Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - April 9, 2026
Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting - April 9, 2026
The Planning and Zoning Commission of Columbia, Missouri, held a regular meeting on Thursday, April 9, 2026, at 7:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting focused on two public hearings for short-term rental (STR) conditional use permits, followed by public comments, staff reports, and commissioner discussions. The meeting adjourned at 9:03 PM.
Public Hearings & Testimony
- Case 106-2026 (2208 Concordia Drive): Applicant Kent Cook, on behalf of the Cook Family Revocable Living Trust, requested a conditional use permit (CUP) for a 210-night, maximum eight-guest STR. Staff recommended approval with conditions: max six transient guests, 210 nights, and max eight guests only if one additional parking space was added. During testimony, the applicant agreed to limit occupancy to six guests and expressed willingness to accept 120 nights. Multiple neighbors (Maria Hitt, Brenda Campbell, Christina Edholm, Sarah English, Nathan Hopkins) opposed the proposal, citing concerns about traffic, noise, neighborhood character, and loss of affordable housing. Brenda Campbell noted her 92-year-old mother lives directly across the street. Christina Edholm reported four unlicensed STRs in the area. The applicant’s wife, Lori Cook, also briefly addressed the commission.
- Case 107-2026 (802 North Sixth Street): Applicant Mirei Marzolf, representing owners Dirk Mai and Aylya Marzolf, requested a CUP for a 210-night, maximum six-guest STR. The property had been operating as an unlicensed STR for approximately two years. Staff recommended approval with conditions: max four transient guests, 210 nights, and max six guests only if one additional parking space was added. The applicant agreed to max four guests. Neighbors Eric Nickerson and Pat Fowler opposed, citing concerns about non-compliance, housing availability, and flooding. Michael Martin, a nearby property manager, supported the application, stating the owners maintained the property well. Pat Fowler also provided a list of seven STRs in the neighborhood, which staff later clarified were not all licensed through the CUP process.
Discussion Items
- Commissioner Deliberation on Case 106-2026: Commissioners debated whether to recommend a 120-night limit instead of the standard 210 nights, given the applicant’s stated intent to use the STR only as a gap between mid-term leases. Commissioner Walters argued that 120 nights would reduce neighborhood impact. Commissioner Ortiz and Stanton opposed, believing it would muddy the process and that neighbors would remain opposed regardless. A motion to amend the recommendation to 120 nights passed 4-2 (Walters, Brodsky, Darr, Gray in favor; Ortiz, Stanton opposed). The final motion to recommend approval with max six guests and 120 nights passed unanimously 6-0.
- Commissioner Deliberation on Case 107-2026: Commissioners expressed concerns about the owners’ lack of responsiveness to compliance notices and the fact that the property operated unlicensed for two years. Vice Chair Stanton noted the importance of accountability, stating ignorance of the regulations is not an excuse. Commissioner Darr agreed, noting the owners did not attend the hearing. A motion to recommend approval with max four transient guests and 210 nights passed 4-2 (Ortiz, Walters, Brodsky, Darr in favor; Stanton, Gray opposed).
- Staff Comments: Mr. Zenner announced that the next meeting (April 23, 2026) will address a topic to be determined, possibly data center use-specific standards, and that the previously scheduled complete streets presentation has been delayed. He also noted upcoming items: a potential tabling of Case 91-26 (Grace Lane and Richland Road) and UDC text amendments regarding accessory dwelling units.
- Commissioner Comments: Commissioner Walters inquired about the STR tier structure, questioning why a non-principal residence could not be limited to 120 nights administratively. Mr. Zenner explained that the current ordinance is designed to allow only 210 nights for investment properties, and that amendments passed in June 2025 removed the 120-night option for non-owner-occupied properties.
Key Outcomes
- Case 106-2026: The Commission voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the STR CUP with a maximum of six transient guests and 120 nights of annual rental usage. This recommendation will be forwarded to City Council.
- Case 107-2026: The Commission voted 4-2 to recommend approval of the STR CUP with a maximum of four transient guests and 210 nights of annual rental usage. This recommendation will be forwarded to City Council.
- Meeting Schedule: The next regular meeting is tentatively set for April 23, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Do you have any abstentions? Okay. Um case 106-2026. A request by Laurie Cook, agent on behalf of the Cook Family Revocable Living Trust to allow 2208 Concordia Drive to be used as a 210 night maximum eight guest short-term rental pursuant to Section 29-3.3 V V and Section 29-6.4 Section M Part 2 of the Unified Development Code. The point 32 acre subject site is located southwest southeast of intersectional Concordia Drive and Lock Lane. May I have a staff report, please? Yes, you may. Thank you for the introduction there. To reiterate, this is a conditioning use permit for a short-term rental license for 2208 Concordia Drive. The site is 32.32 acres in size. And then an ad was ran in the Tribune on the 24th of March. The subject site is located on the southeast corner of the Concordia Drive and Lock Lane intersection. Concordia Drive is a local residential street that permits on-street parking, though does not have sidewalks installed. The surrounding properties have single family residences on them and are zoned R1. The property in question is zoned R1 as well and is not the applicant's primary residence. This is a four-bedroom, two-bathroom dwelling. With the eight requested guests, there are four parking spaces required to be on site, though the site currently only has three parking spaces until one additional UDC compliant on-site parking space is added. Six guests would be the maximum that the property can support. This property has not previously been offered as a short-term rental, nor are there additional short-term rentals within 300 feet of the subject site. Eleven of the 19 surrounding properties also appear to be owner-occupied dwellings. The designated agent lives in Columbia, 8.9 miles or roughly 16 minutes from the subject site. We found no violations on file for the site, and we received three general information phone calls just asking what the request was about. The conditional use permit analysis supports the approval of the request. The short-term rental regulations would provide an oversight and means to address any impacts that would be imposed by the operation of the short-term rental, and the approval would support broad policy strategies and actions of the comprehensive plan. Staff's approval is to uh staff's recommendation is to approve the requested short-term rental conditional use permit subject to a maximum occupancy of six transient guests, maximum of two hundred or ten nights of annual rental usage, followed by a maximum of eight transient guests subject to the installation of one additional UDC compliant on-site parking space. I'd be happy to answer any questions. Okay. Staff questions. Are you aware of any uh conversations from the applicant on how the parking would look or the layout or have they provided anything? No, that has not been previously discussed, though they would not be able to exceed 30 percent of their front yard uh to be paved. So that'd be the one little caveat to an addition of parking. Thank you. Questions for staff. We are talking as a group, we have six minutes or the oh yeah, one at a time, please. I'm just we're okay I'm Lori Cook, and this is my husband. Yeah, one's gonna talk to the other have to sit down to if you're talking as the owner of a group, you've got six minutes. If you're talking as an individual, you have three. Okay, please state your name and address for our recorder, please. Okay, my name is Kent Cook, and that was my wife Lori. Uh the properties of 2208. We currently live at 4001 South Nebo Cemetery, Columbia. Uh we've lived in the Columbia area uh since the 1980s. Um first off, I'm gonna thank the committee for uh considering our application, and I ask your patiences. This is the first time I've been up here, so uh bear with me. Um we've owned the property since 2015. It's been a long-term rental for most of that time. Uh we recently last May converted to a furnished rental targeting mid to long-term rentals. Our desire to get approval for the short-term rental is to have an available option to use as a gap between the midterm leases. That's our intention. Uh we don't intend to use it as a primary uh short-term rental.
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