Columbus has emerged as one of the Midwest's most active development markets, with strong activity in multifamily housing, senior living, healthcare, and higher education. The region's growth has brought a steady stream of complex commercial and institutional projects and a code environment worth navigating carefully. 
​Campbell Code Consulting provides building code, fire code, and accessibility consulting services for architects and developers working on projects in Columbus and across Ohio. 

The Code Environment in Columbus 

Ohio operates under a statewide building code administered by the Ohio Board of Building Standards. The 2024 Ohio Building Code is based on the 2021 International Building Code with Ohio-specific amendments, and became effective March 1, 2024. The OBC is enforced statewide, with the City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services handling plan review and permitting for projects within the city limits. For fire prevention, Ohio adopts a state fire code administered through the Division of State Fire Marshal.  
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Ohio's statewide code adoption means there is generally more consistency across jurisdictions than in states with locally adopted codes, but local AHJ interpretation and amendment practices can still vary, particularly between Columbus and surrounding Franklin County municipalities. 

How We Can Help

• Plan Reviews: we review your design documents and flag building and fire code issues before you submit for permit, saving time and reducing costly late-stage design changes. 
• Code Reports: we provide project-specific code reports summarizing all applicable requirements, so your team has a single, organized reference rather than having to hunt through hundreds of pages. 
• On-Call Consulting: questions come up throughout design. We are available for calls, emails, and meetings to answer code questions as they arise. 
• Engineering Judgments: for conditions not directly addressed by a UL-listed assembly or where code interpretation is needed, we provide formal engineering judgments to satisfy AHJ requirements. 
• Code Modifications / Alternate Means & Methods: when your design does not fit neatly into prescriptive code requirements, we help prepare and submit code modification requests to the local AHJ. 
• Accessibility Code Consulting: compliance reviews for ADA, FHA, and ICC A117.1 accessibility requirements applicable to your project. 

The Columbus Construction Market 

Columbus's development pipeline is driven by a combination of large-scale multifamily residential, senior living, healthcare, and higher education projects. The Intel semiconductor facility in New Albany and other major corporate investments have accelerated population growth in the surrounding suburbs, creating demand for senior living and multifamily housing. The Ohio State University and surrounding medical district continue to generate significant institutional construction activity. 

Have a Columbus or Ohio project in the pipeline?
​Let's connect. 

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