Neighborhood Association History

The Early Years: From Establishment through the 1980’s

When Bellevue Springs (as Cottontown was first called) was developed in the 1920’s and 1930’s, it was a vibrant neighborhood in the northern reaches of the City of Columbia. As time passed, neighborhoods were established further and further from the city center, and many people tried out life in the new suburbs. Some city neighborhoods, like Cottontown, began to decline.

By the 1970’s, the residents of Cottontown were facing three major problems.

• First, commercial encroachment threatened the boundaries of the neighborhood; adjoining businesses were expanding and encroaching upon residential areas.
• Second, a number of homes (especially along these boundaries) were showing signs of disrepair. Many single-family homes had been “cut-up” into rental apartments. 
• Finally, cut-through traffic flooded the streets on a daily basis; in particular, residents complained about the large trucks that streamed up and down Marion Street to the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant in the northern part of the neighborhood.

In 1978, in response to this situation, a detailed, federally-funded neighborhood study of our neighborhood was undertaken; the plan that came out of this study was a blueprint for the revitalization of Cottontown.  Immediately, at least three major steps were taken:

• Residents came together to form the first neighborhood association, called the North Marion Street Area Neighborhood Organization.
• City Council took the measures suggested in the plan to control traffic. Trucks were barred from passing through the major streets such as Sumter, Marion and Confederate. Also, traffic medians were installed along Marion Street and on Victoria to help reduce cut-through traffic.
• To improve the condition of the housing stock and to discourage commercial encroachment, the City systematically rezoned the entire neighborhood. The new zoning patterns provided a more logical and compatible mix of single-family and two-family homes of different sizes.

These first steps provided the basis for Cottontown’s renewal, but progress did not always come easily.  For years, the Neighborhood Association had to rally neighbors to City Council meetings to block the expansion of commercial and institutional buildings on our borders. Some of the harder-fought battles included preventing the expansion of the office building at 1331 Elmwood Avenue, keeping the same building from building a multi-story parking garage right next to the bungalows on Marion St., opposing the expansion of the Krispy Kreme from Main Street onto Summerville and Sumter, and keeping the Commission for the Blind from expanding along Confederate and Victoria. Smaller—but still important—struggles involved businesses along Sumter, Wallace and Main Street. As an example, the Neighborhood Association intervened many times with the succession of bars at 2706 Main Street (corner with Geiger) to limit sales of alcohol, solve parking problems, and enforce clean-up and proper screening.

The initial measures to reduce traffic in the neighborhood were enormously successful, and in the ensuing years the Association fought hard to oppose proposals that would increase traffic. Successes in this area included blocking the extension of Harden Street through to Anthony Avenue, stopping a plan to eliminate on-street parking on Confederate Avenue, and blocking the alignment of Colonial Drive with Confederate Avenue.

During these years, the Neighborhood Association also sponsored social functions, such as Christmas parties.  The bulk of our efforts, however, was focused on the continual battles to protect the neighborhood from commercial encroachment and increased traffic.

The Middle Years:  the 1990’s

Through the 1990’s, the Neighborhood Association became more firmly established as an important lobbying organization in the City.  Commercial encroachment and traffic continued to be the major issues for the neighborhood. In addition, the Association took on a pro-active stance towards beautification and historical preservation.

Important neighborhood accomplishments during this time period included the following:

• Prevented the conversion of the Coca-Cola Bottling Plant into a barbeque-processing plant.

• Had our historic neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Blocked the construction of a cell-tower at A Self Storage (former Coca-Cola plant).

• Instituted Crime Watch zones in many parts of the neighborhood.

• Initiated the clean-up of the Confederate Cemetery between Geiger and Anthony.

• Successfully negotiated with new owner of A Self Storage for landscape buffer on Marion

• Beautification Committee established to weed, plant, and clean traffic medians.

• Cottontown first neighborhood in Columbia to benefit from City’s new targeted enforcement for traffic hot spots

• Rezoning project begun for commercial properties located within and on Cottontown’s borders.  On March 11, 1998 City Council approved rezoning three houses on Victoria St., two houses on Jefferson St., one house on Confederate Ave., and a lot on Sumter St. next to the Sherwin Williams automotive paint store from a commercial designation to residential.  Two houses on Franklin St. were be rezoned from commercial to Urban Transitional District (UTD).  The UTD designation is meant to preserve a neighborhood’s residential character while permitting commercial uses that are low traffic generators. 

 In addition to these zoning changes, the Neighborhood Association negotiated deed restrictions on two pieces of commercial property on Cottontown’s borders.  The first agreement is with the owner of A Self-storage at the old Coca Cola bottling plant site.  This restriction will limit use of the property so that no manufacturing activities and no cellular phone towers will be allowed there.  The second agreement is with the owners of the office building at 1331 Elmwood Avenue who have signed off on a deed restriction for the landscaped buffer area around three sides of the parking lot behind the building to prohibit any other use of those areas. 

• Successfully negotiated with the Salvation Army and the City of Columbia for a police substation to be located on site and creation of a Neighborhoods Advisory Council for the Salvation Army, Cottontown, Earlewood, and Elmwood Park.

• Worked with property owners, City Council, Fire Dept. and Police Dept. to evict vagrants from warehouses and abandoned office building on 1200 block of Sumter.

• Cottontown worked with the City to force the owner of a condemned house on Sumter Street to tear it down.

• Cottontown receives $8,635 Community Incentives grant from the City to expand Neighborhood Crime Watch zones, install neighborhood gateway signs, install Cottontown street sign toppers, produce Cottontown car decals and bumper stickers, and repair traffic diverter at Franklin and Marion Streets.

• Cottontown Web site created.

Recent Years: 2000 to Present

• Four-way stop signs installed at intersection of Marion and Confederate.

• Neighborhood successfully fought request for beer, wine, and liquor permit for bar at corner of Main and Geiger - kept bar from opening.

• Cottontown received Community Incentives grant from City to install neighborhood signs, purchase land for Habitat House on site of demolished condemned house, install fountain and landscaping at intersection of Frankin and Marion, install new landscaping at intersection of Summerville and Marion.

• Negotiated privacy fence design, irrigation, and additional landscaping (more than required by City) to buffer new building at A Self Storage.

• Traffic Committee worked with City to install four-way stop signs at Sumter and Confederate, revised “No Right Turn” signs at Bull and Franklin and Bull and Jefferson to allow turns on weekends, reinstated “No Left Turn” at southbound corner of Marion and Confederate.

• Cottontown received Columbia Council of Neighborhoods 2001 Neighborhood Achievement Award for successful implementation of 2000 Community Incentives Grant projects.

• Cottontown received CANDO grant from City of Columbia to purchase land for Habitat house next to Sherwin Williams automotive paint store on Sumter Street, produce and distribute a historic preservation manual, install landscape material in traffic islands at Grace and Marion and Victoria and Bull, install crepe myrtles on Sumter, and install Centennial Banners at neighborhood gateways.

• Successfully negotiated conditions on the zoning special exception granted for Tom’s auto repair shop at corner of Sumter and Franklin - kept gas sales out.

• Worked with City officials to shut down illegally opened bar at corner of Main and Geiger.

• Went to court with City Fire Department to force owner of 1221 Sumter to secure building and evict vagrants.

• Cottontown received CANDO grant to install brick and wrought iron fence at North Main Street Fire Station. 

• Worked with the Department of Mental Health to clear Anthony Avenue property of long term stored cars, boats, golf carts.

• Worked with City to have traffic light at intersection of Sumter and Confederate removed.

• Received 2002 Historic Columbia Foundation Celia Mann Award in recognition of our Historic Preservation Manual.  This award is presented to a neighborhood that has researched and preserved, through a cohesive effort, its structures and common areas.