Gahanna
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Gahanna — a USPS locale inside Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio — navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This locale covers 1 ZIP code.
Columbus — city ADU rules and incentives
ADU legality: unclear
Ohio leaves ADU regulation to local municipalities under home-rule or Dillon-rule authority. Columbus permits ADUs subject to local conditions per its zoning ordinance.
City cost envelope
$122,550 all-in for a 525 sqft ADU (permit + build). Midpoint scenario.
Permit fee bundle: $1,800.
City viability (selected uses)
Franklin County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
Franklin County (state-capital county; ~1,326,000 residents — Ohio's most populous county; encompassing Columbus, Westerville, Dublin partial, Worthington, Bexley, Whitehall, Reynoldsburg, Gahanna, Hilliard, Upper Arlington, Grove City, Grandview Heights, New Albany, Pickerington partial, Canal Winchester partial, and a substantial fraction of unincorporated Franklin in townships including Sharon, Norwich, Washington, Madison, Truro, Hamilton, Mifflin, Plain, Blendon, Clinton, Perry, Pleasant, Brown, Jefferson, Franklin, Prairie, Jackson, and Marion) regulates land use in unincorporated areas through township-tier zoning under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 519 (Township Rural Zoning). Ohio is a Dillon's Rule state with home-rule for charter municipalities under Ohio Const. Art. XVIII. Counties may not directly zone unincorporated areas in Ohio (with exceptions for Lake County and a few others); zoning in unincorporated Ohio is performed by the township under ORC 519, with county Planning Commissions providing advisory review. Franklin County's Economic Development and Planning Department coordinates planning across the county and provides advisory review of township zoning under ORC 519.04. ADU regulation in Franklin County is therefore primarily township-tier and city-tier; the County's role is limited to advisory planning, the Franklin County Auditor (assessment), the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Franklin County Public Health for septic permitting.
County regulatory overlays
Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs
Federal ADU law
The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.
Federal financing programs
Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.
Federal tax credits
There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.
Federal housing programs
HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.
ZIP Code
- 43230
Post Office
- 246 Lincoln Cir Ste H, 43230