City grappling with third neighborhood zoning overlay plan

The North Central Columbia Neighborhood Association’s proposed development ordinance is the third neighborhood overlay district plan presented to the city, but it’s by far the most ambitious and controversial.

An overlay district lets neighborhood groups add a layer of regulation to the restrictions that zoning rules impose on development.

The city passed an ordinance in 1995 allowing the use of overlays to make building rules that encourage the “conservation and enhancement of an urban environment.” To be enacted, an overlay must have the support of at least 50 percent of the property owners within its territory and be approved by the City Council.

The two existing overlay districts are Benton-Stephens and East Campus. Benton-Stephens is bounded on the west by Old Highway 63, on the south by Walnut Street, on the east by College Avenue and on the north by the COLT Railroad. East Campus is, roughly, bounded on the west by Old Highway 63, on the south by Stadium Boulevard, on the east by College Avenue and on the north by Bass Avenue and Boone Hospital Center.

The two districts regulate development though written restrictions, but North Central’s proposal includes a design review board that would receive development plans and building permit applications and make recommendations to city officials.

“The design review board is the major difference,” said Chuck Bondra, a senior planner with the city’s Planning and Development Department. “It’s something we haven’t done in Columbia.”

The existing overlays only deal with residential property. North Central’s overlay would regulate all types of property, in one of the city’s most mixed-use areas. Properties zoned commercial, office and industrial line its outskirts and main roads, and residential zoning fills much of its interior. The area is also spotted with churches and public schools, and contains Columbia College.

In the existing overlays, the debate was between homeowners and the owners of rental properties. East Campus’ overlay, enacted in 2003, prohibited the conversion of single-family houses to “rooming houses.” The overlay also established design standards regarding roof pitch, window size and other criteria.

“The owner-occupants wanted to do some things that would discourage students renting houses and having a lot of parties, and to encourage more professional people to move into the neighborhood,” Bondra said.

Benton-Stephens’ overlay was created in 2000. Like in East Campus, it only deals with residential properties. It prohibits development of anything besides single-family detached housing, though developers building non-single-family housing can appeal to the director of planning and development.

“What they were trying to do in that neighborhood was to stop the razing of single-family homes to create duplexes and multi-family,” Bondra said. “There were some duplexes being built that aesthetically were very minimal, compared to the ornate homes of that area. The landlords pretty much didn’t like what they ended up with but the neighborhoods were able to get it through.”

Bondra said his office’s only application for appeal was for an addition on a daycare center. “It has stopped the conversion of single-family to multi-family, for all practical purposes,” he said.