Here's how consultants aim to balance ideas in new Boone County Master Plan
Boone County's population continues to grow. People who live or move here are going to need somewhere to live, so the county has undertaken a process to update its nearly 30-year-old master plan.
Listening sessions this week have provided the public a chance to ask questions and give more feedback to The i5 Group, which along with other planning firms is aiding the county in collecting public input and collecting and analyzing data.
"We've projected that Boone County could need 37,000 units of new housing based on growth projections over the next 20 to 25 years," said Stephen Ibendahl, principal with The i5 Group, adding there are nuances to this projection.
Top issues among public input at a listening session Wednesday afternoon at the Boone County Government Center, 801 E. Walnut St., in Columbia, included housing density and requisite infrastructure, a possible codes review for building requirements, mixed uses of land and even adopting the Columbia-owned COLT rail line back into use more as trolley transit than goods transit.
An open house meeting from earlier in April and the listening sessions will help planner develop a draft master plan by the summer, based on the open house meeting presentation.
Previous meetings have led to three scenarios of which the county could adopt a mixture of elements into the master plan, Ibendahl said.
If the county were to focus on current trends, the additional housing would have an impact on about 50,000 of the county's available 440,000 acres.
"Current trends, especially with rural growth, is housing on larger lot sizes, so five acres as a popular lot size in rural areas," Ibendahl said, adding that growth cannot be accommodated within the city limits of Columbia, Ashland and Hallsville.
A city-focused scenario of putting more housing density (more up, than out) still would impact about 25,000 available acres.
If there was more rural growth and less restrictions on commercial and residential development, housing growth would impact about 58,000 acres.
"The three scenarios are not about picking one, but more about are there certain aspects you think would be beneficial or would have concerns about," Ibendahl said.
Public comments Wednesday were about finding balance and ways to get to housing closer to job sources. This included changing zoning to where residential is built closer to industrial, so as to eliminate travel barriers. In more rural areas use the idea of "agriburbia." In other words mixed used pockets of residential density, not as sprawling subdivisions, but neighborhoods of about a 10 or 15 single-family houses, duplexes or even apartments interspersed among crop land.
More: Central Columbia residents give input as city works toward urban conservation regulations
Boone County has minimum 10-acre lot sizes for residential and there were questions about how that comes up against issues as cities grow and may annex land. There also were comments on what does affordable vs. sustainable housing look like in more rural areas of the county.
For those who missed the April open house meeting or follow-up listening sessions, video of the online session still is available, along with an online comment form as of Wednesday afternoon.
Again, the next step in the process is presentation of a draft master plan by the summer. Plan refinement and final adoption is expected by the fall.
More: Here's what community members are saying about affordable housing in Boone County
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Draft of new Boone County Master Plan will consider future growth
