Columbus council holds public hearing on proposed zoning changes to allow accessory dwelling units citywide

Council Member Otto Beatty opened a public hearing to consider proposed changes to Columbus’s zoning code that would make it easier for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units, sometimes called ADUs.

The hearing, convened by the Columbus City Council as part of its “Housing for All” initiative, focused on draft code changes under Title 33 (zoning) and related Title 34 provisions. Chief Zoning Officer Shannon Pine presented the city’s analysis and initial proposals and said the purpose of the meeting was to hear residents, neighborhood groups and advocacy organizations.

The proposed language would allow ADUs in residential districts, subject to scale and design limits. “An accessory dwelling unit means a second residential dwelling unit, which provides complete independent living facilities for 1 or more persons,” Pine said, and she described proposed limits including that an ADU “would not exceed 65% of the floor area or 1,000 square feet, whichever is greater” and that height likely would be capped at 25 feet or the height of the principal building, whichever is less. Pine also said the draft would raise total lot coverage to 65% (from 50%), would not require additional parking for ADUs, and would retain building-permit and historic-district certificate-of-appropriateness requirements where applicable.

Why it matters: proponents said ADUs can add modest, lower-cost rental units and enable multigenerational living without wholesale change to neighborhood character. Rayna Sims, associate state director of outreach and advocacy for AARP Ohio, told council that ADUs “give older adults the needed flexibility to stay in the communities they love longer.” Representatives from local nonprofits, developers and neighborhood groups described ADUs as a tool to help seniors age in place, provide caregiver housing, generate rental income for homeowners and add relatively small units of housing in established neighborhoods.

Speakers from the Affordable Housing Alliance of Central Ohio, Convergence Columbus, Rise Together Innovation Institute, Healthy Homes (Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s nonprofit developer), Families Flourish, United Way of Central Ohio and several neighborhood advocates urged that ADUs be allowed broadly and that the city remove the current variance barrier that council and staff said has limited ADU production. Critti Buenconseo of the Affordable Housing Alliance urged citywide applicability and cautioned against adding new off-street parking requirements, saying such requirements “can operate as a poison pill.” Anna Tejasongo of Convergence Columbus and Karina Johnson of Rise Together described a local “ADU sprint” that produced design, financing and permitting recommendations to complement zoning reform.

City data and examples: Pine said the city analyzed 44 ADUs approved between 2019 and 2023 and reported that those structures were 100% detached, 80% were second-story garage conversions, and the average unit size was about 722 square feet with an average height of 22 feet. Several presenters offered outcomes from other cities: Karina Johnson cited San Diego’s experience, where permitting reforms led ADU production from a few dozen to several hundred annually.

Concerns and technical issues raised: several speakers and council members flagged implementation details the council will need to resolve before drafting final legislation. Topics raised included: - Utilities and metering: Council members and presenters asked whether ADUs would have separate utility services or submetering. Pine said addresses and separate services are typically issued when a complete separate unit is created but that utility hookup policies and costs vary and require follow-up with the public utilities and water departments. South Side resident Cathy Green said her ADU used the main house sewer connection at a cost of about $8,000, and that a new sewer connection can cost $30,000–$50,000 in other situations. - Parking: staff and many speakers urged that the draft not add new off-street parking requirements; several advocacy groups said requiring new parking would make many ADUs infeasible. - Short-term rentals and investors: opponents cautioned against allowing ADUs to be converted into short-term rental units or sold separately from the main property. Kate Curry D’Souza and others urged owner-occupancy requirements, limits on separate sales and clearer rules to prevent investor-driven conversions that would produce de facto small apartment or hotel-style units rather than housing for residents. - Lot size, setbacks and tree canopy: speakers from urban neighborhoods emphasized that inner-city lot sizes are smaller than suburban lots and urged flexible setbacks, sliding lot-coverage rules and protections for mature trees and stormwater runoff management.

Proposed code clarifications from staff: Pine outlined several draft technical changes under discussion: exempting ADUs from certain lot-area-per-dwelling-unit calculations, allowing detached ADUs in rear yards (with exemptions for existing nonconforming side-yard situations), carrying forward existing small-rear-yard allowances for detached garage conversions, and harmonizing standards with downtown, East Franklinton, traditional neighborhood and mixed-use districts where ADUs are already allowed. Pine emphasized that building permits and compliance with the building code would still be required and that ADUs would not include mobile homes or RVs.

Public comment highlights: dozens of residents and organizations spoke in favor of the changes. Amy Klabin (Families Flourish) said ADUs can “serve as stepping stones” enabling families to build savings and stability. Leonardo Rodriguez (young professional, historic neighborhood resident) urged “forward thinking” policy to activate underused carriage houses and yards. Several speakers described ADUs they had built under the variance process and said eliminating the variance requirement would reduce cost and delays.

No vote was taken. This was a public hearing to gather testimony; city staff said a draft ordinance will be prepared for council review. Council Member Beatty closed by promising continued engagement and said staff expect to circulate draft legislation in the coming weeks. He provided a contact form and an email for continued comment and outreach: tzemene@columbus.gov.

Ending note: council members and staff said the hearing was the start of a multi-step process. The public record from tonight will be folded into staff drafting and additional stakeholder briefings on utilities, parking, construction costs and enforcement provisions before any final ordinance is introduced.