Council to hear parking issues

The Columbia City Council will meet Tuesday night to discuss several annexation and road improvement projects.

The meeting agenda also includes a vote on amendments to the city code’s criteria for surface commercial parking lots in the central business district. The amendment would restrict parking lots to the rear portion of landscaped areas, plazas and buildings and allow them no closer than 25 feet from the street’s right of way. City Manager Ray Beck said that there are potential problems with the way this ordinance is currently written and that public comment is likely.

Concerns expressed by members of the Environment and Energy Commission last fall regarding loopholes in logging regulations will be introduced to the council. The proposed amendment would clarify the definition of logging and update penalty provisions according to acreage. The amendment would require the submission of a logging plan if logging is to occur on property lacking land disturbance requirements or before the approval of a tree preservation plan.