Planning and Zoning Commission approves east Columbia subdivision

Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday approved the new Brooks subdivision off Route WW, potentially paving the way for hundreds of new homes.

The commission recommended the city annex more than 160 acres of land off Route WW near the Elks Lodge.

Developers plan to build 390 homes off the road if the council approves it.

The development would connect Route WW to Rolling Hills Road with a new street, Hoylake Drive, with several roads stemming from it.

East Columbia’s new neighborhoods aren’t done growing. Several more homes are slated for places like Old Hawthorne and The Vineyards.

A recent traffic study from MoDOT counted 11,000 cars on Route WW in a 12-hour period. Tim Crockett, the engineer working on the Brooks, said they will pitch in more than $500,000 to improve the road. That includes turn lanes, a traffic signal from the Brooks and the Elks Lodge and wider shoulders for Route WW.

Pam Pearn, with the El Chaparral Neighborhood Association, said she hopes the city keeps a close eye on traffic as this is built.

“Forty-five miles an hour, got some hills, got some curves, kind of hard to see,” Pearn said of Route WW. “We’ve had some close calls as the Boone County Fire Department across the street can attest to.”

The Columbia Fire Department has said it wants to build a station on the east side of town as it grows.

Boone County has a fire station that would be right next to the Brooks subdivision.

City staffers said a mutual aid agreement between the city and county would come into play here, meaning county fire crews would most likely respond first.