The Board of Zoning Adjustment is made up of five members who are appointed to fiveyear terms by the Boulder City Council. Our purpose is to grant or deny your application for a variance. Our rules and procedures require a positive vote of at least three members of the board for your application to be approved.
Please also note that the board is not a policy-making board such as the City Council or Planning Board. The purpose of the Board of Zoning Adjustment is to implement policy. So, while we understand that there may be social/ economic/ political issues that you believe are relevant to your application, those issues are not part of the criteria by which your application will be judged.
Remember that you are asking the board to change the “standard” code requirements for you because of your unique situation. It is important for you to realize that the “burden of proof” lies with you, and that only if you are successful in convincing us that you have met the criteria, will you receive the variance that you are requesting. Please be as complete as you can in furnishing us the necessary information to properly consider your application. Depending on the complexity or scale of the project, you might consider providing information in addition to that required by the “Application Requirements.” This additional information could include renderings (artistic-type drawings that are often in color), models, and written information as to the existing and proposed square footage of the structure.
Lastly, the board tries to maintain a relaxed, somewhat informal atmosphere. However, we are a quasi-judicial board, and our decisions are for all intents and purposes final, and the only appeal of our decision is in District Court, provided that appeal is filed within 30 days from the date of our decision. Also, you should keep in mind that if your request is denied because you have, in our opinion, failed to meet one of more of our criteria, you may not resubmit the same request for a variance for one year, unless it contains “substantial” revisions.
While you can be assured that we will give you and any other parties a full hearing, we occasionally must end discussion either when the discussion is not providing any new information or when practical time constraints require us to move on.
Planning and Development Services can provide you with additional information and input for the application prior to and during the application process. We suggest that you schedule a review of your proposal(s) and application materials with the staff prior to submitting and allow yourself enough time to take their feedback into account. The staff will let you know their recommendation to the board if you contact them 48 hours prior to the hearing time. Please do not contact board members prior to the meeting to discuss your case. We can only answer the most general procedural questions and are not permitted to discuss the specifics of your case outside of the public hearing.