Board of adjustment
Definition
A board of adjustment, also called a zoning board of appeals, is an appointed body that hears appeals of zoning officer decisions and decides individual requests for variances, exceptions to zoning rules granted case by case for a specific property.
Why it matters
Unlike a planning commission, a board of adjustment often has final, binding authority rather than just advisory power, so its decisions on a specific property usually aren't automatically reviewed by the city council. That makes its meetings a lower-visibility venue where individual property outcomes get locked in with little public awareness.
Seen in the wild
Zoning boards of adjustment operate in most U.S. jurisdictions with adopted zoning codes, granting variances and hearing appeals under state enabling statutes, a structure documented in land-use guides such as the University of Wisconsin Extension's zoning board training materials, which note that board decisions can typically only be overturned through court appeal, not by the city council.1