Omaha City Council Meeting – September 24, 2025: Cannabis Zoning and Unauthorized Encampments Ordinance
Omaha City Council Meeting – September 24, 2025
The Omaha City Council convened at 2:17 PM on September 24, 2025, and adjourned at 6:35 PM. The meeting included a proclamation, numerous liquor license approvals, a property tax resolution, planning items, an ordinance for medical cannabis zoning, and a lengthy public hearing on a proposed ordinance to criminalize unauthorized encampments on public property (Item 50). The council took final votes on several items but only held a public hearing on the encampment ordinance, with no vote taken at this meeting.
Consent Calendar
- Proclamation: September 2025 declared Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Councilmember Ron Hug and Harold (prostate cancer survivor) shared personal testimonials.
- Item 6: Resolution approving City of Omaha 2026 property tax requests – passed 7-0.
- Items 7-15, 16-17: Various liquor license approvals and plat approvals – all passed 7-0, with some items laid over to September 30, 2025.
- Consent Agenda (Items 18-23, 24-44): Approved 7-0 without discussion.
- Items 45-48: Ordinances for trash service, storm sewer maintenance, crime commission grant, and interlocal 911 agreement – public hearings closed, no votes recorded (presumably approved by consent).
Public Comments & Testimony on Item 50 (Unauthorized Encampments Ordinance)
Proponents:
- Gerald Johnson (1753 V Street) supported the ordinance, citing safety concerns and calling for action; suggested involuntary confinement in medical facilities.
- Jeremy Welsh (Douglas County Sheriff’s Office) read a statement from Sheriff Aaron Hanson supporting the ban, noting 121 calls to encampments in the last year, and describing encampments as dangerous for residents and the public.
- Jim Winston (840 N 44th St) supported the ordinance as a step forward but urged public education on available benefits.
- Mary Joe Rice (4123 N 25th Ave) supported the ordinance but questioned long-term solutions beyond jail.
Opponents (dozens of speakers, key points summarized):
- Nicole Engels (former city planner) argued the ordinance is not evidence-based and that the city has underfunded permanent supportive housing.
- Isaiah Holliday (2235 St. Mary’s Ave) called the ordinance inhumane and urged support for the mayor’s pilot project.
- Dr. Aaron Feitinger (Women’s Fund of Omaha) noted the disparate impact on women, especially Black women, and cited eviction data.
- Jessica Vandercoy (NASW) opposed the misuse of law enforcement; proposed three test questions for policy.
- Eileen Brady (Community Alliance) stated the ordinance would increase costs and barriers to housing.
- Chris Kenoff (Stevens Center) reported that shelters are at or near capacity (turned away 3,100 individuals this year) and argued the ordinance would lead to jail instead of shelter.
- Many speakers with lived experience (e.g., Rosa Crankelberg, Anetta Bradardi, Teresa Moore) shared personal stories of homelessness and called for compassion, not criminalization.
- Multiple providers (Together, Open Door Mission, VA, Heal Omaha) offered data showing housing-first approaches are more effective and cost less than incarceration.
Discussion Items
Item 49 – Medical Cannabis Zoning Ordinance:
- Presented by City Law Department (Mr. Kuzi, Mr. Groman, Mr. England). The ordinance creates a new chapter in the municipal code to regulate locations of cannabis establishments under state law. Four use types: dispensaries (general retail), cultivators (commercial farm/light industry), product manufacturers (light industry), transporters (warehousing). Zoning restricted to office, commercial, and industrial districts. The ordinance is interim (90 days, extendable) pending permanent state rules. Councilmember Festerson asked about the emergency regulations limiting dispensaries to one per judicial district; staff confirmed the zoning is flexible to accommodate state changes.
Item 50 – Unauthorized Encampments Ordinance:
- Introduction by Mr. Kuzi and Mr. Vandenbosch (Law Department). The ordinance prohibits occupying or maintaining encampments on public property. Penalties up to $300 fine or 30 days in jail. Before citation, individuals must be offered a shelter option. Property removal requires 24-hour notice and 30-day retention. The ordinance is intended to be constitutional, following the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision.
- Councilmember Festerson stated he does not support the ordinance, citing impractical enforcement and likely jail outcomes.
- Councilmember Goodwin announced opposition, emphasizing need for urgency and compassion and supporting the mayor’s new plan.
- Councilmember Rowe thanked Councilmember Harding for sparking conversation and questioned Threshold COC’s Jason Feldhouse about a proposed pilot plan. Feldhouse committed to a 7–10 day notice, expanded outreach, and collaborative effort.
- Councilmember Hug emphasized the importance of on-call after-hours response.
- Councilmember Harding defended his intentions, noting personal experience with homelessness in his family, the need for jail time to allow public defender representation, and the flexibility of fines. He expressed willingness to work with the mayor and providers.
- Councilmember Melton criticized personal attacks on Harding, shared her family’s story of a twin with schizophrenia who died homeless, and called for more discussion and collaboration with the mayor’s office.
- Council President Begley noted the complexity of the issue, thanked the mayor for assembling a collaborative team, and expressed hope for progress.
Key Outcomes
- Votes taken: All liquor licenses, property tax resolution, plat approvals, consent agenda items passed 7-0.
- Item 49 (Cannabis): Public hearing closed; no vote taken at this meeting.
- Item 50 (Encampments): Public hearing closed; no vote taken. Council members indicated they would vote no if it came to a vote (Festerson, Goodwin, Hug) but Harding and Melton wanted further discussion. The ordinance is expected to appear on a future agenda for a vote.
- Next steps: The council will continue discussion on the encampment ordinance, with potential layover to allow collaboration with the mayor’s office and service providers. The cannabis ordinance will be placed on a future agenda for public hearing and vote.
Meeting Transcript
Hug, Melton. Mr. President. Here. Please stand for the Pledge Allegiance and remain standing for opening remarks by Councilmember Ron Hug. Be seated. Those of you that don't know me, let me assure you that I can talk for hours about nothing. But what's more important is today we're here to listen to what you have to say. So I'm going to forego any further comments, Mr. President. Thank you. An affidavit of publication is on file, and a current copy of the Open Meeting Act is posted in a White Binder on the East Wall of Legislative Chambers. Good afternoon. We welcome you to this meeting of the Omaha City Council today as a courtesy to those in attendance and to facilitate and conduct our business. We ask you please silence, turn them off, get those cell phones turned off, please. Thank you. Reminder that you will have three minutes to speak on an agenda item. Please stay on topic. If we would like your comments enter into the public record, you can email our city clerk at Cityclerk at City of Omaha.org. The council members receive these emails and we read them. Finally, I ask the council members, um, let's see, council members may ask members of the audience back up for clarifying questions, but not for extra time to speak. And I would remind council members and people that are going to come up to the microphone, make sure your microphones are up to your to your mouth so people out in the audience, but also in public listening at home can hear you. Thank you, Mr. President. Harold, if you would come up to the dais while I read this, please. The proclamation reads as follows. Whereas prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men, and whereas this year, approximately 313, 780 men will be will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in the United States alone. I'll take a quick pause there to say I think last year it was 148. Yeah, that's right. So we we broke it by one. By one. I might have been the one. I had mine. You were the guy. Yeah. And whereas, as all men are at risk for prostate cancer, we encourage the citizens of Omaha and all Nebraskans to increase the awareness of the and the importance of prostate screenings. Now, therefore, we, the City Council of the City of Omaha, do hereby proclaim the month of September 2025 as prostate cancer awareness month in the City of Omaha. In witness whereof we have set our hands and cause the official seal of the City of Omaha to be affixed on this 23rd day of September 2025. And before I hand it over to Harold, I'll I'll just uh for my own testimonial, I guess. You might remember all the members of this council. Um I uh announced that I had my uh prostatectomy exactly it's been a year and two days ago now, and had it not been for uh a PSA screening, I would not have caught it. And it's uh truly a treatable form of cancer. I've uh been clear every test since, so we think we got it all, and it's important to get the test done because it is treatable with early detection. So I met Harold last weekend at the cruising for a cure. I've been wanting to get involved with the organization because they are all about making sure that we know about this treatable form of cancer and early detection is vitally important. So I wanted to read the proclamation and give you a couple of words to say as well, Harold. Yeah. So I had mine in uh 2010, and thank goodness I had caught mine early, even though my Gleason score was extremely high and aggressive, but uh mine is basically cured because of early detection. But if I had waited a year or two later, mine would have uh left my prostate, and I'd probably be dead now. Uh I don't know if anybody remembers David Jacobson from Q-Tac Rock.
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