Columbus Council President Shannon Hardin frames housing agenda around zoning reform, eviction prevention, and faith-based development

Housing supply, stability, and neighborhood change sit at the center of City Council’s 2026 agenda

Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin has positioned housing as the council’s top priority as the city plans for long-term growth and confronts affordability pressures. In early January 2026, after council members unanimously selected Hardin to continue as president, he described housing as the city’s “one, two and three top issue” and reorganized council leadership around that focus, assigning new councilmember Tiara Ross to chair the Housing, Homelessness, and Building Committee while he moved into the vice chair role.

Hardin’s housing posture reflects a two-track strategy: expanding supply through zoning modernization while strengthening tenant protections and eviction-prevention tools intended to reduce homelessness and housing instability.

Zoning modernization: expanding mixed-use corridors and development capacity

A key piece of the supply strategy is Zone In, a multi-phase effort to modernize Columbus’ zoning code. In July 2024, City Council approved initial reforms that established new mixed-use districts under Title 34 along major corridors identified for their potential to support additional housing, small business growth, and improved access to transit. City materials tied the first citywide application of the updated code to more than 12,300 rezoned parcels and an estimated market potential of up to 88,000 additional housing units.

The city has continued proposing targeted expansions. In March 2025, legislation was introduced to apply Title 34 districts to additional parcels along sections of the S.R. 161/E. Dublin-Granville corridor in Northland. Subsequent updates advanced a revised corridor proposal that incorporated public feedback gathered through surveys, meetings, and neighborhood events.

Housing stability: rental assistance, eviction legal support, and new city capacity

Alongside zoning changes, Hardin has emphasized measures aimed at keeping residents housed. In mid-2025, council approved legislation sponsored by Hardin to establish the Columbus Resilient Housing Initiative, described by the city as an emergency rental assistance program funded by a transfer of more than $3 million from the general fund. The program framework included rental and utility support and related services for eligible residents facing housing instability.

City Council has also funded eviction-related legal services. In 2023, council approved $1.5 million to pilot an expansion of tenant legal representation at eviction court through Legal Aid’s Tenant Advocacy Program. A city-commissioned economic impact assessment described a full implementation scenario that would require $6.1 million annually and projected at least $24.4 million in economic benefits, aligning with a frequently cited estimate of roughly $4 returned for every $1 invested.

In May 2025, the mayor’s office advanced legislation to establish a Division of Housing Stability, describing it as a structural addition intended to connect tenants with resources and strengthen accountability around housing protections and programs.

Faith-based development: “Yes in God’s Backyard” and underused land

Hardin has also promoted a housing concept aimed at unlocking underutilized land held by houses of worship. The “Yes in God’s Backyard” initiative is framed as a voluntary partnership designed to make it easier for congregations to develop affordable housing on property such as vacant land or oversized parking lots.

• Primary policy levers: zoning modernization along corridors, tenant protections, and eviction prevention tools.
• Implementation outlook: committee leadership changes in 2026 place housing at the center of council’s legislative workload.
• Key unresolved questions: how quickly zoning capacity translates into built units, and how stability programs scale as federal relief programs expire.

Hardin has repeatedly described housing as council’s leading priority, linking affordability, homelessness prevention, and long-term growth planning into a single legislative agenda.