The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) is established by the City Charter and is the administrative appeal body for decisions of the City’s Zoning Administrator and the City Landmarks Commission. The BZA also issues Conditional Use permits and grants Variances to requirements of the City Zoning Code.

Meetings

• Date: 4th Tuesday of each month
• Time: 4:30 p.m.
• Location:
  Planning and Resource Room, Mezzanine
  City Hall
  101 W 3rd Street
  Dayton, OH 45402
• Secretary:
  Jeff Green
  (937) 333 - 3302
  Jeff.Green@daytonohio.gov

Dates for all BZA meetings for the coming year can be found on this downloadable calendar.

Board Responsibilities

The BZA has three primary areas of responsibility:

• To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision, or determination of the Zoning Administrator, and in certain specific instances, rulings of the Landmarks Commission.
• To authorize variances from the rules and regulations of the Zoning Code where the applicant has demonstrated that the standards for a variance can be met. These standards can be found in Section 150.120 of the Zoning Code.
• To review conditional uses according to the standards outlined in Section 150.500 of the Zoning Code.

The BZA is a quasi-judicial body and all appeals of its decisions are made to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.

Agendas & Minutes

Agendas are available prior to the meetings. Minutes are available following approval.
View Most Recent Agendas and Minutes

Members of the Board

The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) consists of seven members, who must be residents of the city of Dayton. Board members are appointed by the City Commission for terms of three years or until their successor has been duly appointed and qualified. At least three of the seven members appointed by the City Commission must have registration, licensure, professional experience or education in one of the following fields: architecture, landscape architecture, planning, urban design, engineering, geography, law or real estate. However, no more than two of the members shall be from any one of the aforesaid professions. All members of the BZA serve without compensation.

If you are interested in applying to be a member of the BZA, download and submit this application.

Application Process

For a complete description of the application process, head over to our BZA Application Process webpage. For your request to appear before the BZA, you must submit a complete application by the posted application deadlines, accessible on the downloadable PDF linked below. If you received a Zoning Administrator’s Refusal for plans submitted, a Legal Notice of Violation for work you are doing or have done, or your project includes a conditional use, you will need to file an application to the Board of Zoning Appeals prior to moving forward with your project.

For application deadlines and fees, download the pdf deadline document.

To download the correct application form, head to our Application webpage.

How to Comment on an Application

Any person having an interest in a variance or conditional use case may share a comment or ask a question during the public comment portion of the BZA meeting. For details on how to attend, email the BZA Secretary at Jeff.Green@daytonohio.gov or call at 937-333-3302.

Speaker Guidelines

Persons wanting to address the BZA may sign-up in person at the meeting or in advance by contacting the BZA Secretary by phone at (937) 333-3302 or by email at Jeff.Green@daytonohio.gov.

Speakers who want to address the BZA about a public hearing item will be invited to speak after the staff presentation. The BZA Chair has the authority to limit the time allotted for individual speakers.