The city of Omaha could soon grow by 6,353 residents.
An open house Wednesday in Omaha gives residents in eight Sanitary Improvement Districts to be annexed a chance to ask questions and find out what services might change. The SIDs are Lakeview Heights, Pepperwood, The Colonies, Seven Pines, Walnut Lake, Standing Bear, Hillsborough Plaza, and Pegasus.
Gary Hall, manager of comprehensive planning for the city, says there's a process used by all departments to determine whether an SID will be annexed. “The order is we look at the SID financing first, boil those down to the best alternatives, and then we look at the costs of providing public goods and services, and all the departments are involved in this, we narrow the list further.”
Planning Director Rick Cunningham says it's normal process when Sanitary Improvement Districts are created that eventually they'll become part of the city. But he says annexation can be difficult for the city to afford.
The open house begins at 6pm Wednesday at Burke High School. The Omaha City Council is set to vote July 17 on the annexation.