City, Boone County officials eye development in west Columbia

The City of Columbia and Boone County Planning and Zoning Commission members discussed expanding the 26 square mile West Area Plan during a meeting at City Hall on Thursday.

The current West Area Plan includes new developments to a portion of land north of West Gillespie Bridge Road and west of Scott Boulevard.

Officials said the city and county will be expanding the plans in order to get ahead of possible issues.

"The expansion to take in about a half-mile on either side of the roads that define the edges of the study area will help us to ensure that we're capturing the development in that half-mile have on the road corridors themselves," said Pat Zenner, the City of Columbia development services manager.

According to official reports, staff from both the city and county will be doing the "heavy-lifting" of the research, writing, challenges and opportunities that the proposed study area represents.

"This is a plan, so we don't have a plan ready to roll out, it's going to develop over time so it's got to have that flexibility," said Thaddeus Yonke, the Boone County Resource Management Planning Division senior manager.

Official reports say the are plan process is anticipated to extend for a period of 18 months due to limits on staffing resources.

Both the city and the county said they're trying to get ahead of things like sewer problems road problems, stormwater and environmental issues.

"We're trying to get in front of it rather than react to it, its cheaper and more efficient this way," said Michael MacMann, from the City of Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission.

According to our previous reporting, the commission unanimously approved development on Oct. 30, saying it had no choice but to do so.

The commission voted in July to approve to rezoning request of the land and required the developer to come up with a review plan for their consideration. The county's Planning and Zoning Commission approved that plan, making the commission's role "ministerial" in approving it, county counselor C.J. Dykhouse said.

A 17-acre Perche Ridge subdivision will be built just north of West Gillespie Bridge Road and Coats Lane. Residents in the area have said they worry about increased traffic and worsened flooding in the area by Perche Creek if the development is built.