LINCOLN- On Wednesday, the first steps necessary to build a new prison in northeast Lincoln were approved with little drama. The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the approval of zoning, annexation, and three other administrative changes on city-owned land in northeast Lincoln.

The Lincoln City Council is scheduled to hear those proposals on April 15, as well as one seeking to initiate a land swap agreement with the state. The low-key hearing held to approve these changes was a stark contrast to last summer's announcement by state officials that they'd bought roughly 305 acres of land in northeast Lincoln to build a prison.

The announcement caught city officials by surprise, and even sparked intense backlash by residents living in the area. The land where the prison is to be built currently houses a windmill, which LES will remove under the agreement. A holding lagoon for in-ground liquid biosolids, which was built in the 1980s, also rests on the land.

For the full article click HERE