Central Area Zoning and Design Guidelines
Columbia’s central area is a unique and diverse collection of neighborhoods surrounding Downtown and the Mizzou campus. The City seeks to define the future of development within their boundaries and create livable neighborhoods with distinctive and desirable community character.
Our planning consultant on this project is H3 Studio. They are currently analyzing neighborhood characteristics and gathering feedback from residents, with the aim to develop regulatory measures and guidelines for future development efforts that will protect the distinctive character of Central Columbia while also allowing for growth.
We invite you to share your experiences of Columbia’s central neighborhoods and your feedback, concerns, and ideas about the neighborhoods' future. Your input will be instrumental in developing a new plan and development guidelines to help guide and fulfill the future of this area.
Input will be gathered throughout the planning process. The kickoff meeting was held Dec. 14, 2023. (The video recording of this forum can be viewed at this link: https://www.como.gov/link/cauc
Public input meeting #1 was held March 6, 2024. Slides from this presentation are located on the right side of the page, under Documents. At the bottom of this page is a Survey with four visioning questions participants explored at this meeting, and that you may take as well.
Public input meeting #2 was held April 24, 2024. Additional input opportunities will be posted here as they are scheduled. We appreciate your feedback.
-
Share Comments on Facebook Share Comments on Twitter Share Comments on Linkedin Email Comments linkView All Ideas24 days ago
Survey Could Be Improved
The survey asked where I live, which is outside the project area. But it did not ask if I own property in the project area, which I do. So I answered the survey in reference to my property in the project area, not my home. I'm afraid my feedback will be minimized because it appears to refer to a different ward of the city, but it does not.
2 months ago
There is currently an imbalance in East Campus between student housing and long term residents. We need rules that preserve small bldgs.
about 1 month ago
Spread "density" throughout the city. Preserve the stock of small, affordable houses, allow for add-ons, remodels, ADUs, small parks.
Also, designate some areas for office and retail within residential areas instead of having to go to the peripheries to obtain these services.
8 days ago
Preservation of existing neighborhoods should be the number one priority. The use of multifamily and high density development Is incompatibl
2 months ago
Golden opportunity to foster mixed use development that creates a sense of community and livability.
The center city should be a space for PEOPLE not CARS. We can have the best of both worlds - a livable space for Columbia residents AND a financially resilient downtown. All we need to do is focus on a few things: 1. Mixed use development - deregulate zoning to include gentle housing density and low impact business in neighborhoods (cafe's, corner grocery stores, barber shops, small clothing stores). Single family neighborhoods should be up-zoned to include multi-family housing with no minimum lot requirement. We should be able to live in a neighborhood with houses, schools, offices, stores, shops, and restaurants. The idea of separating residential and commercial districts forces you to need a car to get from one zone to another. 2. Eliminate parking minimums in the central city - again, this is a space for people not cars. Value per acre goes down the more we hollow out our central city. Surface parking lots are subsidized by the adjacent businesses - huge waste of prime real estate. We should not allow so much public space for people's private property aka cars. Remove street parking on broadway and 9th street to allow for protected bikes lanes. 3. Multimodal transportation - provide infrastructure upgrades for walking, cycling, and public transportation. Sidewalks on each side of the street, protected bike lanes, and increased bus service routes & frequency.
