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Columbia commissioners press for commercial-capacity analysis; planner to add recommendations
Summary
Commissioners asked the Town Planner to add a parcel-by-parcel commercial buildout analysis and to consider expanding areas zoned for commercial or mixed-use development after discussion about Route 6's limitations and the town's tax base.
Commissioner Nancy Hammarstrom told the Planning and Zoning Commission the POCD should treat commercial development more robustly, warning against over-relying on Route 6 as the primary tax-base solution because the corridor faces physical constraints including wetlands, ledge, floodplains, and watershed protections.
Town Planner John Guszkowski said the draft already includes strategies to align regulations with business opportunities and suggested two concrete additions: (1) conduct a parcel-by-parcel analysis of buildout and development capacity within existing commercial districts; and (2) consider expansion of the geographic extent of land zoned for appropriately scaled commercial or mixed-use development. Commissioners asked that these recommendations be added to the redlined POCD for consideration at the next meeting.
