§ 14.28.120. Variance procedure—Conditions for variances.

(a)

Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation, or restoration of structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places, without regard to the procedures set forth in this chapter.

(b)

Variances shall not be issued within a designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.

(c)

Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.

(d)

Variances shall only be issued upon:

(1)

A showing of good and sufficient cause;

(2)

A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant;

(3)

A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public as identified in subsection (b) of Section 14.28.110, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.

(e)

Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given notice that permission is granted to build the structure with a lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation and that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.

(f)

Any variance approved by the hearing examiner shall be conditional upon the privilege granted being utilized within six months after the effective date of the variance.

(g)

Variances as interpreted in the National Flood Insurance Program are based on the general zoning law principle that they pertain to a physical piece of property; they are not personal in nature and do not pertain to the structure, its inhabitants, economic or financial circumstances. They primarily address small lots in densely populated residential neighborhoods. As such, variances from the flood elevations should be quite rare.

(h)

Variances may be issued for nonresidential buildings in very limited circumstances to allow a lesser degree of floodproofing than watertight or dry-floodproofing, where it can be determined that such action will have low damage potential, complies with all other variance criteria except Section 14.28.120(a), and otherwise complies with Section 14.28.130 and Section 14.28.150 of the General Standards.

(Ord. 2399 § 11, 2003; Ord. 1119 § 1 (part), 1987; Ord. 907 § 3.4-2, 1983)

(Ord. 2631, § 1, 10-12-09)