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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.axiomancer.io/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

The ZBA Decisions dashboard is a cross-jurisdiction search surface over Locus’s normalized Zoning Board of Appeals catalog. Use it to find variance and special-permit outcomes by jurisdiction, case number, address, decision date, or outcome — and to pull a filtered set as CSV for entitlement, due-diligence, or land-use research. The page lives at /zba-decisions inside the Locus app and is backed by GET /api/zba-decisions/search.

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Coverage

The catalog covers four ZBA jurisdictions, ingested from a mix of structured open-data portals and PDF-based agendas.
Jurisdiction slugSourceIngestion type
nycNYC Open Data (Socrata)Structured API
phillyOpenDataPhilly (Carto)Structured API
chicagoCurated jurisdictional feedsStructured + PDF
bostonCurated jurisdictional feedsStructured + PDF
NYC and Philadelphia run on dedicated upstream API collectors so refresh cadence matches the underlying portals — typically daily for NYC Socrata and several times per week for Philly Carto. Chicago and Boston are sourced from a mix of structured feeds and PDF-decision parsers, so cadence varies by hearing schedule.

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When to use it

Reach for this dashboard when you need to:
  • Triage entitlement risk for a target site by reviewing recent variances on adjacent parcels.
  • Track outcome rates (Approved / Denied / Granted with Conditions) for a specific variance type or jurisdiction.
  • Pull a date-bounded set of decisions into a CSV for diligence binders or model training.
  • Click through to the original decision document on the source jurisdiction’s portal.

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Filters

Every filter narrows the result set on the server side and resets pagination to the first page.
FilterDescription
JurisdictionOne or more of chicago, boston, nyc, philly. Multi-select.
Case # or addressSubstring match (ILIKE) against either case_number or address — use the same input to search by either.
OutcomeExact match — one of Approved, Denied, Granted, Granted with Conditions, Pending, Withdrawn.
Variance typeSubstring match against variance_type (for example, use, bulk, setback, parking).
Date from / Date toInclusive bounds on decision_date. Either bound is optional.
A Reset filters link clears every active filter; it appears only when at least one is set.

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Sorting and pagination

ColumnDefaultNotes
Decision Date (decision_date)DescendingThe default sort — most recent decisions first.
Occurred At (occurred_at)—Upstream event timestamp.
Jurisdiction (jurisdiction_slug)—Alphabetical.
Click any column header to sort by it; click again to flip direction. Results paginate at 50 per page.

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Result columns

Each row corresponds to one ZBA decision:
  • Case # — the upstream case or docket number.
  • Jurisdiction — normalized jurisdiction slug.
  • Address — subject-property address as reported.
  • Variance type — truncated to 40 characters in the table; full text available via the API.
  • Outcome — color-coded badge (green for Approved / Granted, red for Denied, amber for Granted with Conditions, blue for Pending).
  • Decision Date — locale-formatted.
  • External-link icon — opens the decision’s source_url (the original portal record or PDF) in a new tab. Shown only when a source URL is present.

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Export

Click Export CSV to download the currently visible page as zba-decisions.csv. The export honors active filters and sort, and includes: Case Number, Jurisdiction, Address, Variance Type, Outcome, Decision Date, Conditions (conditions truncated to 200 characters).

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API

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GET /api/zba-decisions/search

Returns a page of normalized ZBA decisions, plus the total count for the active filter set. Query parameters
ParameterTypeDescription
jurisdictionsstringComma-separated jurisdiction slugs (e.g. nyc,philly).
case_qstringSubstring matched against either case_number or address.
outcomestringExact match — see allowed values above.
variance_typestringSubstring match against variance_type.
date_fromstringInclusive lower bound on decision_date (YYYY-MM-DD).
date_tostringInclusive upper bound on decision_date (YYYY-MM-DD).
sort_bystringOne of decision_date (default), occurred_at, jurisdiction_slug.
sort_dirstringasc or desc (default).
limitnumberPage size. Default 50, capped at 200.
offsetnumberZero-based offset. Default 0.
Response shape 
{
  "decisions": [
    {
      "source_key": "nyc:2024-0123",
      "jurisdiction_slug": "nyc",
      "source": "nyc-socrata",
      "source_url": "https://data.cityofnewyork.us/...",
      "case_number": "2024-0123-BZ",
      "decision_date": "2026-04-12",
      "variance_type": "Use variance — eating and drinking establishment",
      "outcome": "Granted with Conditions",
      "conditions_text": "Subject to operating hours of 7 AM–11 PM…",
      "address": "123 W 14TH ST",
      "decision_text": "The Board grants the application…",
      "occurred_at": "2026-04-12T00:00:00Z",
      "ingested_at": "2026-04-13T05:00:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "total": 312,
  "limit": 50,
  "offset": 0
}
Example
Recent denials in NYC and Philadelphia
curl 'https://app.axiomlocus.io/api/zba-decisions/search?jurisdictions=nyc,philly&outcome=Denied&date_from=2026-01-01&limit=100' \
  -H 'Cookie: <your session cookie>'
The endpoint requires an authenticated Locus session; unauthenticated calls return 401 Unauthorized.

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Explorer

Cell-level scoring that incorporates zoning and entitlement signals.