Board of Zoning Adjustment

Legal basis

• Charter Sec. 84A (1951-11-06) · creates · Board of zoning adjustment source
• BRC 2-3-12 · governs · Board of Zoning Adjustment and Building Appeals source
• BRC 2-3-4 · governs · Board of Building Appeals source
• Ordinance No. 7109 (2001) (2001) · amends · One of the amending ordinances BRC 2-3-12 lists; what it changed is not read (its Laserfiche copy, id 151632, is a scanned image with no text) source
• BRC 9-2-3 · governs · Variances and Interpretations source
• Procedural Regulations of the Board of Zoning Adjustment and the Board of Building Appeals (adopted Nov 8, 2022) (2022-11-08) · governs source

Appointed by

City Council. City Council appoints all five members (BRC 2-3-12(a)); the Charter leaves membership and appointment to ordinance (Sec. 84A). The City Manager appoints the board's (non-member) secretary. source source as of 2026-10-29

How

Annual city recruitment run by the City Clerk (2026 cycle: applications Dec 8, 2025 to Jan 25, 2026), 15-minute Zoom interviews with one council member and the board's staff, then nominations and a vote by City Council at a regular meeting before April (Council Procedure IX), with terms starting April 1. Vacancies after partial terms are filled for the rest of the term (BRC 2-3-1(a)(3)). · annual; applications December-January, interviews February, council vote by March, seats effective April 1 · city-council (majority vote on each seat) source source source source source as of 2026-03-05

Seats

5 source as of 2026-10-29

Seat types

• Member (city resident; no professional requirement in the BRC) ×5 at-large
• Chief building official and fire chief, advisory members without vote when sitting as the Board of Building Appeals ×2 non-voting

source source as of 2026-10-29

another source differs

members must be properly experienced and trained in building construction source

page text, not law: BRC 2-3-12(a) sets only five council-appointed members for five-year terms.

Term

5 years source as of 2026-10-29

Term limit

none set for members in BRC 2-3-12, 2-3-4 or 2-3-1; members may be reappointed. The board's own rules limit the chair: no one may serve as chair for more than two full consecutive calendar years. source source as of 2022-11-08

Staggering

One seat a year: terms end 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031. source as of 2026-10-23

Powers

quasi-judicial. Decides: Variances from setback, separation, bulk plane, building coverage, porch, wall articulation, ADU size, accessory building coverage, front-yard parking and sign standards (BRC 9-2-3(d)); appeals of city manager interpretations of chapters 9-6, 9-7 and 9-8; solar access exceptions; sign code variances and appeals. Sitting as the Board of Building Appeals, it hears appeals under the building, fire, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, energy, wildland, property maintenance and mobile home codes (BRC 2-3-4(c)).. To council: Its interpretation decisions can be called up by one Planning Board member, and then by City Council (BRC 9-2-3(b)). Variance decisions have no council call-up in Table 4-1; a party can seek judicial review under C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4) (BRC 9-4-4(g)). source source source source as of 2026-10-29

Council liaison

not applicable: City Council assigns no council liaison to the Board of Zoning Adjustment: council's approved 2026 committee and board assignments (Jan 22, 2026, Attachment A) list council members only for intergovernmental bodies, internal council committees, local outside boards and sister cities, and name none for any city board or commission. A council-liaison program for boards was proposed in January 2023; no assignment under it appears in the 2026 list. source source

Staff liaison

Planning & Development Services · Thomas Remke source source as of 2026-10-23

Relations

• Board of Zoning Adjustment appeals to City Council · council call-up of a BOZA interpretation once Planning Board has acted (BRC 9-2-3(b)(2)) source
• Board of Zoning Adjustment appeals to Planning Board · Planning Board call-up of BOZA interpretations (BRC 9-2-3(b)(1), 9-4-4) source
• City Manager appeals to Board of Zoning Adjustment · appeals of city manager interpretations of chapters 9-6, 9-7, 9-8 (BRC 9-2-3(b)) and of sign code orders; building code appeals as the Board of Building Appeals source
• City Council appoints Board of Zoning Adjustment source
• City Manager appoints Board of Zoning Adjustment · the secretary only (non-member) source
• Planning & Development Services staffs Board of Zoning Adjustment · Board secretary source source

History

• 1951-11-06 · created · Charter Sec. 84A, added by Ordinance 1632 and adopted by the electorate Nov 6, 1951, established the board of zoning adjustment. source
• 2022-11-08 · transitioned · Adopted joint procedural regulations for BOZA and the Board of Building Appeals (officers, one regular meeting a month on the second Tuesday, quorum of three, two-year cap on a chair). source