The Department of Economic Development would like to add a point of clarity about the creation of an Airport Business Park in Omaha. Per program guidelines, the Airport Business Park Program does not allow displacement.
In October 2022, the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) published its “Airport Business Park Program Manual” to provide written standards for the applicable use of program funds. The manual is available on DED’s website at https://opportunity.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Program-Manual_Business-Park-10-27-22.pdf. Page 9 of that document clearly states, “Proposals for projects with sites that are not vacant at time of application will not be considered. A property will be considered vacant if no persons would be displaced as defined by Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (URA) as a result of the project.” The program manual then specifically defines who is considered a displaced person under URA.
Likewise, DED’s program manuals for the QCT Affordable Housing Programs do not allow for displacement. The relevant written guidelines can be found on page 6 of each of the following documents:
As an agency, DED appreciates the role of the media in providing accurate information to Nebraskans. Again, for clarity we wanted to refer to the guidelines of the programs referenced above.