Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee — Columbia, SC
Date: 2026-03-24
Time: 13:00

Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Agenda
 Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM
 City Hall • Mayor's Conference Room
 1737 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
 City Clerk’s Office: (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov

 The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, At-Large, Chair
The Honorable Edward H. McDowell Jr., District II • The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey, At-Large


Call to Order

Approval of Minutes

1. February 24, 2026 Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting
 Minutes

Presentations

2. Riparian Buffer Zone Considerations – Mr. Bill Stangler, Congaree
 Riverkeeper

3. Tree and Appearance Commission Update – Ms. Viola Hendley, Chair

4. Animal Services Ordinance Revisions - Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services

5. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works

Adjournment




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Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Agenda
 Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at 1:00 PM
 City Hall • Mayor's Conference Room
 1737 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Columbia, SC 29201
 City Clerk’s Office: (803)545-3045 or cityclerk@columbiasc.gov

 The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, At-Large, Chair
 The Honorable Edward H. McDowell Jr., District II • The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey, At-Large


 Call to Order

 Approval of Minutes

 1. February 24, 2026 Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting
 Minutes

 Presentations

 2. Riparian Buffer Zone Considerations – Mr. Bill Stangler, Congaree
 Riverkeeper

 3. Tree and Appearance Commission Update – Ms. Viola Hendley, Chair

 4. Animal Services Ordinance Revisions - Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services

 5. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works

 Adjournment




 Page 1 of 1

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 Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee
 Meeting Minutes
 Tuesday, February 24, 2026


 Call to Order
 The Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee conducted a meeting
 on Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at City Hall (Mayor's Conference Room), 1737 Main
 Street, Columbia, South Carolina 29201. The Honorable Sam P. Johnson, Chair called
 the meeting to order at 1:07 p.m. The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr was present.
 The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey was absent.

 Approval of Minutes

 1. Approval of October 28, 2025 Health, Social, and Environmental Afffairs
 Committee Meeting Minutes
 Upon a motion made by Mr. McDowell and seconded by Mr. Johnson, the
 Committee voted unanimously to approve the October 28, 2025 Health, Social, and
 Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting Minutes.

 Presentations

 2. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works
 and Mr. Brian Neiger, Superintendent / Forestry & Beautification
 Mr. Clint Shealy, P.E., Assistant City Manager of Columbia Water welcomed Mr. Eric
 Jensen, Richland County Assistant Administrator and Ms. Sandra Haynes, Director of
 Animal Services for Richland County.

 Mr. Brian Neiger, Superintendent / Forestry & Beautification provided an update on the
 City’s beautification efforts. He highlighted corridor mowing; downtown self-watering
 planters; fence and median upgrades; enhanced sidewalk maintenance; new equipment
 to improve median cleaning efficiency; and the new "Welcome to Columbia" signage.
 He also discussed the “Beat the Heat, Plant a Tree” partnership with Columbia Green,
 which has distributed approximately 2,000 trees over two years.

 Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works shared that the City has implemented an
 Adopt-a-Street program, which focuses on major thoroughfares with organized
 cleanups held several times a year. He also noted that the City is in the early stages of
 additional beautification efforts, including evaluating flood-prone lots for potential
 pollinator gardens and enhanced plantings. He stated that the City will continue
 partnering with community groups to support these initiatives.




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 There was discussion about group crossover with regard to beautification efforts;
 designated areas for gateway projects; use of the street sweeper; a grant program to
 standardize signs at neighborhood entrances; the employment of youth for
 beautification efforts; a road safety audit performed by the Department of
 Transportation; and a map of neighborhoods that have or have not submitted tree
 planting requests.

 3. Animal Services Update – Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services
 Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal Services presented proposed updates to the
 City’s animal services ordinances, including reorganizing sections, adding definitions,
 and aligning regulations with Richland County. Key changes include replacing the
 outdated kennel model with a breeder permit requiring inspections and humane
 standards, and strengthening the tethering ordinance. She noted that most revisions
 focus on necessary animal welfare improvements. She shared the need for facility
 upgrades.

 There was discussion about addressing current ordinance language; penalty
 enforcement; timeline for implementing proposed changes; building demolition;
 tethering in bad weather; ear cropping; differential licensing exemption for
 service/show dogs; levels of enforcement; and flawed building functionality.

 There was consensus of the committee to review the proposed changes and continue
 this discussion at the next meeting.

 Adjournment
 The meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.



 Respectfully Submitted:



 Erika D. Moore Hammond, CMC, CPM
 City Clerk




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 Columbia Tree and
 Appearance
 Commission

 Health, Social &
 Environmental Affairs
 Committee

 Board of Commissioners
 March 2026

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 The Columbia Tree and Appearance
 Commission’s (CTAC) Mission

To enhance and improve the visual quality and
aesthetic characteristics of the city of Columbia,
supporting City Forestry & Beautification in
preserving & enhancing our tree canopy for future
generations.
 Our Commissioners
Vi Hendley, Chair
Gray Taylor, Chair-elect, Arborist/Horticulturist
Johnston Cox, Secretary
Ian Hamilton, Columbia Green
Laine Ligon, Realtor/Developer
Patrick McLean
Susan Hitchcock
Meredith Blackwell
Ralph Hilsman
Christopher Neuman, Architect
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 CTAC 2026-27 Focus

  ● Year 1 of 3 of our Trees4SC
 Grant from SC Forestry
 Commission canopy mapping
 and code audit

  ● Separate The Columbia
 Landscape & Tree Fund from
 general fund

  ● Bring awareness of utility
 undergrounding as best practice

  ● International Dark Sky Lighting
 standards along our greenways
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Why adopt International Dark Sky lighting standards
 Along our Parks & Greenways?




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 Underground Utilities
 Superior Reliability & Resilience
 Enhanced Safety
 Reduced Maintenance Costs
 Improved Aesthetics & Property Value
 Protection from Damage

  ● Camden, SC 90% of utilities are underground. Per Utilities
 Director reports * Rarely receive calls regarding trees *
 neighborhoods & businesses have undergrounded * Tree
 canopy quickly recovered * Significant reduction of power
 loss due to cars downing power lines.

“It looks really good. Seems like we don’t lose power as often, so
we have been really pleased. The more that you do it, the better.
I think that it is good for the city. It looks good, it’s attractive and I
think it’s a good use of money.” Duncan Macintosh, citizen of
Camden, SD

  ● Other SC cities applying best practices
 Hilton Head, Greenville, Mount Pleasant, Forest Acres,
 Aiken, Myrtle Beach
  Page 14 of 28
 Collaborations

 ● Midlands Business Leadership Group

 ● Columbia Green

 ● Stakeholder in the Riverfront Park development

 ● University of South Carolina

 ● City Council, the Mayor, Assistant City Manager Columbia
 Water
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 Columbia Animal Services
 Shelter Update




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 Animal Ordinances
  • Reorganized articles for a more concise flow

  • Added necessary definitions for stronger clarification

  • Most notable changes are:

 Ø Kennels and breeding (modified)
 Ø Tethering (modified)
 Ø Animal care generally (modified)
 Ø Sale of animals (added)
 Ø License for cats and dogs; rabies vaccine (modified)


  • All modifications result in alignment with Richland County's ordinances




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Page 17 of 28
 Kennels and Breeding
 Ø Commercial pet breeders must now obtain a pet breeder permit from Animal Services

 Ø Pet owner must pass inspection for breeder permit which requires:
 o Obtaining a City of Columbia business license
 o Vaccinating and licensing all pets over four months of age
 o On-site inspection by animal services to ensure environment is in accordance with ordinance


 Tethering
 Ø Changes include:
 o Shortening time frame to no more than 2 hours in a 24-hour period.
 o Specifying appropriate age for tethering
 o Specifying appropriate type of tether
 o Specifying appropriate condition of the animal for tether (not sick/injured)
 o Specifying appropriate temperature/weather for tethering (between 40° and 90°)

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 Animal Care Generally
 Ø Defines proper shelter

 Ø Added stipulations for temperatures less that 40°

 Ø Prohibits ear cropping by anyone other than a licensed veterinarian

 Ø Addresses animal abandonment

 Sale of Animals
 Ø Not permitted in public properties, rights-of-way, roadsides, and flea
 markets

 Ø Addresses appropriate age for separation from mother dogs

 Ø Prohibits retail sale of dogs and cats in pet stores

4
Page 19 of 28
 Differential licensing program
• Sec 4.62 – License for dogs and cats; rabies vaccination:
 Ø Currently, pet licensing is required annually with options of a $25 fee for unaltered pets or a $5 fee
 for altered pets

• Proposed changes:
 Ø No change to annual $5 fee for altered pets
 Ø Increased annual fee for unaltered pets to $100
 Ø Provide a one-time life-time pet license to altered pets who are also microchipped.

• Benefits:
 Ø Improved license compliance
 Ø Faster pet-owner retention
 Ø Intake and cost reduction of shelter pets over time
 Ø Increased revenue for unaltered pets and stronger community return on investment
 Ø Spay/neuter incentive accompanied with low-cost spay and neuter programs

• Per a recent meeting with Richland County, they would like to discuss with their Council and possibly
 align their ordinance with these proposed changes.

• 5 Advertise with this years budget with date for implementation to be determined based on discussion
 with Richland County.
  Page 20 of 28
Differential licensing program
Ø Exemptions from differential licensing - Sec. 4-3 (c)

 o Elaboration of medical exemption from a licensed veterinarian

 o Specification of type of show for show exempt animals

 o Removal of trained service animal
 • Difficult to verify with blends between emotional support vurses true service animals




6
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 City of Columbia
 Neighborhood Beautification




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 Neighborhood Beautification
 Ø Grants

 Ø Signage

 Ø Landscaping

 Ø Litter Control

 Ø Neighborhood Cleanups

 Ø Neighborhood Engagements

 Ø Youth Engagement

 2
Page 23 of 28
 Grants
 Ø Community Development Department Involvement
 Ø Grant Development/Guidelines
 Ø Committee Approach
 Ø Grants
 Ø Sign Design
 Ø Cap on Funding Amount
 Ø Recurring Funding
 Ø City Wide Grant Opportunity

 Signage
 Ø Standard Template
 Ø Public Relations has Engaged a Company for Preliminary Designs
 Ø Easy to Maintain
 Ø Color Standard
 Ø Material

3
Page 24 of 28
 Landscaping
 Ø Designs from Public Works Forestry and Beautification Division
 Ø Designs will be Specific to the Neighborhood
 Ø Space
 Ø Neighborhoods will Plant and Maintain
 Ø Possible Planting Educational Component


 Litter Control
 Ø Neighborhoods to Provide Litter Collection
 Ø Number of Times per Year
 Ø Adopt a Street is Four per Year
 Ø Litter Collection Supplies
 Ø Bags
 Ø Pick-up Sticks
 Ø Safety Vests
 Ø Buckets
 Ø Pet Waste Stations
4
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 Neighborhood Cleanups
 Ø One per Year on Request
 Ø Police
 Ø Code Enforcement
 Ø Solid Waste
 Ø Animal
 Ø Forestry and Beautification
 Ø Volunteers

 Neighborhood Engagement
 Ø Columbia Council of Neighborhoods
 Ø Cleanup Luncheons
 Ø Community Pride
 Ø Ownership of Program
 Ø Commitment


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Page 26 of 28
 Youth Engagement
 Ø Developing Partnerships
 Ø Neighborhood Youth
 Ø Churches
 Ø Colleges
 Ø Local School Groups
 Ø Police Engagement Programs
 Ø “4” Block Promise
 Ø Possible Compensation (Model Available from ONSE)

 Partners
 Ø Community Development
 Ø Police
 Ø Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement
 Ø Public Relations
 Ø Forestry & Beautification
 Ø Solid Waste
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Page 27 of 28
  Proposed Signs
 Ø Navy Signs w/ White Lettering
 Ø Resembling Signs Produced in COC Parks
 Ø Crawford Designing new Signs that would
 better reflect Neighborhoods (In-Progress)
 Ø Signs are Displayed at 72” x 46”
 Ø Secured 24” in Ground (see images)


 Estimate
 Ø Proposed Project Funding: $200,000.00
 Ø Signs: $8,100
 Ø Installation: $1,500
 Ø Total (tax): $10,100.00

 Estimated Number of Signs
 That Can be Funded: 20

 7
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Columbia Health Social and Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting Minutes
 Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Call to Order
The Columbia Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee conducted a meeting on
March 24, 2026 at City Hall (Mayor's Conference Room), 1737 Main Street, Columbia, South
Carolina 29201. The Honorable Sam Johnson, Chair called the meeting to order at 1:06
p.m. The Honorable Edward H. McDowell, Jr. and The Honorable Tyler D. Bailey were
present.

Approval of Minutes

1. February 24, 2026 Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs Committee Meeting
 Minutes
Upon a motion made by Mr. McDowell and seconded by Mr. Bailey, the Committee voted
unanimously to approve the February 24, 2026 Health, Social, and Environmental Affairs
Committee Meeting Minutes.

Presentations

2. Riparian Buffer Zone Considerations – Mr. Bill Stangler, Congaree
 Riverkeeper
Mr. Bill Stangler, Congaree Riverkeeper explained the role of riparian buffer zones in
protecting aquatic resources by filtering pollutants before they reach waterways. They
noted that buffer widths vary depending on purpose, with 50 to 100 feet on both sides of a
stream supporting water quality, and 100 to300 feet benefiting wildlife habitats. For
designated scenic rivers, such as the Saluda River, a minimum buffer of 100 feet is
recommended. Within the City of Columbia, there are approximately 14 miles of river
frontage, including 9 miles along the Broad River, 3 miles along the Lower Saluda River,
and 2 miles along the Congaree River. He recommended increasing the City’s buffer
requirement from 50 to 100 feet, noting that the change would impact a limited number of
properties.

There was discussion about the scenic river designation; rivers selected for buffer increase;
example of lower quality buffers; the surrounding municipalities' buffers; and conversations
with stakeholders.

3. Tree and Appearance Commission Update – Ms. Viola Hendley, Chair
Ms. Viola Hendley, Chair / Columbia Tree and Appearance Commission outlined priorities for
2026–2027, including participation in year one of the three-year Trees for SC grant and
efforts to separate the Columbia Landscape and Tree Fund from the General Fund. She
emphasized the importance of recognizing the value of trees in development, promoting
utility undergrounding as a best practice, and exploring programs such as Line City USA in




 Page 1 of 3
partnership with Dominion. She also highlighted the need to hire additional arborists to train
crews and address community concerns about tree removal through better communication.
She noted the City’s responsibility for tree maintenance and discussed environmental
initiatives such International Dark Sky lighting to reduce the impacts of artificial light.

Mr. Gray Taylor, Chair-Elect / Columbia Tree and Appearance Commission provided an
overview of the Trees for SC grant, describing it as a high-level assessment of the City’s
tree canopy. He noted that the analysis evaluates overall canopy coverage, currently
estimated at approximately 42 percent, and identifies potential areas for future planting. He
explained that this broader assessment will help guide the next phase, which is the
development of a comprehensive tree inventory. This inventory will involve evaluating
individual trees for health, hazards and maintenance needs and supporting more proactive
management. He emphasized that the grant provides a strategic foundation for long-term
planning and informed decision-making regarding the City’s urban forest.

There was discussion about including tree canopy date including Fort Jackson; tree pruning;
Line City USA locations; potential canopy assessment; and the financial component of tree
mapping.

4. Animal Services Ordinance Revisions - Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal
 Services
Ms. Victoria Clary, Superintendent / Animal Services provided a recap of proposed
amendments to the City’s animal ordinances, focusing on modernization and alignment with
Richland County. Changes include revising breeding regulations by removing outdated
provisions and requiring a City business license, as well as strengthening language around
the sale of animals to address irresponsible breeding practices. She noted updates to
tethering standards, including clearer definitions and a proposed reduction to a two-hour
limit. Additional revisions address general animal care, refine medical exemptions for
neutering to prevent misuse; and removal of the trained service animal exception. She also
outlined updates to the licensing program to include increasing the annual fee for unaltered
pets to $100 and introducing a one-time lifetime license option to improve resource
allocation and generate revenue.

There was consensus of the committee to endorse the revisions for City Council
consideration.

5. City Beautification Update – Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works
Mr. Robert Anderson, Director / Public Works shared details from a recent multi-department
meeting focused on strengthening neighborhood support initiatives. Discussions included
coordination with the Community Development Department on grants, establishing grant
guidelines, and exploring recurring annual funding opportunities for neighborhoods. He also
noted the potential inclusion of a Council of Neighborhoods representative on a committee
to support these efforts. Additional topics included developing standardized, durable
signage with consistent materials and design; expanding landscaping and planting
education, and enhancing litter control through main corridor maintenance, pet waste
stations, and annual neighborhood cleanups. Hehighlighted the importance of community
engagement through initiatives such as cleanup luncheons to foster neighborhood pride and
shared that proposed signage would align with existing the City of Columbia parks designs.




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There was discussion about keeping young people at the core of beautification efforts and
school involvement.

Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:29 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted:


Erika D. Moore Hammond, MMC, CPM
City Clerk




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