Citizens and community supporters who attended the last Planning Commission may recall that a borough representative droned on about the complexities (During last week’s Planning Commission meeting, the borough codes officer stated that the borough’s comprehensive plan, strategic economic plan, municipal planning code and other complex project documents, such as grant applications are part of a system designed to make “people proud to live here; proud to want to come here and live or bring their business here.”) relative to questions of the Borough Map.

Last August, the mayor too, cited the Comprehensive Plan in his “Food for Thought” speech to the council, “These projects and the theory behind completing these projects are noted in the soon to be finalized Economic Development Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan. Both plans have been developed by residents throughout all walks of life in Columbia Borough with a common goal; creating a sense of place, that place where we all want to live and call home.”

We wanted to find out more about these “complex project documents.” When we did an Internet search for “Comprehensive Plan” we were able to find on-line files for the Comprehensive Plans for several boroughs and municipalities in Lancaster County. Our searches produced none for the Columbia Borough Comprehensive Plan. We bought the plan from the borough and want to make it available for interested citizenry.

Because the plan is a lengthy document, and our technical support is limited, we will reproduce certain pages from the plan in installments over the coming weeks. Click here to see the first 16 pages of the Comprehensive Plan. This file contains the first 20 or so pages (the cover, the table of contents and the Introduction (which lists the community’s goals divided into functional categories).

The Comprehensive Plan is explained in Article III of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. Essentially, it is a long-range plan that guides the jurisdiction’s land use, transportation, infrastructure and community facilities priorities.

Ideally, it becomes a dynamic document and record for planning and accomplishment. Sometimes, though, it becomes the mother lode of language and documentation (ammunition) to satisfy grant application. It is interesting to see the cross-application and reference to the Comprehensive Plan in other jurisdictional grant applications and justifications.

We encourage you to take a look at the goals expressed by the study group and the “public at-large” (they are listed starting on page 8-II). We hasten to point out that in LAND USE, for instance, there is a goal that states, “Expand public access to the riverfront and to River Park via the establishment of a greenway linking the Columbia riverfront with Chickies Rock County Park and Marietta Borough.”

[NOTE: on page 72- VII, a bold-face paragraph reads, “In order to offset the future need for community parkland the Borough should focus its attention along the Riverfront and along Shawnee Run. These areas offer natural open space and also provide for the creation of linear oriented recreational facilities such as walk ways and bike paths, which could be considered community park facilities.”]

A few paragraphs after that is a paragraph that begins, “It is recommended that the borough pursue the acquisition of land along Shawnee Run and the Susquehanna River … .”

What if the borough suddenly became the recipient of riverfront property? Would that play into this goal?

Another goal in LAND USE was to “Limit the number of single-family residential conversions into multi-unit structures? How’s that working out for you?

Stay tuned … in the interim, if you saw an item in the table of contents that you would like to have scanned and posted, let us know by email, B –E –E –P! , snail mail or telephone.