Columbus city officials have been working on updating zoning codes for more than a year. In many cases, the codes haven’t been updated since the 1960s or earlier, when priorities were significantly different than they are now. Developers wanting to build more density in neighborhoods and even along high-traffic corridors are often forced to go through lengthy and expensive variance requests. This raises costs for projects- and ultimately rents- and prevents the necessary density to address the long-standing housing shortage. The zoning change code map link below shows the initial areas that could see updates.
The focus areas of the update- at least in the first phase, are detailed on the following map: Zoning Code Change Focus Areas
The first phase largely looks at the city’s main corridors. Later phases will look at updates in all neighborhoods. Although no specific changes have been confirmed as of yet, it’s possible that the city may do away with single-family exclusionary zoning. What this means is that, outside of historic areas, neighborhoods won’t be limited to single-family housing restrictions. Higher density projects, including doubles and multi-family projects, would be allowed in places where they are not essentially off-limits. Other changes may include reducing or eliminating parking minimums and significantly raising height restrictions.
There’s been a lot of media attention to recent shootings in the Short North this year. It’s supposedly gotten so bad, that Mayor Ginther has asked local businesses in the neighborhood to close by Midnight. But has the violence really spiraled out of control, especially compared to other areas in the city. Is the Short North dangerous now? Or is the area just getting more attention due to its status as a hot neighborhood popular with locals and tourists alike?
First, let’s take a look at homicides and homicide rates across Franklin County by Census Tract. The numbers are through May 17th and the rates are total homicides divided by the 100K people per tract.
The first thing that sticks out is that the map has a whole lot of white areas, meaning most of the county and most of Columbus have seen zero homicides so far this year. The areas that have seen them do not appear to be much different than previous years- Hilltop, the Far West, the Near South, parts of Linden, and Northland. The Short North has had 1 homicide this year, which is certainly more than normal, but arguably not an epidemic even if gun violence overall is up. The other thing that sticks out is that most homicides are occurring in relatively small areas, and are often tied to certain streets or even certain businesses or residential complexes.
Using this map, we’ll next take a look at the overall homicide rates of specific neighborhoods and areas in and around Columbus to see where the whole of the Short North really ranks.
The ranking gives the neighborhood, how many tracts make it up, the 2020 population, total homicides and the homicide rate per 100,000 people. 1. Franklinton- 3 Tracts- 6,482- 3 Homicides- 46.28 Franklinton is still the most dangerous part of Columbus, and it’s really not even close. This is despite significant redevelopment in the neighborhood. 2. Near South- 13 Tracts- 35,026- 7 Homicides- 19.99 The Near South comes in a distant 2nd place. It includes a much larger area than Franklinton, but about half of the homicides occurred in the 3 tracts to the southeast of Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Places like German and Merion Village have had none. 3. Weinland Park- 2 Tracts- 6,393- 1 Homicide- 15.64 It seems a little unfair to rank Weinland Park 3rd when it’s only had a single homicide, but that’s just how the math works out. The single homicide has been lumped in with the Short North by some media, but it occurred well north across from Campus. 4. Near East- 9 Tracts- 21,841- 3 Homicides- 13.74 The Near East Side ranks 4th for the year so far. It’s been somewhat quieter than normal in this part of the city. 5. Linden- 14 Tracts- 41,627- 5 Homicides- 12.01 Similar to the Near East, Linden has been a bit more quiet than normal despite the relatively bad year Columbus is having. 5. Hilltop- 16 Tracts- 68,045- 8 Homicides- 11.76 Hilltop has had the 2nd most homicides of any of the neighborhoods looked at, but it’s also one of the largest and highest-populated as well, so the rate was lower than those above. 6. Northland- 18 Tracts- 89,165- 9 Homicides- 10.09 Northland has had the most homicides so far of any area of the city or county. Like Hilltop, however, its higher population means its rate is still relatively lower. 7. Short North- 4 Tracts- 12,472- 1 Homicide: 8.07 The Short North’s single homicide puts the neighborhood in 7th place overall. The rate itself is only slightly above that of the entirety of Columbus, so it doesn’t seem to be much of an outlier. 8. Far West- 11 Tracts- 51,308- 3 Homicides- 5.85 The Far West is the only neighborhood looked at that is entirely outside of I-270. It’s rate is only about 60% of the overall Columbus rate at this point in the year. 9. OSU Campus- 12 Tracts- 55,281- 2 Homicides- 3.62 Another large and heavily-populated area, the Campus neighborhood has been fairly safe so far this year. 10. Downtown- 5 Tracts- 12,297- 0 Homicides- 0.0 Downtown has had no homicides so far this year, a departure from last year in which it had already seen 1 at this point on its way to a total of 4 for 2022. 11. Whitehall- 8 Tracts- 23,054- 0 Homicides- 0.0 Another area I think that has had a somewhat negative reputation for crime is Whitehall, the only non-Columbus area looked at. It’s also had no homicides so far this year.
Overall, the neighborhoods above have accounted for 42 of the 65 total homicides so far this year, or about 65%. Most of the rest were very scattered.
So is the Short North dangerous? Not in terms of homicides, no, but that doesn’t mean that recent crime trends should be ignored. That said, it’s pretty clear other neighborhoods are much more deserving of attention in this regard, but may not have the economic or social clout to demand it. Of course, it also needs to be said that homicides are just a single type of crime. An examination of other types of crime may show a completely different story, but those other types rarely get the kind of breathless, hyperbolic reporting that homicides do.
