Columbus City Council Approaches Final Public Review for Zone In Phase Two as COTA LinkUS Corridors Advance Design

Final Days of Public Review for Landmark 'Zone In Phase Two' Code Overhaul

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Reaching the culmination of the most ambitious zoning modernization in modern Midwestern history, the Columbus City Council and Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced that the 60-day public engagement window for Zone In Phase Two will officially conclude on October 24, 2026. The transformative zoning code update encompasses more than 70,000 individual property parcels across 41% of the city’s landmass, modernizing legacy single-use commercial strips, aging warehouse districts, and institutional corridors into dense, walkable mixed-use residential zones.

Municipal planning models project that modernizing these designated corridors will expand long-term housing construction capacity from roughly 13,000 units under restrictive legacy codes to nearly 119,000 attainable homes over the coming decade, creating essential workforce living options near major employment hubs.

Council Prepares for Key October 26 Zoning Session and Community Input Synthesis

Ahead of the scheduled October 26 City Council Zoning Meeting, council members—including Councilmember Nancy Day-Achauer—hosted dozens of localized neighborhood briefings across Central Ohio. Community members, small business owners, and regional architects reviewed interactive GIS parcel maps, discussed updated parking minimum exemptions, and submitted surveys regarding street-level retail activation along primary transit thoroughfares.

Following the public comment deadline, municipal planning staff will synthesize community feedback to present finalized statutory ordinances for formal council enactment before year-end, ensuring predictable development guidelines take effect in early 2027.

COTA Coordinates LinkUS Rapid Transit Alignment with Newly Zoned Corridors

The zoning modernization synchronizes directly with the multi-billion-dollar LinkUS mobility blueprint managed by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA). With engineering designs for the flagship West Broad Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor surpassing 90% completion and East Main Street BRT documents advancing toward federal grant review, regional planners emphasized that dense, transit-oriented housing along newly rezoned corridors will ensure high ridership and sustainable economic prosperity for Columbus.