban garden program in the Hawley neighborhood, said this will be a resource for people if their food subsidies are cut off or food banks lose their funding as the country’s social safety net is gradually being unraveled.
Planning Commissioner Gloria Eddins said anything that allows people not to go to bed hungry is a good thing. “I know people who go to bed hungry,” she said. “I would love to see kids with tomato stands instead of lemonade stands.
” Revitalizing Uni Place The planning commission also unanimously recommended approving the addition of a plan to revitalize the Uni Place neighborhood to the Lincoln-Lancaster County Comprehensive Plan. The City Council must still approve it. The plan — which encompasses about 835 acres bounded by North 33rd Street, Cornhusker Highway, North 56th Street and Holdrege Street — includes redesigning the North 48th Street corridor, making the area a historic district and doing a blight study to increase funding options for neighborhood revitalization.
The plan includes turning the four lanes of 48th Street into two traffic lanes, a middle turn lane and creating on-street parking to slow down traffic and make the area more walkable. A blight study is a step necessary to use tax-increment financing, a financing tool that could be used for programs like housing or rental rehab programs, or sidewalk enhancements, Thieroff said. Tax-increment financing allows developers to use future property taxes the redevelopment generates to pay for certain upfront costs.
The plan would add roundabouts at Adams Street and Leighton Avenue and enhance the area with street art and signature lighting. The plan builds off the creative district designation the Nebraska Arts Council gave the area in 2023. Joe Shaw, executive director of the Lux Center for the Arts, said the “thoughtful and inclusive” process has resulted in a visionary yet practical plan.
Lindsey Clausen, who owns Archway Studios in Uni Place, said the business district is comprised almost entirely of small businesses, which were hit hard by the pandemic, followed by disruptive road projects. The changes to the 48th Street corridor would be helpful, making the area more functional and inviting to visitors. Commissioners said they were especially impressed by the community involvement and outreach, which included surveys, open houses and community events over about a year.
The city got more than 500 written comments, which speaks to the enthusiasm of the neighborhood, Thieroff said. Download the new Journal Star News Mobile App Top Journal Star photos for April 2025 Damien Rodriguez (front to back), Jason Bell and Cesar Gonzalez, who competed as the team “Three Blind Mice,” pull a plane on Saturday during the Woman in Aviation Cornhusker Chapter's 2nd Annual Plane Pull at the Lincoln Airport. Loren Eiseley Society vice president Thomas Lynch (from left), society president Bing Chen, and Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird unveil a new historical marker honoring writer Loren Eiseley on Friday at Irvingdale Park.
Mary Abebe (left) returns to her seat after being named the 2025 Scottish Rite Educator of the Year as Brenda Barnett and Stacie Coatman congratulate her on Friday at Adams Elementary School. Abebe, who teachers computer science, started at Lincoln Public Schools in 1995 and moved to Adams in 2019. Lincoln Northeast's Lazerek Houston poses for a photo during the 2025 Super State photoshoot at the Lincoln Journal Star on Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Lincoln.
Omaha Skutt's Molly Ladwig poses for a photo during the 2025 Super State photoshoot at the Lincoln Journal Star on Saturday, April 5, 2025, in Lincoln. Nebraska head coach Rhonda Revelle (from left) embraces player Natalia Hill at the top of the 6th inning next to Jordyn Bahl during the Creighton game on Wednesday at Bowlin Stadium. Zemi Wolfe records as she dumps water on her mother, Rudi Wolfe, on Saturday at Zeman Elementary School.
The school hosted a color run, picnic, splash towers and other family-friendly events with proceeds going to support the school's summer activities. Protesters with the American Federation of Government Employees union (AFGE) hold a rally outside of the Lincoln VA Clinc at on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Lincoln. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) local representing Department of Veterans Affairs employees at the Lincoln VA Clinic rallied Tuesday to stop the attacks on the federal workforce.
Cows graze in the fields below as Sandhill Cranes take flight at sunrise along the Platte River on Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Kearney. The Cranes eat corn from the grain fields and then sleep on the sandbars. The largest congregation of sandhill cranes occurs from February to early April along the Platte River in Nebraska.
Gretna East senior Sonora DeFini scores against Lincoln Southwest with a header during a high school soccer game on Monday, April 7, 2025, at Beechner Athletic Complex. Sen. Ashlei Spivey during debate on a bill that would return Nebraska to a winner-take-all presidential election system at the Capitol on Tuesday.
Halsey, a Great Horned Owl, looks through a kaleidoscope of mirrors on display on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at Indian Center Inc in Lincoln. Lincoln Southwest's Sole Jones (center) competes against other athletes in heat one of the girls 400m during a track and field invitational at Union Bank Stadium on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Lincoln. A bee covered in pollen buzzes from flower to flower on Sunday, April 6, 2025, at the Sunken Gardens in Lincoln.
Jarrek Renshaw, a lead mechanic, works on an engine in a testing area at Duncan Aviation on Wednesday. Duncan is expanding its engine overhaul facility, which will allow it to test engines for Canadian aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. University of Kansas students Remi Ward (left) and Jess Judd test out their concrete canoe Friday at Holmes Lake.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Engineering hosted a competition in which college students from across the region used their own concrete mixes to design and build canoes -- some more than 20 feet long and weighing more than 300 pounds. The canoes were tested for buoyancy and raced at Holmes Lakes. The event was part of the American Society of Civil Engineers' Mid-America Student Symposium hosted by UNL from Thursday through Saturday.
Rutgers’ Yomar Carreras (left) slides into home as Nebraska’s Will Jesske tags him out on Sunday at Haymarket Park. An early voter drops off her ballot at a drop box at the Lancaster County Election Commission Office, 601 N. 46th St.
, on Friday in Lincoln. The primary election is Tuesday. Sandhill Cranes excitedly dance with one another as they begin to stir along the sandbars on the Platte River the morning of Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Kearney.
Hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes have been converging on the Platte Basin for their annual migration to their northern breeding grounds. Every spring, as sandhill cranes are migrating to their breeding grounds, cranes without partners will start pairing up. During this time, the cranes perform dancing displays.
Although the dancing is most common in the breeding season, the cranes can dance all year long. Sometimes the dance involves wing-flapping, bowing, and jumping. Nebraska defensive line coach Terry Bradden talks to players during a team practice on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, at Hawks Championship Center.
Jacob Huebert, president of the Liberty Justice Center, argues at the Nebraska Supreme Court in a case over the city's ban on guns in public places on Thursday, April 3, 2025, at the Capitol. Gov. Jim Pillen (right) greets World War II veterans Clare Sward (from left) and Jay Cawley on Tuesday in Lincoln.
Lincoln Pius X's Tatum Heimes (from left) and Ana Patera look on as Gretna East's Lily Frederick (far right) celebrates a goal with teammate Madi Shelburne during a high school soccer game on Monday, March 31, 2025, in Lincoln. Contact the writer at [email protected] or 402-473-7226.
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