Clearing the Decks for More Effective Housing Development: Local Government Edition
Sheri Alber • July 18, 2025
Clearing the Decks for More Effective Housing Development: Local Government Edition
Discover how Nebraska communities are reimagining housing development in the latest HomeNE Webinar, featuring expert insights from Chad Nabity, Grand Island’s Community Development Director. This session explores innovative zoning reforms, cost-saving infrastructure strategies, and powerful tools like MicroTIF and housing studies that help small towns unlock new housing opportunities. Whether you're a planner, policymaker, or community advocate, this webinar delivers actionable ideas for creating affordable, diverse, and sustainable housing. Tune in to see how collaboration and smart regulation are reshaping the future of Nebraska neighborhoods.
Discover how the City of Central City is transforming housing through an innovative Vacant Property Registry program that tackles blight and boosts community revitalization. In this engaging HomeNE webinar, Michelle Kohl, shares real-world strategies for managing vacant homes.
The 80th HomeNE Learning Network featured Jean Van Iperen, who discussed Columbus, Nebraska’s housing challenges and the city’s proactive strategies to address them. Jean highlighted the city’s 7% population growth and a shortage over 4 years of 387 homes, prompting efforts like zoning reform, streamlined permitting, and investment in new developments, including a 238-unit apartment complex. The city is also planning a new housing study, exploring affordable housing options, and considering mixed-use projects to meet evolving community needs. Participants were encouraged to revisit past webinars for insights and to attend the upcoming session on June 19th featuring Michelle Cole. The session emphasized the value of small takeaways from presentations and invited community members to share their stories for future webinars.
What comes after a successful housing project? Megan Weaver of Wakefield Progressive joins us to talk through the "after". Wakefield has had a number of successful housing initiatives over the past 12 years, but what is next? Megan is asking the question in hopes that the HomeNE Learning Network can give her a hand.
