UPDATE: East Columbia subdivision approved, despite traffic concern
UPDATE, 8:00 p.m.: The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved the preliminary plat for the Coliseum, a 43-lot subdivision on St. Charles Road.
Judy Barnes, a resident on Norwich Drive, said she had several concerns with how the neighborhood would affect traffic. City staff claimed the expected traffic from the neighborhood wouldn’t call for any major improvements to St. Charles Road. Some of the land would be set aside for a potential widening of the road, according to the plan, but the city’s Capital Improvement Plan doe snot list widening St. Charles Road as future project.
“For safety issues, they would almost have to widen sooner than five years, as far as I’m concerned,” Barnes told ABC 17 News.
The Columbia City Council will have final approval on the project. A vote is expected sometime this summer.
ORIGINAL: Developers are looking for approval from Columbia’s Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night.
SBSR II Properties want to build a 43-lot subdivision called The Coliseum off St. Charles Road in east Columbia. The real estate venture is a first for the partnership of Scott Broadius, a former co-owner of AdKarma and Shan Rich, a local developer with Enrich Construction.
ABC 17 News reported in January when the city’s Department of Community Development held an open forum to discuss the plan. Many residents living along St. Charles Road were concerned how the dozens of new homes would affect traffic. The road right now, spanning from Highway 63 to the Lake of the Woods exit of Interstate 70, is a two-lane road with no sidewalks or bicycle lanes.
Notes from city staff point out the development will be in the same area as a possible extension of Ballenger Lane heading southwards. The preliminary design of the neighborhood shows Ballenger Lane connecting with St. Charles Road just west of The Coliseum by a roundabout.
