Columbia County advisory board narrows focus to mixed‑use and multifamily rentals in incentive workshop

Columbia County economic development advisory board members met in a workshop to review a draft residential incentive scorecard and discuss whether and how the county should use tax rebates or other incentives to attract housing development. Staff and outside consultants linked the proposed incentive to an ongoing comprehensive‑plan and land development regulation (LDR) update and asked the board to define what types of housing to prioritize before finalizing incentive mechanics.

Blair Knighting, a planner working with Kimberly Horn’s firm, told the board the decision should start with “what type of housing do we want” and where to direct incentives, not with the rebate mechanics. “Let’s have a vision for this and maybe hopefully have a cohesive vision so we understand,” she said, framing the incentive as one tool that must align with the comprehensive plan and draft overlays.

Why it matters: board members and developers said Columbia County…