City of Yonkers Expands MuniCollab to Zoning Board of Appeals and Landmarks Preservation Board
Three land-use boards, one digital front door for New York’s third-largest city
When the City of Yonkers launched MuniCollab for its Planning Board in January, the plan was clear: the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Landmarks Preservation Board would follow. On September 21, Mayor Mike Spano announced that both boards are now live on the platform, completing the rollout across the City’s land-use review boards.
“Bringing MuniCollab to these boards is a critical step in modernizing our operations,” said Mayor Mike Spano. “Residents and property owners will be part of a process that’s clearer, more efficient, and transparent.”
Zoning Board of Appeals
The ZBA now accepts applications through the MuniCollab portal, digitizing the appeals process from initial submission through final decision. Applicants complete guided forms that capture required information up front, and staff, board members, and City departments work from one shared record instead of downloading, uploading, and redistributing documents by hand.
Landmarks Preservation Board
The Landmarks Preservation Board uses the portal for Certificates of Appropriateness, Maintenance Waivers, Historic Landmark and Landmark District designations, and other matters under the City’s Historic and Landmarks Preservation Ordinance. Historic preservation review has its own vocabulary and its own document set, and the board’s application types were configured to match.
One Platform Across the City’s Boards
Yonkers now runs Planning Board, ZBA, and Landmarks review on a single platform, with each board keeping its own application types, meeting calendar, and public project listing. Residents can follow a project from any board at the same address, and staff who work across boards work in one system.
Digital Submissions: Guided application forms for each board’s application types.
Centralized Document Management: All project documents in one place for staff, board members, and City departments.
Public Transparency: Project information and application status available to the public for every board.
Meetings and Agendas: Board meetings and agendas published from the same record as the applications.
Phased Rollout, Delivered
Yonkers launched the Planning Board first, then added the ZBA and Landmarks boards as staff gained experience with the platform. Since the Planning Board went live in January, applicants have opened more than 40 new projects and uploaded roughly 1,200 documents, including some 500 plan sets and drawings, all reviewed and tracked on the platform. For larger cities, a phased approach lets each board go live on its own schedule while sharing the same infrastructure.
The portals are live at yonkers.municollab.com/zoning-board-of-appeals/projects and yonkers.municollab.com/landmarks/projects. Read the City’s announcement on yonkersny.gov.
Ready to see how MuniCollab can support your municipality’s boards? Contact us to schedule a demo.
