Columbus City Council adopts 2025 capital budget with amendments, approves Founders Park rezoning and moves forward on aging services transition and emergency-h

Columbus City Council on July 29 passed the city's 2025 capital improvements program and first-year capital budget, approved a contentious rezoning at Founders Park that will add a 60-unit apartment building, and approved legislation to support a transition of the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging to a newly formed council of governments while attaching worker protections.

The council approved the capital improvements program (CIP) resolution and the companion 2025 capital improvements budget after amendments proposed by Finance Committee Chair Councilmember Bankston. Among the council amendments were $450,000 for design work at Freedom Park and Joanne Park, $175,000 for Shiller Park Pond restoration design, $100,000 to purchase a horse trailer for mounted police, $146,000 for a long-term recovery duplex in the Hilltop, $250,000 for a sidewalk design on Billingsley Road and $1,000,000 for Star House renovations. Council also added $9,000,000 in the 2026 year of the CIP for the city's first participatory budgeting initiative.

"Participatory budgeting deepens democracy," Councilmember Bankston said in describing the $9 million amendment and asked colleagues to support the amended program after a compressed review process. The council moved the amendments, then voted to adopt the CIP and the capital improvements budget as amended.

Why it matters: the capital budget sets city investments in roads, parks, public safety facilities and economic development. The added participatory budgeting allocation signals a new route for community input on city capital projects, while the other amendments direct funds to several neighborhood-scale projects and nonprofit facility expansions.

Founders Park rezoning and council variance

Council also voted to approve ordinance 1858 dash 2025, a rezoning change at Founders Park (a large mixed-use development) that creates a new subarea to accommodate a 60-unit apartment building where the 2021 approvals had anticipated a smaller for-sale component. The council-approved companion council variance reiterates prior variances for the development and adds new variances addressing landscaping, screening,…