Zoning Board of Appeals

The City of Utica Zoning Board of Appeals is a review board established by State and local law to address appeals from the strict application of the City's Zoning Ordinance.  The textual Zoning Ordinance and associated Zoning Map establish various districts throughout the City where various uses are either permitted or prohibited.  Additionally, the Zoning Ordinance sets forth the manner by which properties are to be developed, including setbacks, height and bulk restrictions and lot coverage.  The City's master plan serves as the basis for both the various regulations included in the Zoning Ordinance and the Zoning Map.

The Zoning Board of Appeals has a number of duties and responsibilities, as provided in Section 2-29-66 of the City of Utica Zoning Ordinance. 

Those duties include: zoning interpretation, overturning interpretations made by the Commissioner of Codes Enforcement, the Director of Planning, other City administrative officials and the Zoning Board itself, approve special uses, grant variances, granting approval for building within the bed of mapped streets, extension of district boundaries, granting of temporary uses and home occupation permits.

The Zoning Board of Appeals is comprised of five (5) members that are citizens of the City of Utica. Zoning Board members are appointed by the Mayor and serve no more than two consecutive five-year terms.  The current list of Zoning Board of Appeals members include:

Fred Matrulli
Frank Donato
Wendy Tarver
Nick Bruno

The City of Utica Zoning Board meets regularly on a monthly basis.  Generally, meetings are held at 5:00 PM on the third Tuesday of every month in the Common Council chambers of City Hall.  All meetings of the Zoning Board of Appeals are open to the public and, as such, are advertised in the Observer-Dispatch.  In addition, all matters scheduled for review by the Zoning Board of Appeals are subject to additional public notice requirements.  Property owners within a 200-foot radius of any subject property are notified by mail of an owner's intent to seek a determination from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Due to public notice requirements and the need for review of applications by other State and local agencies, there is a pre-filing deadline for all agendas.  The schedule of meeting dates and the deadline for filing applications for the 2024 calendar year are as follows:

CITY OF UTICA

ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 2026

5:00 PM