Columbus planners are getting ready to redraw the neighborhood rulebook, slicing the long-standing “Residential: Established” zoning category into three new layers: RE1, RE2 and RE3. They say the goal is to lock in the feel of classic single-family blocks while making room for duplexes, triplexes and small apartment houses where they fit. Draft language and maps landed at local plan commissions this week, and an open house is expected later this summer so residents can study the maps, ask questions and weigh in.
Staff told commissioners the proposal would split the existing RE district into three flavors: RE1 for near-downtown historic lots, RE2 for so‑called “missing‑middle” housing types, and RE3 for larger-lot single-family neighborhoods, The Republic reported. That coverage also noted draft lot-size thresholds, with smaller RE lots starting around 5,000 square feet and larger ones near 7,000, and said the open house is likely to land in August or September.
What Planners Are Proposing
Internal city planning memos circulating earlier this year spell out the fine print, including updated definitions for duplexes, triplexes, cottage courts and small multi-family building types, plus a new table of minimum lot sizes tied to each type, according to a staff memo from the City of Columbus. The draft ranges run from roughly 3,000 square feet in higher-density districts to about 10,000 square feet in the lowest-density zones, with a 5,000‑square‑foot minimum that lines up with the RE1 floor cited in local reporting.
Accessory Dwellings And Missing-Middle Housing
One of the headline changes lives in the fine print: the draft would allow at least one accessory dwelling unit on lots in each RE tier through a conditional-use process. In practical terms, that gives homeowners a path to add a small rental or family unit while keeping a layer of staff and commission review in place.
The city’s existing zoning code already includes size and placement rules for ADUs in the adopted regulations published by the City of Columbus. The draft housing amendments, meanwhile, show ADUs listed as conditional uses across many residential districts in charts prepared by the City of Columbus, reinforcing that accessory units are expected to remain an option, not an automatic entitlement.
Why Planners Say This Matters
City staff points back to the Columbus Housing Study and Needs Assessment from September 2024 as the big-picture driver here. That report estimated the city needs roughly 288 new housing units each year through 2035 just to keep up with demand, according to materials posted by the City of Columbus. Planners say rewriting the RE district is meant to widen the menu of workable building types, from ADUs to small multi-family houses, while still keeping traditional setbacks and the overall look and feel of older neighborhoods intact.
Public Input And Next Steps
Planning staff told commissioners the draft text will come back for formal public hearings later this summer and into the fall. A consolidated open house is penciled in for the August–September window, where staff expects to roll out maps, walk through sample lotting scenarios, and answer questions in person. Plan commission agendas and staff packets are being posted with each meeting notice, and the schedule and reports are available on the Planning Department’s meeting page hosted by the City of Columbus for anyone who wants to dig into the drafts ahead of time.
If the overhaul is adopted, the impact will be hit-or-miss across the map. Many neighborhoods would see little or no change to basic lot sizes and setbacks, while targeted corridors and older infill blocks could, over time, see more duplexes, triplexes, or small apartment houses. A January staff memo described the package as a set of discussion items intended to collect your input and questions, and residents are being urged to review the materials and bring questions and feedback to the upcoming public events using documents posted by the City of Columbus.
