Planning Commission.
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Use the City of Hamilton Zoning Ordinance to find detailed information about zoning districts, permitted land uses, land and setbacks, exterior building design requirements.
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Planning Commission meetings are regularly held on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month.
The first meeting of the month is a day meeting which begins at 1:30 pm. The second meeting of the month is an evening meeting which begins at 6:00 pm.
Special meeting times and dates will be scheduled as necessary.
All meetings are held in the Hamilton City Council Chambers located at 345 High Street in Hamilton Ohio 45011.
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The Planning Commission is responsible for reviewing rezoning, planned unit developments, preliminary and final subdivision plats, street and alley vacations, street name changes, and then forwarding recommendations to the City Council for final action.
Spam, Scams, and Spoof Alert:
The City of Hamilton is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring your digital safety. We have recently seen an increase in "spoofing" attempts—fraudulent emails designed to look like official city communications to trick you into sharing personal data or making unauthorized payments.
To help you protect yourself, please keep the following guidelines in mind when reviewing any email claiming to be from the city.
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How to Verify an Official City Email
Check the Sender Address: Official correspondence from the City of Hamilton will always come from an address ending in @hamilton-oh.gov. Any email address that deviates from ending in @hamilton-oh.gov should raise suspicion, even if only by one character.
Payment Requests: The city will never ask you to pay utility bills, property taxes, code enforcement, permits, or parking fines via gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency.
Request for Sensitive Data: We will never ask for your full Social Security Number, bank PINs, or passwords over email.
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What to Do If You’re Unsure
If you receive an email regarding a late payment or a legal notice that seems suspicious:
Do Not Click Links: Avoid clicking any buttons or downloading attachments.
Verify via the Official Portal: Log in directly to your account.Call Us Directly: When in doubt, call our main office at 513-785-7000. Do not use any phone numbers provided within the suspicious email.
The "Hover" Rule: Move your mouse cursor over a link (without clicking) to inspect the true destination URL, which often appears in the bottom-left corner of your browser. This technique validates if the link is safe or a phishing attempt.
Note: Scammers often use a "sense of urgency," claiming your water will be shut off or legal action is imminent. Please stay calm and verify the claim through official channels first.
Conditional Use.
A "Conditional Use" refers to a type of business or activity that is not permitted by right in a specific zone district, unless it is proven to be safe and suitable for the surrounding neighborhood. If your proposed use falls under the “Conditional Use” category, you cannot begin operating or make any changes to the site until approval is obtained.
To find out which businesses and activities need this special permission, you can check the Zoning Use Chart in Section 1250 of the Hamilton Zoning Ordinance. These businesses are marked with a "C."
Getting approval for a Conditional Use is not guaranteed. To get a Conditional Use Certificate, the applicant must first go through a public hearing with the Planning Commission and then get final approval from the City Council. All applications are reviewed to make sure they meet certain standards as listed in Section 1300.4(C) of the Hamilton Zoning Ordinance.
NOTE: Interested in opening a Medical and/or Adult-Use Cannabis Retail Dispensary in Hamilton? Please review the Dispensary Conditional Use Application Policies & Procedures found here.
Contact Lauren Nelson at lauren.nelson@hamilton-oh.gov or 513-785-7278 with additional questions.
Upcoming Meetings
Agenda & Minutes
Current & Previous Agendas are located on the Agenda & Minutes page.
Upcoming meeting agendas are also found in the Upcoming Meetings entry of this page.
A variance can be reviewed and approved with a conditional use should they meet the criteria for approval of variances per the HZO. Approval of a variance is not guaranteed. All applications are reviewed for compliance the criteria located on page 10 of this document.
A variance is a request for an exception to the zoning regulations. A variance can be granted when following the specified conditional use criteria would create a problem or difficulty for a property owner. The person asking for the variance needs to prove why it is necessary.
An applicant may request a variance at the same time as a Conditional Use, as long as the variance requested is directly related to the Conditional Use . If both a variance and a Conditional Use are needed, they can be reviewed and approved together if they meet the criteria in the zoning rules in Section 1300.4( D) of the Hamilton Zoning Ordinance.
Quick Links
Applications for a Planned Development (PD) . Create a new PD or amend an existing PD.
Application for a Specific Use. These are uses within “PD” zoned districts that require Planning Commission approval.
PDF copies
(please note that PDFs will only be accepted in extraordinary circumstances) - all other applications must be submitted through Cityworks.
Conditional Use | Specific Use
Variances?
Seeking variances to the zoning ordinance as part of your application?
Seven Variance Questions & Conditional Use Criteria
All variance requests are evaluated based on the seven questions.
All Conditional Uses and Specific Uses are evaluated based on the criteria.