By DIDI TANG of the Tribune’s staff 

Published Sunday, January 27, 2002

City and county planning and zoning commissioners are enthusiastic about the possibilities of working together on land-use planning and co-hosting a public forum online.

But they also concluded during their second joint meeting yesterday that they need to know whether their governing bodies - the Columbia City Council and the Boone County Commission - would delegate that authority.

Bilateral land-use process would imply a sanction of a joint commission, city commission Chairman Jerry Wade said, warning his colleagues that the move could create "a political minefield."

However, citing the need for intergovernmental cooperation - especially between the city of Columbia and Boone County - on land-use policies in times of rapid growth, joint efforts of the two advisory boards are logical and reasonable, commissioners said.

"What has brought us together is the recognition of needs," county planning and zoning Commissioner Carl Freiling said.

The commissions met together on their own for the first time in December. After getting acquainted, they concluded that the two biggest planning bodies in the county need to communicate and cooperate on land-use issues, particularly in fringe areas.

When they reconvened yesterday, the commissioners unanimously agreed to set up an online chat room where commissioners and the public could debate planning and zoning matters. They also said they would like to start a joint planning process for the Gans Creek watershed south of Columbia if both the city council and the county commission agree.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is preparing to embark on a research project in the same watershed, and local governments are working on a storm-water ordinance for all area watersheds, city Planning Director Roy Dudark said, wondering if the commissioners’ efforts would complicate the process.

Given the likelihood of voluntary annexations in that watershed and the possibility that a development plan for the 500-acre Philips farm might come to the table some time this year, however, commissioners said a proactive approach to planning and zoning in the area is necessary.

"If we don’t do it, we’ll again be unhappy with the choices we’ll have," Freiling said.