Columbia moves to limit student housing, but the changes are now less strict. What to know
The city of Columbia is no longer looking at banning student dorms in portions of downtown after the council had a long conversation behind closed doors Tuesday.
Now, the council is looking to restrict private dorms of a certain size.
The council’s new proposal would limit the number of allowed bedrooms in a downtown private dorm to four. There are 11 private student dorms in the city of Columbia, according to a list provided by the city. Nearly all of them do offer five-bedroom suites, as well as three- and four-bedroom layouts.
The council did not have any public debate before moving the new proposal forward Tuesday. A spokesperson for the city said the council’s earlier conversation fell under executive session privileges because the council was receiving legal advice on the resolution.
This is the second Columbia City Council meeting in a row where the council put forward a measure that would significantly impact downtown development without having any public debate about the proposal in a regular meeting.
“It seemed fast,” said Columbia Councilman Tyler Bailey, who was the sole “no” vote on the issue Tuesday. Bailey said he preferred the council’s original proposal that would have banned the private dorms in specific corridors downtown — specifically Main Street and The Vista.
Bailey stressed that he is not opposed to student dorms, but that he worries about the future of the city’s riverfront as Columbia looks at the possibility of building a new waterfront park along the Congaree River. Bailey said he wants to ensure the riverfront doesn’t become overwhelmed with student dorms as development moves west.
There will be a legally mandated public hearing on the plan to limit private student dorms downtown, which is currently scheduled for May 20. First, the city’s Planning Commission will also consider the proposal at its April 10 meeting. The city previously said the Planning Commission would consider the case at its meeting this month and be back before city council by April.
When the city does hold its public hearing in May, it will take place at the same meeting the council is expected to take the first of two votes needed for the proposal to take effect.
On Feb. 18, the council advanced a different plan to create an ordinance that would effectively ban all private student dorms in downtown Columbia. As with Tuesday’s vote, there was no public debate among council at that meeting. This new proposal to limit bedrooms would replace the previous language calling for a complete ban.
Mayor Daniel Rickenmann has said there will be public and private discussions about the student dorm limits in addition to the required public hearing, but what those conversations could look like remains unclear.
This story has been updated with new meeting dates as the city has adjusted its schedule.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 7:14 PM.
