Approval for lowered property valuation in Douglas County gives others with tornado damage hope

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - On Tuesday, the Douglas County Commissioners unanimously approved setting Waterloo resident Kelli Armstrong’s three-acre land valuation to $0.

“I’m very pleased and encouraged by that, and I am very thankful that they saw what we were trying to express in not having any value in the property at this time,” Armstrong said.

One of the April tornadoes hit her home on West Dodge Road.

She wants to rebuild her house and other structures, but the city has told her she can’t do that because it’s in a floodway.

She told the county board Tuesday that has left her unable to do anything with the land, and that it’s too unmarketable to sell.

“Nobody can build a home on it,” she said. “We’ve offered to bring it up to flood code.”

With the board’s decision on Tuesday, she said she at least can work with the city to try and rezone it while not having to worry about paying property taxes.

Her next steps are waiting to see what the Omaha Planning Department says.

“They’re going to generate more tax revenue from us as property owners if they allow us to repair the properties that have been damaged.”

Other tornado-impacted rural residents who are within the three-mile buffer zone of Omaha’s jurisdiction were also at Tuesday’s hearing, including Dennis Pitzl, who said the board’s decision gives him hope.

“I think they’re willing to listen,” Pitzl said. “I don’t know how we can make a judgement out of it though. What can they do over the city? Can they take that three-mile buffer back to the county and say, ‘we want that control?’”

He and his wife, Gail, want to rebuild five of the eight structures destroyed on his land.

“In order to even ask for a permit, I have to get an engineered design of every building,” he said. “And that’s where my concerns came because it doesn’t guarantee me a permit. It just means I get to ask. Those costs for those engineered plans are very high.”

At this point, he said it would cost $30,000.

“Ultimately, I’d like to see them make the city rescind on some of their rules because their rules are what is causing everyone the problem.”

6 News asked the Omaha Planning Department for comment but has not heard back.

County clerk Daniel Esch said the board’s move to set Armstrong’s land valuation to $0 is a rare.

The Douglas County Assessor’s office said it’s not likely to appeal the board’s decision on Armstrong’s property valuation because it’s a unique circumstance.

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