Capital Improvement Program Public Involvement

The construction of roads, intersections, sidewalks, trails and traffic calming projects is a major part of Columbia’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) managed by Columbia Public Works. Public input is sought in the process, including voting for funding, expressing views to the City Council and participating in neighborhood meetings.

Columbia Public Works coordinates with the City’s Finance Department, Community Development, Columbia Utilities and other departments/agencies to prioritize construction projects based on funding schedules, traffic management challenges, safety concerns and logistical issues.

Public involvement process

Chapter 22 of the City of Columbia Code of Ordinances details the City’s commitment.  Public Works staff is available to meet with interested parties as a group or individually to discuss projects and how they may affect property owners. 

Stakeholders in the community are identified and invited, along with the general public, to an Interested Parties meeting to review and provide feedback on the conceptual plans for a given project. Preliminary plans are then developed and presented to the City Council during a formal public hearing.  Public comments are heard before a final discussion and vote is conducted by the Council. The designs are then finalized and, if easements are needed for the project, right-of-way plans are drafted and presented to Council for consideration. Finally, the construction plans and specifications are drawn up for bid and a bid call is presented to Council for approval.   

The following steps represent a typical public involvement process. (Depending on the type and complexity of the project, this process may vary. For example, a variation of this process is used by the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program.) In all variations, the project must be approved by City Council before construction can begin.

  1. Initiate project
  2. Develop conceptual plan(s)
  3. Hold an informal public meeting with interested parties to gather initial public input
  4. Develop Preliminary Plan(s) 
  5. Set Public Hearing date through Council
  6. Send a letter to interested parties with public hearing date, time and location
  7. Hold Public Hearing at City Council meeting which includes additional public input, Council discussion and direction from Council to proceed with the project or not
  8. Develop right-of-way plans
  9. Present ordinance to Council to acquire right-of-way easements 
  10. Present ordinance to Council to bid the project through the Purchasing Division
  11. Acquire right-of-way easements
  12. Develop final plans and specifications
  13. Complete bidding and contracting
  14. Complete construction