About the City of Columbia City Comprehensive Plan Update
The City of Columbia City last updated its Comprehensive Plan in 2015, revising the 2003 Comprehensive Plan. The 2015 Comprehensive Plan Update, adopted in August of that year, laid out specific goals and recommendations to enhance the quality of life, foster strategic growth, and bolster community safety and vitality. The 2025 update will build upon this foundation with a new community vision, outlining new objectives and strategies to guide the City’s development for the next 10-20 years.
The updated Comprehensive Plan will guide growth, development, and land-use strategies within the City’s limits. It is designed to be a living document, evolving as new challenges arise, and should be reviewed and updated annually to reflect the City’s changing needs and successes. This ongoing process will help ensure that the 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update remains relevant and responsive to the community, providing a solid framework for public and private decision-making in the coming years.
Components of the Plan
The key components of the Plan are listed below. This is a tentative list of topics that the Plan intends to cover; these may evolve throughout the planning process.
-
Land Use and Zoning
-
Economic Development
-
Housing
-
Transportation
-
Public Services and Facilities
-
Natural and Cultural Resources
.jpg)
Community Engagement
The City of Columbia City Comprehensive Plan Update is intended to reflect the priorities and aspirations of the people who live and work here; that is why strong community engagement is important during this planning process.
To ensure that all voices are heard, the project team is using a variety of outreach strategies, including:
-
Stakeholder Interview Sessions: Focused meetings with residents, business owners, and community leaders to better understand Columbia City’s current needs and future opportunities.
-
Public Engagement Events: Open houses and participation in community events offer residents direct opportunities to meet the project team, ask questions, and share input.
-
Community Survey: An online survey designed to gather feedback on what people value most about Columbia City and where residents see room for improvement.
-
Steering Committee Meetings: A representative committee of community members meets regularly to help guide the planning process and ensure it reflects diverse perspectives.
To find out how you can participate, visit the Get Involved page.
.jpg)
Implementation of the Plan
The City of Columbia City Comprehensive Plan Update will guide community growth and development over the next 10 to 20 years. The City should evaluate the Plan regularly to guide progress toward successful implementation.
The Plan will outline clear community goals along with actionable strategies to achieve them. Among these, specific strategies will be identified as Critical Path Strategies—high-priority actions that can be initiated soon after the Plan’s adoption. These strategies will include detailed guidance on responsible parties, implementation steps, and timelines. The City can build momentum toward achieving long-term goals by focusing on early, impactful actions.
Critical Path Strategies will be among the final components drafted to ensure they are timely, relevant, and aligned with community priorities.
THE PROJECT TEAM
The City of Columbia City has partnered with American Structurepoint to develop the Comprehensive Plan. American Structurepoint is a multi-disciplinary engineering, architecture, and planning firm with clients across the country. The project team for the City of Columbia City Comprehensive Plan Update works out of the Indianapolis headquarters and is listed below:
%20-%20white%20back.jpg)
MATT O'ROURKE
Planning + Economic Development Group Leader
Rachel Cardis
Senior Planner and Project Manager
%20transparent%20reduced.png)
Patty Salgado
Planner