The process for city approval of Columbia's expansion into Manhattanville is currently behind the schedule that the Columbia administration laid out in April, when administrators said the University would begin the process this fall.
The University has not entered the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, commonly referred to as ULURP, which is the application process Columbia must complete in order to change zoning laws for its expansion into West Harlem.
Elizabeth Golden, the director of Operations, Planning, and Special Projects in the Office of Public Affairs, said that Columbia is still working on the environmental requirements for the proposal to the City. She added that she expects the University to initiate ULURP this spring. "Columbia has not delayed its submission, but is in the process of working through the steps [of the process]," she said in an e-mail.
Columbia is now working through the Environmental Impact Statement, which the Department of City Planning requires to determine whether re-zoning policies can be granted. The EIS details the effects of the proposal on the surrounding environment. Public review cannot begin until the EIS is completed.
After revisions, the City Planning Committee will hold a public hearing which residents can attend to voice their concerns about the proposed expansion.
ULURP will enable the Department of City Planning, the City Planning Commission, the Community Board, the Borough President, the Borough Boards, and the City Council to make timely suggestions and revisions to Columbia's plan.
This will include extensive input from the community. In Columbia's case, Community Board 9 will be given 60 days during which they can review the proposal and adopt and submit recommendations for the Community Planning Commission and the applicant.
Community Board 9 has already written their own suggestions for the West Harlem expansion project. The 197-A plan, a 200-page proposal, was written over the last few years, and was unanimously adopted by the Community Board at the October Board meeting. If approved by the City, this plan will serve as a guideline for Columbia's proposed expansion.
Tom DeMott, head of the Coalition to Preserve Committee, has alleged that Columbia has repeatedly ignored the needs of the community's residents and workers. He said he hopes the delay in the submission of the plan will give Columbia time to consider the plan.
Tom Kappner, another Coalition member, said the 197-A plan is the reason for Columbia's delay in submitting the ULURP.
The 197-A "raised a lot of ... questions that the initial plans [proposed by Columbia] are inadequate," he said, adding that he hopes that the University will "address Columbia's needs and the community's needs."
Golden denied this, writing in an email that the 197-A plan "does not impact the timeline of the University entering the [review] process."