BLAIR, NEBRASKA (2025 January 8, Wednesday)
Don Harrold, Writer / Editor
editor@blairtoday.com – Facebook
Would you like to see Blair’s vacant buildings, some empty for decade or more, be filled or cleaned up? Each empty building makes neighboring properties less viable for business. And, in general, are not a positive for our community. The reasons for vacant property in Blair are varied, but there is a singular solution the City Council can wield to either force property owners to lower rent – and get the buildings occupied, or clean up a building that remains empty.
Nebraska’s LB256, passed in 2018, gives municipalities tools to address this decline. State Treasurer Tom Briese, who authored the law as a senator, explained to us in email: “The law is worded in such a way as to motivate people to action, and to encourage occupancy or sale.” While originally focused on housing, Briese notes “it might be a good tool for Blair, if it is facing downtown vacancy as you describe.”
Omaha pioneered municipal action in 2016, registering 271 properties in six months. Property owners paid $500 every 50 days until addressing safety concerns and maintenance issues.
Smaller communities followed. Dorchester became Nebraska’s first village to implement LB256 in 2019. In Grant, where vacant properties topped community concerns, City Councilman Dr. Samuel Sims explains: “Vacant properties hurt the town, hurt our neighbors, and stick taxpayers with the bill. We don’t want to make any money from fees. We want vacant properties to be occupied.”
Tarrytown focused specifically on their main commercial street. “We’re so landlocked here that we can’t expand,” explains their administrator. “So we have to utilize the business area we do have.” They implemented a three-step notification process, followed by liens if necessary.
Under LB256, Blair could:
- Register properties vacant over 180 days
- Charge initial $1,000 commercial property fees
- Double fees every six months
- Require improvement plans
- Place liens for non-compliance
- Inspect properties annually
The law protects property owners through exemptions for:
- Buildings actively marketed for sale/lease
- Properties under renovation
- Storm-damaged buildings
- Properties in legal proceedings
Communities report about 25% of properties come off registries within the first year. Bobbi Pettit of Five Rule Planning, who administers programs across Nebraska, says most towns end up with single-digit vacancy counts after initial enforcement.
“Every vacant space downtown makes it less attractive for someone to move in next door,” notes one Blair resident. “From the inside out, that’s going to have a negative effect on this town if we don’t all start thinking positively about solutions.”
For Blair’s downtown, LB256 offers tested tools to transform vacant buildings from liabilities into opportunities. The framework exists. The precedent exists. Other Nebraska communities are seeing results.