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City zoning overhaul enters public comment phase, city staff outlines outreach
Summary
Deputy Director Festus Manley Spain told the Historic Resources Commission the citywide zoning-code rewrite has moved from mapping to detailed policy work and opened a 30-day public comment period on a revised map; staff listed upcoming pop-ups and an Oct. 23 open house at the commission’s hearing room.
Festus Manley Spain, deputy director for Building & Zoning Services, briefed the Historic Resources Commission on the city’s multi-phase zoning-code update and urged residents to review a newly revised map now open for public comment.
Spain said the city’s zoning overhaul is being done in phases: phase 1 focused on housing and corridor densification; phase 2 focuses on economic development and consolidating numerous, older plans into a consistent policy framework. He said staff has taken public feedback from a summer engagement process and revised an initial draft map into more detailed categories that will guide zoning districts.
Why it matters: the code rewrite covers the entire city and will change how corridors, industrial and campus areas, and mixed-use areas are regulated. Those changes could affect future development proposals, design review and long-term neighborhood plans.
Spain described the public-engagement record so far: roughly 3,100 survey responses, more than 2,000 community interactions at outreach events, 25 presentations to advisory groups and commissions, three Zoning Advisory Committee meetings, 26 pop-up events, two walk-in tours, about 40 social-media posts and 13 stakeholder interviews.
Staff opened a 30‑day public comment period on a revised final map on Oct. 14 and listed in-person opportunities: four pop-up events (including ones at MLK Library on Oct. 14 and Northern Lights Library on Oct. 21, and a Hilltop Library event Nov. 3) and an open house scheduled Oct. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the commission hearing room. Spain said the map and comment form are available via the city’s “ZoneIn Columbus” web page.
Commissioners asked about how the map changes relate to neighborhood plans and noted that some areas were removed after public feedback. Spain said the new map breaks uses into three primary buckets — industrial/office/campus, mixed use and other defined categories — and that the detailed categories will inform the new zoning districts.
Staff did not propose any actions requiring the commission’s vote; the briefing was informational and intended to encourage review and written comment during the 30‑day period.
