LINCOLN- The Lincoln City Council approved a 10-year update to its comprehensive plan — a document that guides the city’s land use to 2050 — but made clear members see it as a “living plan” that can be updated or modified.

“This is a plan,” said Councilman Bennie Shobe. “It’s always changeable if we have new information. It’s kind of written in sandstone, not real stone.”

Several developers, or those representing them, testified about policies related to the Salt Creek flood plain resiliency study, an extensive study of flood plain management of the Salt Creek basin.

Developers are concerned that changes in floodplain policies could negatively impact future or existing development and result in increased housing costs.

City Planner David Cary told the council the resiliency study was not part of the comprehensive plan. The planning department will be part of a collaborative effort to review the study and what changes should result from it, he said.

Several council members said they appreciated the efforts to get input from the community on the plan.

The council unanimously approved the comprehensive plan — called Plan Forward 2050. It is largely a land-use document but also includes sections focusing on early child care and education.

The document is based on a few assumptions: That over the next 30 years Lincoln will need 48,000 new housing units to handle city growth; that 25% of Lincoln’s households will be built inside existing city limits; new growth will require 7 square miles of new land; and that Lincoln’s population will get older and more diverse.

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