Most Howard residents agreed they want a vibrant downtown Columbia, and no one disputed the need for affordable housing and walkability.
But how to achieve those goals ? specifically, whether Columbia should be an urban area ? is where many residents differ.
“We created the doughnut, and now we need to fill in the hole,” said Kings Contrivance resident Roy Appletree, adding the question is not whether Columbia grows, but how.
At the last of six public meetings this month, county officials Tuesday heard from more than two dozen residents on the vision plan for Columbia.
For some residents, density is a major component of achieving affordable housing and supporting public transportation, two goals in the vision plan.
“We must embrace the largest number of units possible downtown,” said Sherman Howell, of the African American Coalition of Howard County.
William Esrkine, a lawyer speaking for the Howard County Chamber of Commerce, also called for more residential units to help bring life to downtown, and said there shouldn?t be “artificial limits to the redevelopment potential.”
Many businesses are moving their offices out of downtown Columbia, in favor of other business parks, he said.
“Town Center is where the action should be,” he said.
However, other residents rejected an urban redevelopment, which some called the “Manhattanization” of Columbia, siting increased traffic as a concern.
Evan Coren, who represents Kings Contrivance on the Columbia Association board, asked Howard to consider preserving “the vibrant places we already have,” such as the lakefront.
“We need to be building on that and not endanger it,” he said.
Most residents speaking Tuesday agreed the county?s plan was just a beginning, a framework on which landowner General Growth Properties Inc. would build.
“It?s not a specific plan. It?s OK to start that way,” said Del. Elizabeth Bobo, D-District 12B.
