Council to explore joint zoning with county

As Columbia continues to sprawl into rural Boone County, friction is bound to occur between city and county governments.

Officials of the city, which has annexed 10 square miles during the past four years, and county are considering a closer working relationship to better coordinate zoning on adjoining properties.

Last night, members of the Columbia City Council expressed interest in directing the planning staff to move forward with working with county planners, but only after drafting a list of goals and activities the staff will be pursuing. The council also asked the staff to compile a list of specific planning-related issues that the city and county need to resolve.

"It’s an excellent idea to get the city and county boards working together," said Fourth Ward Councilman Jim Loveless. "The first thing I’d like to see is a study of the Little Bonne Femme watershed," which is affected by the flow of water through the Philips farm property.

A plan to develop the 489-acre Philips tract between Gans and Clear creeks drew criticism Saturday because of the environmentally sensitive nature of the location.

When the city annexes land, it generally assumes the existing county zoning is suitable, Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission Chair Jerry Wade wrote in a June 5 letter to the council. And when the county reviews rezoning requests, it’s often a result of pre-annexation agreements with the city, Wade wrote.

"What often results is flawed decision-making processes and the consequence that these decisions may not serve the best interests of ... the community as a whole," Wade wrote in his letter, which favors city-county cooperation on planning for the "urban fringe."

While Wade stopped short of proposing a combined zoning panel for both governments, he did say that by having both boards meet together, sewer and transportation projects could be better planned.

Most council members said last night it was a good idea to have staff members identify specific cases where joint talks would be beneficial.

But the city council, rather than city employees, should be the driving force on the municipal side of planning for the urban fringe, said Second Ward Councilman Chris Janku.

"We’re the decision makers," Janku said. "We don’t want them to set policies."

In other business, Sarah Lang of the Fairview Neighborhood Association spoke out during a period for public comment against a proposal to extend Cunningham Road through the center of the 92-acre Russell property, which the city is planning to develop as a park.

Three options for park development were presented to the council in a preliminary plan from the Parks and Recreation Department. Plans for a road through the Russell property are opposed by the Fairview group, as well as two other neighborhood associations, Lang said.

Lang said the road would divide the land in half and change the character of their neighborhood. She said that while neighbors have continued to oppose the idea of putting a major thoroughfare through the park, City Manager Ray Beck wants the road as part of the city’s transportation plan.

In other business, the council authorized city staff to pursue purchase of three sites for new fire stations in the vicinity of Interstate 70 and Stadium Boulevard, Blue Ridge Road in northeast Columbia and a third proposed station in the Keene Street area.

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Reach Dave Moore at (573) 815-1708 or dmoore@tribmail.com