(A) Appeal Board.
(1) The Board of Selectmen shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter.
(2) The Board of Selectmen shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision or determination made by the Zoning Official in the enforcement or administration of this chapter.
(3) Those aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Selectmen or any taxpayer, may appeal such decision to the Superior Court as provided in the Connecticut General Statutes.
(4) In passing upon such applications, the Board of Selectmen shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this chapter, and:
(a) The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
(b) The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
(c) The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
(d) The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
(e) The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
(f) The availability of alternative locations, for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
(g) The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
(h) The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program of that;
(i) The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(j) The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport of the flood waters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site; and
(k) The costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical and water systems, and streets and bridges.
(5) Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing items in divisions (A)(4)(a) through (A)(4)(k) above have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond the one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
(6) Upon consideration of the factors of division (A)(4) above and the purposes of this chapter, the Board of Selectmen may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.
(7) The Zoning Official shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in its biennial report.
(B) Conditions for variances in flood hazard areas.
(1) 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 the remainder of this section.
(2) Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
(3) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard to afford relief.
(4) Variances shall only be issued upon:
(a) A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(b) A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
(c) 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, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(5) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be built 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 lowest floor elevation up to amount as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage.
(Ord. passed 6-22-1981; Ord. passed 12-19-1988; Ord. passed 5-31-2022)
Editor’s note:
TM Volume 14, page 122; TM Volume 16, page 262, Amended