Boyce Safford III
Director

Tracie Davies
Assistant Director
614-645-7433

About Us

For Hours, Phone Numbers and Driving Directions, please 'click here'

Columbus Zoning Map

In the City of Columbus, policies, standards and regulations on land use and development are designed to help ensure the health, safety and welfare of its citizens, while protecting the rights and privileges of property owners. The Building Services Division accomplishes this by enforcing the Columbus Building and Zoning Codes.  The Division regulates land use through its zoning functions, reviews building plans, inspects new construction and issues permits for all construction within the City of Columbus.  The Division is also responsible for the licensing of contractors and for the regulation of the construction industry.

THE ONE STOP SHOP

In July of 2000, Mayor Michael B. Coleman directed a comprehensive review of city government to fundamentally improve the operation management and delivery of city services.  Stakeholder interviews showed that developers found plan approval to be to complex, unpredictable, and slow.  In response the City has worked to consolidate, simplify coordinate and streamline the business development process.

City employees partnered with local private sector and building industry representatives to identify changes and information technology enhancements that would improve customer service.  The participants developed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that would cut permitting and application processing time by 50 percent.

In November 2001, City Council codified select provisions that addressed basic industry responsibilities, the internal review process, service standards, and redress procedures.  A Development Services Council was established, which will provide an important city industry forum for monitoring development services performance on an on-going basis.

The Department of Development has also updated the Columbus Development Guide to reflect these changes.  The Development Guide is designed to assist you through the development process and to ultimately expedite your project toward a successful completion.  From obtaining a Building Permit to a Certificate of Appropriateness, this Guide will lead you step by step through the proper requirements.

The Development Guide contains a complete listing of the appropriate Departments and/or Commissions, preliminary information you need, an explanation of how and when to access each process, a chart for each process and a glossary of important terminology.

We hope the information contained on this web site provides the help that you need to complete your development project.