Richland Road Redux

After a somewhat contentious Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on an application to annex and rezone 271 acres on Columbia’s east border, the commission decided to spend its next work session talking about staff/commission communication.

The conversation stemmed from the commission meeting where, basically, some commissioners questioned the appropriateness of communication between the developer’s attorney, Robert Hollis, and city staff.

Both Hollis and City manager Bill Watkins said their discussions on the project centered around timing. Watkins indicated he suggested waiting to move forward on the proposal until the route for the Stadium Boulevard extension was known.

Hollis said he talked to almost everyone involved in the process: Public Works, the planning department, MoDOT, the city manager and Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala, whose ward would contain the annexed land.

Hollis said any insinuation of inappropriate communication was ridiculous. Pat Zenner, the plan reviewer for the project, said the department received no direction from upper management as to how to write its recommendation.

The discussion at the work session dealt with communication between staff and the commission. It kicked off with Commissioner Ann Peters apologizing to Zenner if she hurt his feelings by questioning whether there was inappropriate communication between staff and the developer.

Zenner is a new planner in the department, after taking the position vacated by Chuck Bondra late last year. He has a different style of presenting staff reports, which the commission indicated it likes. But they wanted to make sure that he did not feel he had to defend the reports he makes.

With all the work lined up for the commission and the planning department — data collection for the comprehensive plan, review of the city’s zoning and land use ordinances and finalizing various area plans — making sure the staff and the commission were on the same page seemed to be chairman Jeff Barrow’s intent in adding the discussion to the agenda.

Among other issues, one of the topics broached was whether to have an earlier deadline to submit material for the commission’s packet. That concern stemmed from Hollis handing the commissioners a revised statement of intent just as the public hearing began. Although staff indicated the changes were minor, Planning director Tim Teddy conceded that it didn’t look good for the developer’s attorney to be handing the commission documents in the middle of the meeting.

An earlier deadline, proposed by commissioner Doug Wheeler, would give commissioners more time to read project documents and assure them that what they’re seeing is what will be considered at the meeting.

Skala, who showed up for the work session, said the City Council has had similar discussions. A “drop-dead date” as he called it, seems like a good idea to him, both for the commission and the council.

The commission plans to pick up the discussion where they left off at 5 p.m. next Thursday, July 9. If you’re interested in seeing how the Planning and Zoning Commission interact with city staff, stop by City Hall. Work sessions are in the planning conference room on the second floor.