Construction joints in concrete structures are a way of life.

In theory, it would be lovely to be able to wave our magic

wands and have a perfectly-poured monolithic structure, but you cannot pour an entire column in a single lift. There
are no magic wands, and you should not need to point to a provision in a building code to tell you that. Thou shalt
have construction joints in concrete. Nothing else to realistically discuss on that point.

All that's left is for the structural engineer and the contractor to consider the implications of construction joints and to
properly place them.

To give a bit of background regarding how construction joints in columns may affect the structural integrity of a
column, let me offer a brief bit of structural engineering knowledge to the general reader...

As you know, in a typical concrete member, you have longitudinal steel (rebar which runs the full length of the
member), rebar stirrups, and then the matrix of concrete which encases them. In a grossly oversimplified model,
each of these elements resists a certain kind of force that structural engineers design for (in reality, there's a
significant amount of interaction).

 Longitudinal steel typically resists bending moments. If you were to support a beam at either end and
stand at the midspan of that beam, you'd be applying a force that would tend to bend the beam, and we
call that the bending moment. The longitudinal steel typically resists that force by offering tensile
resistance.
 Rebar stirrups and the concrete matrix help the member resist shear forces. If you were in a tree,
standing next to the trunk on a branch which is way too small to support your weight, if you were to jump
up and down, the branch would snap off at the trunk and down you'd go. The failure would have
happened because you were applying a very high downwards force on the branch at a point where the
the trunk was able to react (remember Newton's laws with equal and opposite reactions...) by applying an
equal, upwards resistance force. So there's a very high upwards force immediately next to a very high
downwards force, and the material between them isn't sufficient to support the shear force developed in
between. Insufficient shear capacity led to a catastrophic shear failure.

(I've given you examples using beams, but columns undergo the same types of forces. Turn your head sideways!)

Think for a moment about our tree example, and about what would happen if you were to introduce a planar
weakness in the branch... say, if you were to sawcut around the entire branch at a point between you and the trunk,
leaving just a small bit of material to support your weight... and you can appreciate how potential sources of planar
discontinuity like construction joints are something to be respected and carefully planned. All that to say that you
don't want to place your construction joints in regions of your concrete members where the shear forces are
the highest.

There's some guidance to that effect in the American Concrete Institute's Building Code Requirements for Structural
Concrete (ACI 318-08) and Commentary, in Section 6.4.

6.4.3 states that "Construction joints shall be so made and located as not to impair the strength of the structure.
Provision shall be made for transfer of shear and other forces through construction joints," and refers the reader to
Section 11.6.9, which includes some calculational considerations for your Engineer of Record to consider.

Speaking of the Engineer of Record, the commentary in the section also states that "For the integrity of the structure,
it is important that all construction joints be defined in construction documents and constructed as required. Any
deviations should be approved by the licensed design professional." They ought to have already provided an answer
for you, perhaps in the general notes and details.

So, the code to which you ought to adhere says to keep cold joints away from higher shear regions, but that truly, you
ought to examine the construction documents for direction on this, and if that doesn't yield answers, you ought to
request guidance from your Engineer of Record through an RFI.