When the Columbia City Council approves a comprehensive plan to guide the city through the next two decades –which is expected sometime in early 2025 – the end result will be a double vision of sorts.

Many of the major aspects of the plan process have been multiplied by a factor of two, as the project will have produced two draft plans with two plan names, involved two different consulting firms, taken more than twice as long as expected and cost double the original budget.

When city officials began work on the comprehensive plan process in October 2021, Shockey Consulting Services was chosen to help develop and author the plan. 

The city allotted  $100,000 for the plan in its Fiscal Year 2022 budget, with Shockey contracted for just under $80,000.

Staff shortages and other setbacks in June 2022 led the city to make Shockey the “lead role for plan content” and added another $40,000 of expected costs for the firm’s consulting fees. City officials also changed the expected completion date for the plan from October 2022 to early  2023.

During  review of a draft plan in spring 2023, aldermen and city officials took issue with some elements of the proposed plan, specifically about housing recommendations and a perceived lack of guidance for developing commercial and industrial growth in Columbia.

At the time, Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm said, “The primary concern was the draft would not serve as a functional comprehensive plan. It seemingly focused more on social issues, rather than serving as a guide for the city’s development and growth for the next 20 years,” adding the Shockey plan “was not reflective of the community’s character.” 

In a recent email to the Republic-Times, Brimm explained, “The (Shockey) plan elements such as the proposed, forcible push toward higher-density development, the inclusion of accessory dwelling units, and the lack of any sensible direction for land use were not reflective of the vision the city’s leadership and residents have for Columbia’s growth.”

After making changes to the draft based on input form elected officials in May 2023, Brimm submitted edits to Scott Dunakey, who at the time was Columbia’s director of community development and the main liaison between Shockey Consulting and city officials.

Dunakey refused to make some of the suggested changes – including an edit to remove phrases and other sections which included the word “diverse” or “diversity,” including the sentence, “Promote diversity in all aspects of our community,” as well as omitting the phrase “small apartment structure” and the sentence, “Accessory dwelling units often support populations with lower income levels or those looking to downsize yet maintain independent living.”

In an email to Brimm, Dunakey said he was “bound to report those comments as an accurate reflection of the feedback received. All comments received need to be part of the discussion. If the public’s input that the city solicited is going to be disregarded in the actions and implementation, the justification will be provided so the community cannot blame me.”

Dunakey was fired from his position on May 19, 2023. He told the Republic-Times he was verbally informed the “city council had lost confidence in my ability to serve in my position.”

Seemingly at an impasse and unable to present a draft for discussion after more than a year of work and a cost of about $115,000 according to city budget figures from Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, the comprehensive plan was effectively tabled, with Brimm reporting it would be reconsidered once an overhaul of city code was completed.

The comprehensive plan was not discussed publicly in any meaningful way until more than a year and a half later when Mayor Bob Hill announced earlier this month the Columbia Planning Commission would hold a public hearing to discuss a comprehensive plan draft Dec. 9.

When the plan was revealed, it was no longer the “Beyond the Horizon” plan as named by Shockey Consulting. Rather, the public hearing discussed a plan named “Looking to the Future” which was created by PGAV Planners. 

The complete overhaul of the plan and its change of name and author would have come as a surprise to some who had followed the previous plan creation. That is because, of all the aspects which were doubled in delivering a comprehensive plan to the public, one thing which was not duplicated was council action. 

A search of the city’s account payable reports available as part of city council agendas revealed PGAV Planners had been receiving payment for comprehensive plan work beginning in April 2024 for a total of over $86,000 thus far – more than the original amount promised to Shockey Consulting in 2021.

Similarly, the city council regular meeting minutes from May 2023 to present do not indicate any discussion of the change from Shockey to PGAV.

Furthermore, while the FY22 and FY23 annual budgets included a “Comprehensive Plan” line item in the Capital Development Fund, there was no allotment for comprehensive plan work specifically in Fiscal Year 2024 or 2025, although an estimated $51,725 expense in FY24 for a line item titled “other professional services” – which took the place of the “comprehensive plan” line item – was added to the FY25 budget.

Ward IV Alderman Mary Ellen Niemietz told the Republic-Times she recalled a meeting in February when the comprehensive plan duties were assigned to PGAV in conjunction with another project; however, no public record of the conversation exists. 

Brimm did confirm the duties were assigned to PGAV after the firm performed a feasibility study for a business district and the subsequent business district plan, which was approved in March.

The cost for the feasibility study completed by PGAV in December 2023 was $10,000, and development of the accompanying adopted plan was $8,500.

All business district work was completed in FY24, with all payments for comprehensive plan work occurring in FY25.

When asked when expenditure of more than $86,000 was approved or discussed, Brimm told the Republic-Times, “The City of Columbia engaged PGAV to complete the draft on a time-and-materials basis, based on an established professional relationship with the firm and (PGAV Senior Director) John Brancaglione. While no formal agreement or resolution was approved by the city council for this specific task, the determination was made in alignment with the city’s ongoing commitment to advancing the comprehensive plan to completion. This shift occurred following PGAV’s successful completion of the business district plan earlier this year.”

The “time-and-materials basis” was used to convert data gathered and compiled by Shockey Consulting into the PGAV version of the plan; however, trying to save money by using Shockey’s data has only doubled the original cost of the plan.

Brancaglione also noted some of the data used in the new plan had to be updated since it had been gathered over two years ago. 

Housing growth – the sticking point which seemingly doomed the Shockey draft plan – garnered the most attention during a meeting of the Columbia Planning Commission Dec. 9 and a city council meeting Dec. 16.

Even though PGAV drafted a new plan with the understanding that housing was major issue in the prior iteration, Brancaglione met with some pushback when he suggested use of higher-density housing configuration could accommodate the city’s senior population and attract young professionals to the city.

During the Dec. 16 council meeting, Ward IV Alderman Steve Holtkamp said he noticed a “bias” toward high-density housing and multi-family dwellings, to which Brancaglione replied, “not on my part.”

Holtkamp also referred to a comment by Brancaglione that impliled homeowners “don’t like large (residential) lots.” 

Holtkamp said he “would tend to disagree,” adding he did not want to see Columbia face a situation similar to that of Crestwood, Mo., in which a concentration of high-density housing has seemingly led to overcrowding and major traffic congestion.

Holtkamp added he may be mistaken and suggested it might be wise to “let the market dictate” the type of housing needed in Columbia

Brancaglione defended his position by clarifying he believes his plan calls for “balanced housing,” with high-density, multi-family, “row”houses and town houses appropriate in some areas of the city.  

He also added a comprehensive plan is meant as a guide and should be evaluated periodically to ensure trends which dictated plan content are still relevant.

Housing is only one element of the city’s comprehensive plan, and other aspects will be discussed during upcoming city council meetings in the new year before it gains approval, which is expected to happen in early 2025.

Once approved, the Republic-Times will have a comprehensive breakdown of the plan and what it means for the next two decades in Columbia.

A copy of the comprehensive plan with updates is available on the city’s website, columbiail.gov.

The next meeting of the Columbia City Council takes place at 7 p.m. Jan. 6 at City Hall.