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City staff outlines 'Zone In' zoning update; public comment period runs through Nov. 9
Summary
City planning staff presented the Phase 2 policy map for the 'Zone In' citywide zoning update to the University District Design Review Board and urged public input through Nov. 9. The board received details about the map, schedule and outreach so far.
Stephanie Kentsler, Planning Division staff, told the University District Design Review Board on Oct. 23 that the city’s Zone In initiative is the first comprehensive rewrite of the zoning code in more than 70 years and that Phase 2 focuses on economic and housing opportunity.
Kentsler said Phase 1, completed in 2024, covered corridors and about 4.5% of the city and created six mixed-use zoning districts; Phase 2 covers manufacturing, office, commercial and institutional areas and groups them into three broad buckets: mixed use, industrial/warehouse, and business and institutional campus. "Phase 1 was completed in 2024, and it put density on the corridors," Kentsler said. "Phase 2 is called economic and housing opportunity."
The presentation explained that the current public comment period on the Phase 2 policy map runs through Nov. 9 and that city staff plan to seek adoption of the policy map by Columbus City Council in December. Kentsler said staff plan to begin community engagement on the specific zoning districts in 2026 and aim for Council adoption of zoning districts by July 2026. She said Phase 3, which will address primarily residential neighborhoods, will follow in 2026.
Kentsler described the policy-first approach as moving from broad land-use categories to finer-grained zoning districts and said the city expects to reduce the number of land-use categories from about 200 to under 15. She said the city conducted a summer survey that drew roughly 3,100 responses and more than 2,500 in-person interactions; "support based off the survey is between 65–75%," Kentsler said.
Board members asked about parcel-level outcomes and how the policy map will interact with future rezoning and variance requests. Kentsler said staff and consultants reviewed every parcel and used a criteria-based, weighted analysis to build a heat map of suitable industrial and other uses; she added that variances and rezonings will still be possible, but the update aims to make them the exception rather than the rule.
Kentsler told the board the policy is intended to guide capital investment and infrastructure planning and that staff are discussing an annual review process and possible map amendments tied to rezonings so the map stays current. She emphasized the distinction between policy (guidance and "shoulds") and the later, more detailed zoning district regulations that will set binding standards.
The board received the presentation; no formal board action was taken on the Zone In policy during the meeting. Kentsler encouraged members and residents to use the city website and to attend pop-up events and open houses, including an open house at the parking garage that same evening.
Ending: The board discussion closed after members and staff agreed to continued community outreach and a return to district-level zoning work in 2026.
