City of Wahoo

Over the past several months a committee comprised of Planning Commission members, City Council members, and City Staff have been working on development of Design Standards for development and construction along the transportation corridors of Wahoo. The committee was tasked with this responsibility by the City Council for two reasons:  1) in the 2017 Comprehensive Plan there was repeated need expressed for this to be completed, and 2) to protect the investment in the Chestnut Street, 1st Street, and the Expressway improvements that have been and are being completed. The corridors included in the areas where these standards are proposed for implementation include (see DRAFT map below):

• Hwy 77/92 Expressway located within City of Wahoo Zoning Jurisdiction
• Chestnut Street from the UP RR Crossing (2 blocks south of 1st Street) to the intersection with Hwy 77/92 Expressway
• 1st Street from Chestnut Street west to the intersection with Hwy 77/92 Expressway
• 15th Street from Chestnut Street west to the intersection with Hwy 77/92 Expressway

The draft is now available for public review and can be seen by clicking on the links below. In the development of these standards there was much conversation about the importance of creating something that would accomplish the goals as stated above, but which would be flexible in use. The result is a set of standards that provide options to the developer/owner making improvements to chose from. There is a desired "score" that must be met for a project to be approved, but there is flexibility in how that score can be achieved. So if a project does not have (for example only) proposed materials for the exterior that score the project points, other options such as landscaping, color of exterior finishes, etc., can be used to meet the desired score. 

The Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing on these proposed standards on May 2, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. The City Council will be holding a public meeting at their meeting on May 23, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. In addition to these public hearing opportunities, comments either in favor or opposing the proposed standards can be submitted in writing for consideration by either dropping the written comments at City Hall or by email to morrow@wahoo.ne.us. We look forward to your comments.

DRAFT - Design Standards Document
DRAFT - Design Standards Transportation Corridors Map
SAMPLE - Scorecard for Sample Project

In June 2018, M.E. Collins Contracting met with the property owners along the Chestnut Street Corridor. At that meeting, a preliminary schedule was shared with property owners. This can be reviewed by clicking on this link. Please keep in mind this is preliminary and subject to change due to weather and necessary accomdations. Any further questions on the schedule should be directed to City Hall at 402-443-3222.