On June 24-26, the City of Columbia hosted the Plan Columbia Workshop to gather input to help shape how the city grows and develops in the future. The two-part workshop was the first public event for Columbia in the Plan Together process which has the city and Richland County each updating their respective comprehensive plans.
On June 24, over 150 participants worked in small groups to identify and discuss strong and weak places in Columbia and what can be learned from those places. They then rated and helped to refine draft principles – value statements that describe where and how the city should grow in the future. The second workshop on June 26 shared what we learned from Part 1 and introduced the Plan’s Framework. Drafts of two products that will serve as a foundation for the City’s future land use map were shown; 1) Development types that depict neighborhoods, districts, centers, corridors that may be appropriate in Columbia, and 2) a Framework Map that depicts where these types might be located in Columbia. Participants were asked to review and help to refine the Framework. Between the two events, nearly 60 citizens came to share their opinions and see work in progress during the drop-in hours on June 25.
The next public events for Columbia’s plan will be scheduled for late summer.
