2026 Zoning Ordinance Revisions – Enabling Housing Diversity & Affordability

To Learn More: Attend the Public Open House on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Meeting Hall at Columbus City Hall.

Questions or Comments:  Please scroll to the bottom of the page for project contacts or to leave a comment.

Project Background

Housing, specifically how best to provide diverse, affordable housing, remains a significant concern for most communities and nation-wide.  The supply and cost of housing is influenced by many factors including building material costs, land availability and cost, construction labor costs, mortgage costs and bank lending practices, and regulations.  For local communities, the City of Columbus included, thoughtful zoning regulations can be a tool for enabling housing diversity.  In 2024 the City’s zoning ordinance, specifically as it relates to housing, was reviewed both internally by the Planning Department and by a consultant as part of the City of Columbus Housing Study.  Those reviews reached similar conclusions – the current zoning regulations are not a significant barrier to housing development but they could better enable “missing middle” housing (duplexes, triplexes, and small apartment buildings) that can provide market-based affordability for both renters and buyers.  The Housing Study also found that increased housing density is needed to meet the City’s future housing demand.  A summary of findings is provided on the images below.  Click on any image to enlarge it.

Based on these results, the Planning Department has drafted comprehensive revisions to the City of Columbus and Bartholomew County Zoning Ordinance.  These revisions focus on broadening the types of housing addressed by the zoning ordinance and allowed throughout Columbus.  They also consider other, related topics such as parking requirements and the permitting process.  Some other needed zoning updates, not related to housing, are included as well.

Housing Types

The graphic below shows proposed housing types to be included in the zoning ordinance and how they may be allowed across the various zoning districts.  The current (“now”) allowances are also shown for comparison.  Permitted uses are those allowed with a permit only.  Conditional uses require a public hearing and case-by-case approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals.  The proposed revisions include renaming the Residential: Single-Family (“RS”) and Residential: Two-Family (“RT”) zoning districts and expanding the allowed housing types. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Development Standards & Design Requirements

In addition to allowing a variety of housing types more broadly, the proposed zoning ordinance revisions also reduce some housing standards – including minimum lot sizes and living areas.  The proposed revisions do also include some new requirements – design standards intended to make “missing middle” housing compatible with existing neighborhoods and, with those protections in place, allowed as a permitted use (rather than a conditional use requiring case-by-case review).  The proposed changes are summarized on the images below.  Click on any image to enlarge it.

Zoning Map Changes

The proposed changes to the zoning districts will require some corresponding changes to the zoning map.  All areas currently zoned RS1, 2, 3, and 4 are proposed to transition to the new R1, 2, 3, and 4 zoning districts.  The current RT district would become the new R5, but existing RT neighborhoods would be assigned a new zoning that best fits their existing development (typically R1, 2, 3, or 4).  Also, the current RE zoning district will be divided into three districts – RE1 for near-downtown neighborhoods, RE2 for other urban neighborhoods with an existing mix of housing types, and RE3 for rural villages like Grammer and St. Louis.  Current RT and RE properties and their proposed new zoning are shown on these Proposed Zoning Maps.

For More Information…

Additional revisions are proposed to zoning ordinance requirements for parking, the permitting process, and other topics.  Those proposed revisions are detailed in the materials below (Click each title to open the document):

  • Definitions:  To identify and define broader types of housing for clear inclusion in the zoning ordinance.
  • Zoning Districts & Lot Standards: To incorporate the newly identified and defined housing types into the zoning districts, which are the basis for all zoning regulations, and determine where and through what process different uses are allowed throughout the community.
  • Residential Standards: To provide basic design requirements for certain housing types, especially those that currently require case-by-case review as conditional uses and are now proposed to be permitted in certain zoning districts.
  • Parking Standards: To establish right-sized parking requirements for residential uses that provide for adequate, but not excessive parking and allow thoughtful use of available on-street and other public parking.
  • Procedures: To establish permitting procedures and requirements that are customized to the type and complexity of development activity proposed and reflect the broad availability of information.
  • Complimentary Revisions: To update the other provisions of the zoning ordinance to reflect the new housing terms, residential zoning district organizational structure, and permitting procedures.
  • Other Topics: To address other needed zoning ordinance revisions and clarifications, unrelated to housing, that have been identified by the Planning Department staff or required by Indiana law.
  • Subdivision Control Ordinance Revisions: To establish a subdivision procedure that reflects and addresses the possibility that some residential uses could be designed for the individual ownership of individual units.  For example, a small-scale multi-family residential use of 4 to 12 units could be operated as an apartment complex with a single owner, a condominium association, or as individual units.

Public Comments

Your ideas and concerns are important.  Please share your thoughts using the comment form below.  Please also feel free to contact Jessie Boshell (jboshell@columbus.in.gov) or Jeff Bergman (jbergman@columbus.in.gov).