A 170-lot housing subdivision is on hold after the Seward City Council tabled approval of its preliminary plat at the March 1 meeting.
Residents who live along East Seward Street raised concerns about how the subdivision would increase traffic in their neighborhood. The council heard comments for more than an hour during a public hearing.
The subdivision was proposed by Bob Benes of Aspen Builders, based in Lincoln. It would occupy what is currently an open field east of Seward along Highway 34, near the Ridge Run and Valley View neighborhoods.
While no one from the public directly spoke against the housing plan, seven Seward residents spoke against how traffic would route through the area.
Those residents pushed for the council to create a plan to construct an additional road running north and south from Waverly Road to Highway 34 on the east side of town to alleviate congestion on East Seward Street and North Columbia Avenue – a problem they say already exists and would be exacerbated by the new development.
The council set a timeline of 30 days to collect input from residents in the area and come up with a temporary solution while working on a longer-term plan to reroute traffic.
Proposed subdivision
The subdivision, known as Prairie View, would be Benes’ second multi-lot housing project in Seward, following the 26-lot Shoal Creek addition in north Seward that began in 2018. Construction is wrapping up on its final home now.
Benes said the idea for another housing project was triggered by the number of phone calls he received from people wanting to move to Seward.
“I’ve had 10 calls from people wanting to move here or upgrade from their current home,” Benes told the council. “Of the 10, nine of those people grew up here. They want to come back to Seward, and there’s not a lot of options right now for housing. That’s the case all across the country – Lincoln, Omaha. It’s bad.”
The subdivision would contain around 170 lots designed for a variety of sizes and styles of homes. A few larger lots will open into a common green space at the rear of the property.
“We can incorporate all different types of homes in this neighborhood, from starter homes to $700,000 homes,” Benes said.
The subdivision would be constructed in seven phases, with each one annexed into the city limits along the way. Benes said he hopes to complete the 35 lots in Phase One yet this year.
The project would include extensive grading work to address drainage problems and would use an existing water detention cell in a neighboring subdivision.
A need for housing
Jonathan Jank, president and CEO of the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership, said Prairie View would help meet the need for additional housing in Seward to support workforce and business growth.
A 2019 housing study for Seward County showed the City of Seward would need 242 new housing units by 2024 in order to meet the demand for people moving into the community.
“This subdivision would help meet that,” Jank said, adding that homes with at least three bedrooms are the most needed for Seward’s workforce population.
Since the 2019 study, city building permit numbers show 130 new housing units have been completed, ranging from single-family homes to duplexes to apartments.
Jank shared letters of support from Seward’s four largest employers – Hughes Brothers, Tenneco, Concordia University and Petsource – articulating the need for more housing. When there’s no place for potential employees to live, it causes problems for these and other companies who are trying to hire.
“One local employer had to hire and spend significant money on contract workers because there is a shortage of housing in our county,” Jank said. “Hughes Brothers, Concordia and Tenneco pull from 20 counties to draw a full-time workforce.”
As Seward’s Rail Campus expands with new manufacturers and similar industries, additional employees will be vital – as will be additional housing.
Seward Mayor Josh Eickmeier said housing has been an issue in Seward for a long time.
“When I became mayor, I was told we were going to develop that property any day now. That was 12 years ago,” Eickmeier said. “I’m glad we finally saw some movement on that.”
The development would sit right along Highway 34, which Eickmeier said would give a good first impression of Seward as people drive into town from the east.
“It gives a sense that there are things happening in Seward,” he said.
Approved by Planning Commission
The city’s Planning Commission approved the preliminary plat Feb. 28, with two members voting no and the commission defeating a motion to table.
Planning Commission Chair Dr. Ron Wallman said the proposed subdivision is in line with the city’s comprehensive plan and that the area has been targeted for development for a long time.
“It does make sense for the City of Seward,” he said. “We all know we are a bedroom community, and it does offer that additional proximity to Lincoln.”
He said the commission was disappointed to see no townhomes or condominiums in the proposal because of high demand for those types of housing. It was pleased, however, to see such a large development.
“Over the years, one of the frustrations has been that, because of economies of scale, we see small developments,” Wallman said. “It’s hard to get a bigger picture.”
Wallman said the commission heard quite a few objections to the flow of traffic on East Seward Street, as traffic would route from the subdivision west onto East Seward or south onto Highway 34.
Wallman said there will be time for the city to address the traffic concerns before the volume of vehicles increases. Benes said homes likely wouldn’t be inhabited until next summer.
“It’s not like tomorrow there’s going to be 171 houses happening in a day,” he said. “We need discussion involving all stakeholders to find a solution. North to south traffic in Seward is a problem, but this development is not that problem. Not doing it doesn’t solve the Columbia street problem. We need another route from north Seward out to Highway 34.”
Paving and drainage
City Administrator Greg Butcher said the city will complete two additional projects in that area, whether the subdivision is approved or not.
The first is paving East Seward Street from the end of the concrete at the city limits all the way to Highway 34. This will be done through an interlocal agreement with the county to share the cost. It also will include lighting to enhance safety along the road and at the intersection with the highway.
The second project will address the city’s drainage system in that area.
“The drainage system is currently undersized and is starting to fail,” Butcher said. “We will continue to do that because that was our plan,” regardless of the subdivision.
The projects will affect traffic for those living along Evergreen Drive and in the Valley View neighborhood.
“We won’t do them at the same time,” Butcher said. “It has to be phased, otherwise we’ll trap those people in.”
Those projects are expected to be let out for bids at the council’s March 15 meeting.
Traffic concerns
Those who spoke against approving the plat all spoke with a common theme: that traffic from 170 new homes would wreak havoc on Seward Street.
Marcia Karel, who has lived on East Seward Street for 35 years, said she doesn’t have a problem with the development itself, just the traffic it would generate.
“We’ve already been dealing with issues of speed and congestion from Ridge Run and the dog park,” she said.
Karel shared an average traffic count of 600 vehicles per day going up or down East Seward at the North Columbia intersection. She said the number of vehicles entering or exiting North Columbia is around 6,000 per day, though she didn’t cite a source for those numbers.
“There needs to be a way to divert a lot of this traffic over to 34 so there’s a better flow,” Karel said. “There does need to be a road that goes to the north of town. It isn’t just about us wanting to preserve our historic area. This is about safety of the area. I would hate to see a major accident.”
Jan Matzke, who lives at the corner of North Columbia and East Seward, said the congestion on those roads is near the hospital, which generates additional traffic.
She suggested the city close the west exit of the roundabout at the bottom of the East Seward Street hill to help divert traffic to the highway until a new north-south road is built.
“The high school, the ball fields, the proposed wellness center, it’s all north,” Matzke said. “Working with the county is very important, and you have to do this north-south.”
Joe Mazurek, a 28-year resident of East Seward Street, said the residents encourage growth for Seward. Their concerns center on the traffic.
“Our little street is only a residential street, but it’s being treated more as a commercial street,” Mazurek said. “Semis, concrete trucks, you name it, we’ve got it going down that street, even without this project.”
East Seward Street is classified with the state as a “collector” street, which serves as a go-between to move traffic from low-capacity residential streets to high-capacity arterial roads. It was given that designation years ago to get state funding for a paving project. That is, in part, what draws the heavy truck traffic.
“This was a piece of conversation when (Bob) Elwell was mayor. In 28 years, not much has happened,” Mazurek said. “This new development may solve the problem finally because somebody’s going to pay attention to it. We don’t want this problem to continue another 20 years.”
Potential solutions
Councilmember Ellen Beck asked residents how the council could help them in the next few weeks, as building a new north-south road would take time.
“It seems fair to the people living on East Seward Street to do some sort of mitigation here, then look at more long-term,” Beck said.
Residents and city staff suggested several ideas to alleviate traffic volume in the short term. Those included redesignating the street as residential, posting “no trucks” signs, lowering the speed limit or installing speed bumps, closing Seward Street at the bottom of the hill to create a “no outlet” situation, or closing either the inbound or outbound lane of the roundabout.
Councilmember Alyssa Hendrix said she thought the city could find a solution that’s a win-win for all involved, including residents and the developer.
“We can’t grow if we don’t have the proper flow,” Hendrix said. “We need to get that ball going faster than this development.”
Eickmeier said it would take years to secure funding and build a new road.
“I think there are some things we can do to alleviate the problems those people are currently experiencing,” he said.
Councilmember Sid Kamprath said this was the largest proposed development he remembers in Seward.
“I’m a little concerned about the density of it. I would like to see less lots. I have concerns about the drainage of it,” he said. “But my biggest concerns are about the traffic.”
Kamprath moved to table consideration of the preliminary plat for 45 days and task the city administrator with organizing the county, state, city officials and residents to discuss a solution to the traffic problem.
“I want some sort of pressure on ourselves, to know there are other plans in the works – not completed, not finalized, but at least rolling,” Kamprath said.
Benes said he didn’t feel the traffic problem was because of his proposal and he would do what he could to divert construction traffic away from existing neighborhoods.
“The problem with your street, it was here. I didn’t create it. I don’t think I can solve it. I don’t think I should be penalized for that,” Benes said. “If there are things I can do to help, I will.”
Butcher said he thought a temporary solution could be found before the next council meeting, and Kamprath amended his motion to table for 30 days instead of 45.
The motion passed on a 6-2 vote, with Councilmembers Jonathon Wilken and Karl Miller voting against.
