First convened on December 14, 2005, the Focus Group met six times with Planning and Zoning in preparation for the public presentation of the Preliminary Draft Columbia Downtown Master Plan on February 27, 2006. Helpful comments and ideas were generated that evening. As a result, DPZ adjusted the planning schedule to allow for additional nine Focus Group meetings between April and September 2006 to discuss key issues and further refinements to the Preliminary Draft Columbia Downtown Master Plan.
Background
The Focus Group provides advice, suggestions and recommendations to County staff and its consultant, Design Collective, Inc., regarding the achievement of the vision and goals that came from citizens at the charrette. This includes, but is not limited to, roads and traffic, development within districts, affordable housing, design guidelines and implementation strategies.
The Downtown Columbia Focus Group is a cross section of Downtown stakeholders. It includes residents, Village Board representatives, General Growth Properties, business owners, Columbia Association, Howard County Citizens Association, Interfaith Coalition for Affordable Housing and others.
Post Meeting Materials
November 22, 2006
- Revised Summation of Focus Group Members Feedback
November 17, 2006
- Addendum to the Glatting Jackson Traffic Analysis
Post Focus Group presentations to the Town Center Village Board include a Progress Update (1.2 MB) on October 25, 2006 and an overview of Pedestrian Safety and Access (1.3 MB) on October 11, 2006.
Meeting Schedule
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
- Jeff Bronow, Chief of Research, gave a presentation on the Fiscal Impacts of proposed development in Downtown. Detailed assumptions and methodology are provided in a separate document: Fiscal Study Cost and Revenue Assumptions.
- Mina Hilsenrath, Chief of Environmental and Community Planning, gave a presentation about the proposed Wincopin Street (1.5 MB), which included alternative ways to provide pedestrian and vehicular circulation through the Lakefront core area. Video presentations of the three-dimensional schematic models for Wincopin Street are available for view.
- Bill Mackey, Planning Supervisor, presented DPZ's Draft Summation of Focus Group Member's Feedback, a document that synthesizes what DPZ heard from the Focus Group on major issues. It also includes responses from DPZ indicating how the Department intends to use the feedback in future revisions to the Columbia Downtown Master Plan.
- Other Materials- Focus Group member Mary Pivar distributed a Handout to members of the Group.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
- Mina Hilsenrath, Chief of Environmental and Community Planning, gave a presentation on Development Program and Building Heights (Part I), which included Illustrative Plans and 3-D Models (Part II) used to analyze the Charrette Vision Plan. An accompanying handout was also provided that summarized DPZ’s Draft Recommendations for Program and Heights.
- Other Materials- A five-member sub-group presented their ideas for discussion purposes in a Draft Statement that was received by the Focus Group into the record. Also, a summary of Green Building Measures prepared by DPZ staff was provided to the Focus Group as an informational item.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
- Handout- Shahriar Etemadi, Supervisor of Transportation Planning in Montgomery County, presented a summary of Site Impact Analysis in Montgomery County Local Area Transportation Review (LATR). Tables, Charts and Figures used for LATR were also described during the presentation.
A Critique of DPZ Response to Focus Group Comments on Traffic Analysis, authored by members Bridget Mugane and Bob Tennenbaum, was distributed as a reply to DPZ Response to Focus Group Comments on Traffic Analysis.
Fact Sheets on Context Sensitive Solutions for walkable communities (Sheet 1 & 2), created by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, were distributed along with the General Plan 2000 Policies Map.
| Wednesday, July 12, 2006 |
- Handout- Walter Kulash, principal and Senior Traffic Engineer with Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin Lopez Rinehart, Inc., gave a Traffic Analysis Presentation of the Charrette Master Plan program of development.
Glatting Jackson Traffic Study (2.75 MB)
The report references, and builds upon, the traffic study prepared by Wells & Associates for GGP's 2005 Columbia Town Center Draft Master Plan. A copy of that report is located at GGP's informational web site: http://www.columbiatowncenter.info/meet2.html. From this page select the .pdf for the Columbia Town Center Masterplan Traffic Impact Study.
Focus Group member Bob Tennenbaum distributed an Addendum to Traffic Analysis Comments as well as a Handout written to the Focus Group.
Wednesday, July 5, 2006
- Handouts- Focus Group member Bridget Mugane distributed a handout on Traffic Analysis Comments. Focus Group member Tim Sosinski also circulated a Handout written to the Focus Group.
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
- Handouts - Marsha McLaughlin, Director of Planning and Zoning, gave a presentation on Draft Zoning Regulations (2.4 MB) for Downtown. Committee members received a handout on the History of Height Recommendations; a copy of the DPZ web page that lists Frequently Asked Question brochures describing the various planning and zoning processes that affect New Town (NT); and a Flow Chart summarizing the County’s development review process and comparing the current NT process to the proposed Columbia Downtown Overlay (CDO) process.
Committee member Bridget Mugane circulated a proposal for a Comprehensive Downtown Development Plan. Bob Tennenbaum also circulated an article written by Morton Hoppenfeld entitled “A Critique of Town Center Options.”
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
- Handouts - Committee members did not receive any new handouts for this meeting.
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
- Handouts - Committee members received FAQs on Community Facilities, Design Advisory Panel Process, and Columbia Downtown Overlay Zoning. A draft concept of Potential Civic, Cultural and Community Locations for the Crescent was also distributed for discussion. A request was made to have a letter written by Delegate Liz Bobo circulated to all in attendance.
Wednesday, April 5, 2006
- Handouts: Focus Group members received a summary of the major themes and issues raised by participants at the February 27 presentation of the Preliminary Draft Master Plan.
Neil Gaffney, Deputy Director of Housing and Community Development, gave a presentation on Low and Moderate Income Housing Programs in the County. He described several approaches for low and moderate income housing and showed case study examples of each. The Focus Group reviewed information comparing the effects of County and regional wages on housing affordability and was given a summary of the affordable housing income data that is the basis for proposed changes to the County’s Moderate Income Housing Unit (MIHU) program. These proposed legislative changes are being considered by the County Council as CB22-2006.
A proposed work program itemizing topics for continued Focus Group discussions about implementation strategies was distributed. A draft schedule for the future Focus Group and public review of the Columbia Downtown Master Plan presenting two alternative timeframes was handed out for consideration. A request was made to have a letter written by Delegate Liz Bobo circulated to all in attendance.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
- Handouts: Focus Group members received Draft Implementation Strategies.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
- Handouts: The Focus Group received the Draft Design Guidelines, Part 2 which includes draft sections on Streets, Open Space and Architecture; a Street Hierarchy Diagram (A Streets) and Street Types Diagram with draft plans and sections for proposed street types; a District Comparison Chart that compares the draft urban design guidelines for the four districts; and a Lakefront / Little Patuxent Parkway Section that illustrates the location of the “Lakefront Core” and shows the relative building heights that might occur in this area.
A presentation of the Open Space Guidelines (2.1 MB) described the existing and potential open space system. The Focus Group also received land use data summary for Downtown based on the Charrette Vision Plan Proposed Program, and an Existing Land Use Chart and Existing FDP Map showing the areas of Downtown that have been recorded on Final Development Plans and Plats.
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
- Handouts: In response to information requests at previous meetings, Focus Group members received a HCPS Memo about Student Yields and pages from the Howard County Zoning Regulations that described permitted uses in the POR (Planned Office Research) District, SC (Shopping Center) District, B-1 (Business Local) District, and B-2 (Business General) District. The Focus Group also received advanced review copies of draft Street Plans and sections from the Design Guidelines.
- Meeting Minutes. An annotated version of the presentation Downtown Road and Traffic Issues by Mark Deluca, Traffic Engineering Division Chief, Department of Public Works is provided as a n Appendix to the meeting minutes.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
- Handouts - Committee members received both the Draft Urban Design Plan and Draft Urban Design Guidelines (Part 1).
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
- Handouts - Committee members received FAQ Sheets on Social Values, and Potential Early Initiatives; the Draft Outline of Design Guidelines; and a Lakefront Alternatives Design Concept, showing plans and sketches of the connection from the Mall to the Lake with and without the Teachers Building. Additional information on the Lakefront Alternatives Design Study is available below.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
- Agenda - The Agenda included review of the issues outlined in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Sheets posted below on this web page. The FAQ Sheets are the foundation of the implementation strategy to be included in the draft Columbia Downtown Master Plan.
- Handouts - Committee members received an FAQ Summary, the draft Illustrative Master Plan and the draft Districts Plan.
Lakefront Alternatives Design Study
In response to the Charrette Vision Plan presentation on October 22, many questions have been raised about the future of the existing Teachers Building where Columbia Association, Clyde’s and Tomato Palace are currently located. The sketches from the presentation envision an open view of Lake Kittamaqundi from the Mall with a promenade connection featuring a “grand staircase.” Achieving this vision would require replacing the Teachers Building with a new building that allows an unobstructed view to the Lakefront.
In response to participants’ concerns, the Department of Planning and Zoning asked its consultant to examine possible alternative designs, including one that shows the view from the Mall while preserving the existing Teachers Building. The following options are offered as possible design concepts for Downtown’s Lakefront area:
Please click on the following link for a .pdf version of this study.
| Vision Option A: The charrette vision plan shows the replacement of the existing Teachers Building with a new structure. The sketch reveals the open view that would be created from the Mall to the Lakefront along a promenade connection. | Vision Option B: In this vision plan, inspired by post charrette comments, the Teachers Building remains in its current location. The sketch demonstrates how the view from the Mall would terminate at the Teachers Building. |
A week-long charrette cannot address all of the questions and issues to be resolved so that the Vision Plan can successfully guide Downtown’s future. Many of the issues that were posed go beyond an illustrative plan and require determining the public policies and actions needed to implement the plan. To ensure that these issues are addressed, the Department of Planning and Zoning has developed a series of “FAQ Sheets,” with answers to Frequently Asked Questions raised during the charrette. If new issues come up, this list may be expanded.
Comments and Questions
We welcome your comments throughout this process. Please e-mail Bill Mackey or call the Department of Planning and Zoning at 410-313-2350.
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