(a) The Planning Commission may grant a variance to this regulation as provided herein. In granting a variance, the following conditions shall apply:
(1) In determining whether there is unnecessary hardship with respect to maintaining the riparian or wetland setback as established in this regulation such as to justify the granting of a variance, the Planning Commission shall consider:
A. The potential harm or reduction in riparian or wetland functions that may be caused by a proposed activity.
B. If the applicant has demonstrated a hardship beyond economic considerations and not created by his or her prior activities on the property such as lot splits.
C. If the variance requested is the minimum that would alleviate the hardship.
(2) The Planning Commission may not authorize any activity in a Zoning District other than those authorized in the Zoning Code.
(3) Variances shall be void if not implemented within one (1) year of the date of issuance; if the variance is part of a site plan or subdivision application currently being processed, the variance shall be valid until the site plan process is concluded.
(b) In making a determination under Section 1157.07 (a) of this regulation, the Planning Commission may consider the following:
(1) The natural vegetation of the property.
(2) The percentage of the parcel that is in the 100-year floodplain. When granting a variance in the 100-year floodplain, the Planning Commission shall require the applicant to demonstrate that the proposed activity will cause no increase in the water surface elevation. The Director of Engineering may also require proposals from the applicant for on-site compensatory flood storage mitigation to compensate for impacts to the 100-year floodplain.
(3) The extent to which the requested variance impairs the flood control, erosion control, water quality protection, or other functions of the riparian or wetland setback, watercourse, or wetland.
(4) The extent to which the applicant has demonstrated the use of stream and/or wetland mitigation within the City of Aurora to compensate for the loss of non-structural flood control, erosion control, and water quality protection functions as a result of the proposed impacts requested with the variance.
(5) Any mitigation approved by this variance procedure shall first be in compliance with applicable Ohio EPA and U.S. Army Corps requirements.
(6) The degree of hardship with respect to maintaining the riparian or wetland setback as established in this regulation, and the availability of alternatives to the proposed activity.
(7) The extent to which soil-disturbing activities are proposed in such a fashion as to minimize clearing and erosion and to control sediment.
(c) In granting a variance under this regulation, the Planning Commission, for good cause, may impose such conditions that it deems appropriate to maintain the purposes of this regulation.
(d) The Planning Commission is prohibited from granting a variance under this section if the applicant is able to obtain compliance with this Chapter through one or more variances from other provisions of the Zoning Code pursuant to Section 1139.03 of the Code, unless the applicant has applied to the Board of Zoning Appeals for variances and such variance requests have been denied. (Ord. 2013-130. Passed 1-27-14.)