Board of Zoning Appeals
The Board of Zoning Appeals is established by Xenia City Charter Article VIII, §8.01, and governed by Xenia Codified Ordinance Chapter 1244: Board of Zoning Appeals. The Board of Zoning Appeals is a quasi-judicial board that has complete authority in accordance with adopted ordinances and State law. Their decisions are final and can only be appealed in a court of law. The Board rules primarily on conditional uses and variances to setback requirements, sign heights and dimensions, etc. They also rule on requests for administrative review, determinations of similar uses, and determinations of district boundary locations. The Board may or may not issue a ruling for each application on the day of the hearing if a case is tabled. The Board of Zoning Appeals consists of five volunteers who are residents of the City and are appointed by the City Council to staggered terms of four years each. One Council member serves as chair as appointed by the Council President at their second regular session in January of each year. NOTE: The appointed Council member serves as chair for his/her entire term on Council. Staff representatives include the Zoning Enforcement Officer (jziegler@ci.xenia.oh.us) and the City Planner (bforschner@ci.xenia.oh.us).
Frequency of meetings: Regular sessions are held once per month on the fourth Monday at 7 p.m.; rarely are special sessions scheduled and the date is determined based on the availability of the members.
Printable Meeting and Application Deadline Schedule and Application: [click here]
Board of Zoning Appeals Application Process: To view and/or print the BZA application and instructions, click on the link above. The Planning and Zoning Department staff is available to assist applicants during every phase of the application process. Applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule a pre-submittal meeting during which the applicant can learn about the Board and Commission process. A pre-submittal meeting also affords the applicant and staff the opportunity to address any initial concerns with the application. For more information or to schedule a meeting, please call the Zoning Enforcement Officer at (937) 376-7277 or e-mail jziegler@ci.xenia.oh.us.
Meeting Location: Regular/Special Sessions are held in the City Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 101 N. Detroit Street, Xenia, unless otherwise noted on the published agenda.
Your current Board of Zoning Appeals members are as follows:
- Cynthia Elliott, Vice Chair
- C. Richard Sutton
- Matthew Funk
- C. Cameron Streutker
- John Keller
The Board of Zoning Appeals is chaired by Mayor Marsha J. Bayless (mbayless@ci.xenia.oh.us).
Vacancy Information: Thank you for your interest. There are currently no vacancies on the Board.
If you received a Notice of Public Hearing: A notice for a public hearing is a required notice to be sent by the City to property owners who are in the vicinity of a property where development of or changes are proposed. Typical public hearing notices advertise a request for a Variance, Conditional Use, or Appeal. Such notices invite the public to participate in the decision-making process. If you received a notice of public hearing in the mail and you have questions, please contact the staff member at the number listed at the bottom of the notice.
