The City of Columbia and Boone County government are teaming up for a daylong housing summit.
An application now is available to attend the summit 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 24 at Memorial Baptist Church, 1634 Paris Road.
“The support across the board from all sectors in this community to address our County’s and City’s housing needs is immense. We are lucky to have that,” said Rebecca Thompson, Housing and Neighborhood Services director. “The housing summit will provide an opportunity for all of those sectors to come together and begin to develop a comprehensive housing strategy that reflects us all.”
For those unable to attend the summit, there is a recap session from 6-7:30 p.m., which will include a presentation on the housing study and summit summary. No registration is needed for the recap.
The summit includes representatives from a variety of housing-related sectors, including social services agencies, local government, property owners and managers, bankers, developers and builders, realtors and more.
The tentative schedule for the summit includes the housing study presentation and then breakout sessions on housing development and social services in the morning. Afternoon sessions will focus on action planning and next steps prioritization. Lunch is provided between morning and afternoon sessions.
More: Here’s how consultants aim to balance ideas in new Boone County Master Plan
The Boone County Housing Study is running concurrently with the Boone County Master Plan process and as Columbia is developing urban conservation plans.
The housing study is focused on affordable housing. The county’s master plan is exploring housing, but also land use, zoning and other countywide impacts;. The city is working to update its urban conservation regulations with aims of finding housing density solutions that also remain in line with aesthetic considerations of the central city.
Boone County said it has reached a “critical stage” in the master plan process, and plans to hold virtual and in-person public input sessions Aug. 21 and Sept. 5, respectively.
More: Here’s what community members are saying about affordable housing in Boone County
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Columbia, Boone County holding housing summit in October