As development continues to flourish downtown, the City of Columbus Building and Zoning Services plays a vital role in ensuring quality, safe development. In April, Capital Crossroads SID convened a “meet and greet” reception to introduce two new staff members with the Building and Zoning Services (BZS) department to area developers. Amit Ghosh joined the department as Chief Building Official and Ryan Schick as Small Business Concierge.

Ghosh has joined the City of Columbus after serving as Chief Building Official in Cincinnati. He is respected for his professionalism and was hired to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of the department. Schick will be the first Small Business Concierge in Columbus, taking on this new position to help entrepreneurs navigate the regulations and permits required by the City.

Each was on hand at the event to conduct open and constructive dialog with the developers regarding doing business with BZS, as well as to share some departmental changes such as extended hours of operation, including evenings and weekends, and preliminary plans review meetings.

“There was a general consensus that positive changes have taken place in the last year with Building and Zoning Services,” stated Kacey Brankamp, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Capital Crossroads & Discovery Special Improvement Districts. “The event encouraged such positive exchanges between BZS and developers that the SID plans to host another educational session for design professionals, such as contractors, architects and engineers, in the coming months.”