Votes at a glance: council approves encroachment, industrial park consent, event funding, board changes and executive session referral

Columbia City Council approved a series of routine and policy items in a single voting block and during separate motions, including an encroachment ordinance for a downtown developer, consent to include property in a multijurisdictional industrial park project, funding for local events, several honorary street/bench/plaque namings, a recommendation to split the Design Review and Historic Preservation commission into two boards, removal of a $25 permit fee for neighborhood gatherings, and a motion to enter executive session for legal advice on front-yard parking and short-term rental issues.

Ordinances and permits: On first reading the council approved ordinance number 2025 0 8 9 granting an encroachment to 2222 LLC to use right-of-way areas in the 2200-block of Main Street and adjacent blocks for sidewalks, landscaping and irrigation adjacent to 2222 Main Street. The motion carried on a roll call vote with all members recorded as voting yes. The council also approved ordinance number 2025 0 9 1 consenting to inclusion of property in a multi-county industrial business park project; that motion also passed unanimously.

Event funding: Council approved a funding request of $50,000 to Bull Market for eligible expenditures associated with Bull Market Fest 2026 and a $20,000 funding request to the Koger Center for the Arts for eligible expenditures associated with a Blind Boys of Alabama performance. Both funding motions passed on recorded votes with all members voting yes.

Committee endorsements and administrative changes: Councilmember McDowell reported the Administrative Policy Committee’s endorsements: honorary street naming in honor of Brian de Quincy Newman on Greg Street, an honorary bench at Mayes Park in honor of William H. Fincer (Fitzer), an honorary plaque replacement at the Saluda River in honor of Joyce and Don Jackson, and a bench and plaque on the Powell Path in Rosewood Park in honor of Annette H. Benetti. The committee also endorsed splitting the Design Review and Historic Preservation Commission (DDRC) into two boards—the Historic Preservation Design Review Commission and the Urban Design Review Commission—with appointments to be advertised and considered in December and the new boards scheduled to begin meeting in January 2026. The council endorsed the committee recommendations and voted in favor on the record.

Permit fee change: Council endorsed a staff recommendation to remove the $25 permit fee for neighborhood gatherings, block parties and walks; the 30-day application deadline will remain and large events will continue to incur fees under the special events permit schedule. Council authorized staff to prepare the required ordinance amendment.

Honorary naming referral: The council referred an additional honorary street-naming application for Curtis Elkins (submitted by Monica Elkins) on Katy Street to the Administrative Policy Committee for consideration in November.

Executive session: Councilman Brennan moved and the council seconded a motion to enter executive session to receive legal advice protected by attorney-client privilege under “SC code 34782,” specifically referencing front-yard parking and short-term rentals. The motion passed on roll call; the council recessed to executive session for that legal discussion.

Roll-call votes for the above items were recorded for each motion in the meeting minutes. The meeting record shows unanimous or recorded affirmative votes on these items; where the transcript did not name a mover or seconder, the motion was recorded as made and seconded without a named mover in the public transcript.