(A) Findings. Findings listed above shall be submitted to the Appeal Board, in writing, and included in the application for a variance. Additionally, comments from the Department of Natural Resources, Land, Water and Conservation Division, State Coordinator’s Office, must be taken into account and included in the permit file.
(B) Flood ways. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result unless a CLOMR is obtained prior to issuance of the variance. In order to ensure the project is built in compliance with the CLOMR for which the variance is granted the applicant must provide a bond for 100% of the cost to perform the development.
(C) Conditions. Upon consideration of the factors listed above and the purposes of this chapter, the Appeal Board may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter. The following conditions shall apply to all variances:
(1) Variances may not be issued when the variance will make the structure in violation of other federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances.
(2) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(3) Variances shall only be issued upon a showing of good and sufficient cause, a determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship, and a determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisance, cause fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(4) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice specifying the difference between the base flood elevation (BFE) and the elevation to which the structure is to be built and a written statement that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk. Such notification shall be maintained with a record of all variance actions.
(5) The Building Official shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) upon request.
(6) Variances shall not be issued for unpermitted development or other development that is not in compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Violations must be corrected in accordance with this chapter.
(Ord. 14-006, passed 2-25-14)