Columbia kicks off downtown strategic plan process — what to know

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The city of Columbia has launched the Downtown Columbia Strategic Plan and Design Guidelines planning process.

Through this effort, the city’s Planning and Development Services Department and a consultant team will work with the Columbia community to discern a refreshed vision for the quality of the built environment downtown, according to a news release.

This new strategic master plan for Downtown Columbia will, the release stated:

• Create a community-driven vision for the public character of downtown;
• Establish priorities for public policy and public investment in the Downtown built environment;
• Protect the unique character and assets of the historic urban core; and
• Form the basis for Downtown Design Guidelines to help shape great public spaces.

Here’s how to engage:

• Take the city’s online survey (available through the end of April) by clicking here.
• Attend a mobile workshop. Mobile workshops are a drop-in format, and provide an opportunity to engage directly with city staff. Tuesday, April 23, 11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.; Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Senate Room, 1101 Lincoln St.; Tuesday, April 23, 4-6:30 PM, Arsenal Hill Center, 1800 Lincoln St.

Learn more via the project website by clicking here.

About the planning process

The Downtown Columbia Strategic Plan and Design Guidelines process will take approximately 10 months to complete. The initial phase includes opportunities for public and stakeholder-targeted engagement, and will help inform the development of draft guidelines and plan documents. The deliverables, an area plan and design guidelines, will be presented to the public for additional feedback and final drafts will be forwarded to City Council for adoption.

It has been 25 years since the adoption of the City Center Master Plan and more than 15 years since the adoption of the Innovista Master Plan, according to the release. In the years since these plans were adopted, much has changed: major infrastructure projects have been completed or are underway, thousands of housing units have been built, the city adopted a new Unified Development Ordinance and Comprehensive Plan (Columbia Compass), the Covid-19 pandemic has shifted the way people use downtowns, and lastly, transportation trends have created new shared and electric alternatives.