The Columbia County Planning Department program areas include land use, planning, zoning, agricultural districts, data analysis, demographics, and transportation. The Department interacts with and advises, state and federal government agencies, the County Board of Supervisors, local government officials, and county residents. This interaction takes many forms including data collection and analysis, information dissemination, municipal planning, and zoning development project review, research, analysis and recommendations on development projects, land use training and technical assistance.
The Department provides staff support to the Columbia County Planning Board and the Environmental Management Council. Other important contributions include participation as voting members of County advisory bodies such as the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board and the Transportation Advisory Committee.
Columbia County Planning participates as a Census Affiliate of the New York State Data Center which operates as part of a nationwide effort to improve public access to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. As an Affiliate the Department researches and distributes demographic data and US Census data, participating in various US Census Bureau initiatives in support of the US Decennial Census and other programs including the American Community Survey.