City staff outline sidewalk permit, road growth and pilot water filter results

City building and infrastructure staff told the council they are consolidating scattered construction standards into a single sidewalk, driveway and parking‑area permit and continuing text amendments to the Columbus Land Development Ordinance to reflect state and federal floodplain and stormwater changes. "We're trying to compile all [standards] together and make a permit out of it," said Andy Ware, the city's building code official.

Ware also reviewed five‑year trends in permits and reported growth in the street network: centerline miles increased by about 6.7 and lane miles now total 492.88, a five‑year gain of roughly 26.38 lane miles. On water, Ware said a pilot study was completed and data shared with engineering firms; regarding manganese treatment he said, "We started negative. And as soon as we hit it with the sand, it took it out of there." Staff clarified the pilot compared two media types (regular sand and green filter sand) and that both systems performed well, producing non‑detect results during testing.

The presentation also covered major projects: the Loop River Bridge is ahead of schedule with a planned lane switch in November, and 33rd Avenue was poured and expected to open to traffic on Aug. 10, with related driveway and sidewalk work to finish in September. The report gave council members a chance to ask technical questions about permit scope and filter systems; staff said housing and commercial projects remain covered by existing permits and the new permit targets curb grinds and non‑standard sidewalk spacing.