Approve Covenant plan

by J Scott Christianson, Columbia Daily Tribune Columnist

After years of planning, fund-raising and hard work, the Covenant Community Development Corp. has put forward a plan to redevelop a plot of land at the intersection of Sexton Road and Garth Avenue, right in the heart of one of the most economically depressed areas of the city. To assist the redevelopment, the Covenant Corp. went before the Columbia City Council to seek a change in zoning and a number of zoning accommodations, including variances in the number of parking spaces required and in the yard and parking lot setbacks.

But the city council has delayed the project from moving forward in what seems to be a classic case of the perfect getting in the way of the good.

The Covenant project would bring local economic development to an area of the city that has double-digit unemployment, high dropout rates and high crime. This area of town is an abnormality in Columbia, a city that continually boasts of its good economic indicators and high national rankings as one of the best places to live and work in the United States.

This area didn’t become poor and largely black by chance. From its founding until the 1960s, Columbia was a segregated town. Throughout that time, Columbia’s black community had little or no means of escaping poverty; access to higher education and higher paying jobs were blocked by those in power.

Despite the obstacles, a collection of successful businesses grew in the area known as Sharp End, stretching from around the current post office over to Garth Avenue, providing some local economic activity. However, in the 1950s the city decided to undertake several projects to “redevelop” the area. As far as I can tell, the main outcome of this redevelopment was a city-sponsored transfer of real estate from black property owners to white property owners and the destruction of most of the black-owned businesses.

Like the rest of the city, this area needs an economic engine to succeed. Right now, local jobs are scarce. For those who don’t own a car, the local options for purchasing groceries and other staples are limited. Think of how it would help our entire city if this area of town were a thriving economic center.

Increasing the economic performance of this area will help all of Columbia.

The argument has been put forward by Tribune Publisher Hank Waters and others that no special considerations should be…