In the month following passage of the latest comprehensive plan for the City of Columbia, officials have been busy completing preliminary goals necessary to accomplish its vision for the next 20 years.

During the Jan. 21 city council meeting, aldermen officially set a target for the city’s southward growth. On Monday, a draft version of a new city code was discussed.

Monday’s meeting was relatively brief, but Columbia City Administrator Doug Brimm believes the impact of adopting an updated code of ordinances will have significant positive impact for the city moving forward.

Code revision has been discussed in theory for several years, but has now become a priority in order to promote completion of the plan’s  development objectives.

Brimm reported the city had received an 800-plus page version of a revised city code Monday. The draft is current up to the most recent council action to modify an ordinance, which occurred in September. 

With a draft now available, Brimm advised city officials to review the document as well as questions received from Municode, the company in charge of the project.

He asked for aldermen to submit any questions or concerns by this Friday in order to determine if a Committee of the Whole meeting would be needed to address any “fine tuning”  or potentially major modifications to the draft code ahead of the next council meeting.

The current draft has not been edited for grammar or format, allowing officials to focus on improving the code itself ahead of possible approval.

Brimm also noted timeliness of response is required, as the process needs to be completed by March 14 per the city’s contract with Municode. 

In a related discussion, Brimm asked for input on chapters 15, 16 and 17 of the municipal code, all of which pertain to construction, building and subdivision requirements in Columbia.

He noted those chapters are the “most difficult” to manage for both city officials and developers who have projects in Columbia.

With expansion of Columbia being a major aspect of the comprehensive plan, Brimm proposed the city explore combining the chapters and any other ordinances relating to construction and buildings into a “unified development code.”

He explained the move would eliminate duplicated, outdated or contradictory information, adding the language would be in one central location rather than spread throughout the entire code.

A unified development code could also remove a degree of difficulty for those who may want to do business in Columbia, specifically while engaging in construction projects or other development.

Brimm noted officials would need to decide which version of the International Building Code would be utilized, adding the city would likely want to use the version most similar to surrounding municipalities in order to avoid a more “restrictive” environment for construction in Columbia by using stricter standards than necessary.

Anticipating there would be no objections, Brimm said he had already been in touch with John Brancaglione of PGAV Planners to discuss the possibility of writing a proposal for creation of a unified code.

Brimm said the potential project would be easiest for Brancaglione to complete, as he developed a business district plan for Columbia last year in addition to completing work on the recently adopted comprehensive plan.

In other business, Brimm reported the recently adopted comprehensive plan is now official. 

He explained a mandatory 10-day reconsideration period was in effect from the date the plan was filed with the county, although the term has now expired.

The delay would have allowed the city to withdraw the plan submission if any late modifications or corrections had been discovered. 

Since no changes were necessary, the comprehensive plan which gained council approval last month has now legally been adopted.

Monday’s meeting  was the first Columbia City Council meeting to begin at a new start time of 6:30 p.m.

The next meeting will be  Feb. 18, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The city also livestreams council meetings on its Facebook page, City of Columbia, IL – Government.