Columbus, Ohio, is America’s 14th largest city and one of the fastest growing in the nation. As part of a team led by Lisa Wise Consulting, Siegman & Associates is comprehensively updating the City’s 70-year-old zoning code. Phase 1 of the new code, which addresses Columbus’ key arterial corridors, was unanimously adopted in 2024.
The ambitious new code enables the transformation of these auto-oriented corridors, lined with aging strip malls, into walkable, mixed-use, and transit-supportive neighborhoods. According to an analysis prepared for the City, the code will make it economically feasible to build 88,000 homes along the corridors over the next 10 years (compared to just 6,000 before).
During an extensive community outreach process, our team heard that the old code was not aligned with what people and businesses want today. As a result, Columbus relied heavily on project-by-project negotiations, variances, and rezonings. The result was a cumbersome process that created uncertainty, made outcomes unpredictable, and deterred investment.
To address this, the concise, user-friendly new code establishes six new mixed-use districts that incorporate objective design standards, allow residential development “by right”, and remove minimum parking requirements. This approach delivers more predictable results. It also makes the development approval process faster, easier, and more equitable. The result is lower entitlement and construction costs, and ultimately, lower rents and home prices
Siegman & Associates prepared the code’s parking and loading standards, and worked with City staff to recommend strategies for managing on-street parking, using pricing and permits, to make sure it remains readily available. The LWC-led team also included Opticos Design, Inc., Cascadia Partners, Warhol and Wallstreet, MKSK, and Peter J. Park, LLC. Phase Two of the code update will address the remainder of the City.
Images courtesy of Lisa Wise Consulting, Opticos Design, and the City of Columbus