Chapter 3 Community Involvement Public involvement has been a vital component of the planning process in the preparation of this master planning document. The purpose of this citizen-led effort was to obtain insight into the issues and concerns of residents, business owners and property owners in an effort to determine their vision for the community s growth for a twenty-year planning horizon. Additionally, stakeholder focus group meetings were conducted at the onset of the project to obtain input relating to the community s assets, critical issues associated with the project, existing planning efforts and proposed projects that This chapter of the Master Plan synthesizes the community s feedback solicited during the visioning process, stakeholder meetings, community workshops, and design charrettes conducted by the consultant team under the leadership of the CMCOG and Richland County. The information gathered during these community and stakeholder driven meetings form the basis for the recommendations and action strategies presented in this Plan. From July 2009 to August 2010, over the course of several public workshops and internal staff meetings, the consultants neighborhoods that constitute the Broad River Road Corridor Study Area. More than 300 residents and stakeholders came together to participate in the visioning process to explore new concepts and opportunities for the revitalization of the St. Andrews community. Among the most innovative aspects of this process was the diverse range of community involvement techniques utilized by the participants to create a distinct identity for the Study Area. The following section provides a brief summary of the various meetings and workshops conducted during the planning process.
FOCUS GROUP MEETINGS In October 2009, the consultant team initiated the community involvement process through a series of focus group meetings intended to obtain input from those who will be responsible in the implementation of the Broad River Road Corridor and Community Master Plan. Meetings were held with various stakeholders to obtain input relating to the community s assets, critical issues that needed to be addressed during the planning process, existing planning efforts and proposed invited to participate in these meetings included governmental representatives, County staff, key property owners and business groups, and civic groups. The following is a summary of the feedback received during the meetings. FOCUS GROUP A October 28, 2009-11:00 AM Columbia Chamber of Commerce City of Columbia Staff List of Attendees City of Columbia Krista Hampton Development Center Administrator Marc Mylott Director of Planning & Zoning Services Chamber of Commerce Courtney Herring Public Policy CACCE Co-Director FOCUS GROUP B October 28, 2009-10:00 AM CMCOG SCDOT List of Attendees CMCOG Reginald Simmons Transportation Director Gregory Sprouse Principal Planner Wayne Shuler CMCOG SCDOT Lad Gibson - Program Manager - SCDOT Jim Freyerson Mass Transit Division, SCDOT FOCUS GROUP C October 28, 2009-10:00 AM Richland County Staff List of Attendees Joe Kocy Director of Planning Carl Gosline Transportation Planner Brenda Carter GIS Coordinator FOCUS GROUP D October 29, 2009-11:15 AM Harbison State Forest SC Forestry Commission Richland County Sheriff Richland County EMS List of Attendees Richland County Sheriff Richland County EMS Neil Ellis Emergency Manager Harbison State Forest SC Forestry Commission James Miller - Manager of Harbison State Forest, SC Forestry Commission FOCUS GROUP E October 29, 2009-12:30 PM Richland County Council Members Richland County Administrator Richland County Transportation Committee Chairman Richland County Council List of Attendees: Kit Smith Richland County Council Richland County Administrator J. Milton Pope Richland County Administrator Richland County Legislative Delegation James C. Brown Chairman, Richland County Transportation Commission Focus Group Meeting Mitzi Javers with CMRTA November 12, 2009 Focus Group Meeting Council person Joyce Dickerson November 12, 2009 PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 19
COMMENTS: A need for enhanced transit service within the corridor such as increased frequencies, bus shelters, transfer sub-stations, better signal timing, and park and ride facilities A need for increased pedestrian access between neighborhoods, employment centers, commercial areas and transit facilities A need for increased coordination between the city and the county to meet infrastructure needs, regulatory challenges and development objectives A need for a more integrated network of park and recreation facilities to include multi-use trails, neighborhood pocket parks, greenways and community centers A need for increased public investment in the corridor to include infrastructure improvements as well as the development of other public facilities that could serve as a catalyst for private investment. Examples include County administrative buildings, transit facilities, parks and community centers. The master plan needs to focus on utilizing existing assets and institutions within the corridor, such as the Riverbanks Zoo, Harbison State Forest, the Criminal Justice Facilities, Richland School District One, and the Three Rivers Greenway The master plan needs to account for the interests of existing businesses, residents, and other private stakeholders who are essential to the redevelopment process The master plan should encourage coordination between SCDOT and the local jurisdiction to develop context sensitive design solutions for addressing transportation problems within the corridor The master plan should support efforts by SCDOT to improve the I-26/I-20 and I-20/Broad River Road interchanges, which are key contributors to peak hour congestion within the corridor COMMUNITY MEETINGS Workshop 1: Community Information Meeting December 7- December 9, 2009 December 9th, 2009 at the Dutch Square Mall. The meeting was a great success and was attended by over 175 participants. The IBI Group team facilitated the questions from the audience during the second hour. The primary purpose of the workshop was to educate the community on the anticipated planning process economic trends. Community feedback from all three evenings was collected though a questionnaire that was distributed to the audience during the Q & A session. Workshop 2: Planning Charrette May 11- May 13, 2009 The second series of workshops for the Master Plan was organized as a charrette led by the consultant team. The charrette process is a highly interactive process that allows the workshop facilitators to engage the audience in meaningful participation. Workshop #2 was held on three consecutive nights: May 11th through May 13th. Session 1: SWOT Mapping After the consultant s presentation the audience was divided into six (6) breakout groups to discuss the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats weakness. The following maps summarize the strengths, weaknesses, threats Session 2: Draft Conceptual Plan Development and Presentation from all six groups was combined by the consultant team into an area-wide strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) plan. From these previous evening. The six break out groups re-convened to validate and improve on the ideas and concepts developed by the consultant team. PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 20
COMMUNITY SWOT MAPPING - PINEY GROVE/ ST. ANDREWS EAST Figure 3.1 Community SWOT Map: Piney Grove / St. Andrews East PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 21
COMMUNITY SWOT MAPPING - PINEY GROVE/ ST. ANDREWS WEST Figure 3.2 Community SWOT Map: Piney Grove / St. Andrews West PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 22
COMMUNITY SWOT MAPPING - DUTCH SQUARE/ LOWER BROAD EAST Figure 3.3 Community SWOT Map: Dutch Square / Lower Broad East PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 23
COMMUNITY SWOT MAPPING - DUTCH SQUARE/ LOWER BROAD WEST Figure 3.4 Community SWOT Map: Dutch Square / Lower Broad West PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 24
Session 3: Community Validation and Precedent Analysis Night #3 began with a presentation of the Conceptual Master Plan. The six featured on the Conceptual Plan; Piney Grove/Broad River Road Area, St. Andrews/Broad River Road Area, Broad River Road extending from Interstate 20 to Bush River Road and the Greystone Boulevard Corridor. The consultant team received valuable insight from the participants on where to focus attention and what types of improvements they believed would most greatly facilitate economic development and aesthetic improvement along the Broad River Road corridor and the community as a whole. In addition, the participants engaged in an interactive exercise by identifying areas of varying intensities and character, based upon selected photographs that represented different development types and built form examples from case studies across the state and the country. PART I CHAPTER 3: COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 25