(a) A development permit shall be obtained before construction or development begins within any area of special flood hazard established in Section 1345.02(b). Application for a development permit shall be made to the Building Inspector and may include, but shall not be limited to, plans in duplicate and drawn to scale showing the nature, location, dimensions and elevations of the area in question, and showing existing or proposed structures, fill, storage of materials, drainage facilities and their location. The application shall be accompanied by a report of soil borings taken at the proposed construction site. Specifically, the following information is required:
(1) The elevation in relation to mean sea level, of the lowest floor, including the basement, of all structures; and
(2) A description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated as a result of the proposed development.
(b) An application for a development permit shall not be required for maintenance work such as roofing, painting and basement sealing, or for small development activities (except for filling and grading) valued at less than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) The Building Inspector is hereby appointed to administer and implement this chapter by granting or denying development permit applications in accordance with its provisions.
(d) The duties of the Building Inspector under this chapter shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(1) He or she shall review all development permits to determine that the permit requirements of this chapter have been satisfied.
(2) He or she shall review all development permits to determine that all necessary permits have been obtained from those Federal, State or local governmental agencies from which prior approval is required. The applicant shall be responsible for obtaining such permits as required.
(3) He or she shall obtain, review and reasonably utilize any base flood elevation floodway data available from a Federal, State or other source as necessary, in order to administer Section 1345.04(b) and (c).
(4) Where base flood elevation data are utilized within areas of special flood hazard, regardless of the source of such data, the following provisions apply:
A. He or she shall obtain and record the actual elevation, in relation to mean sea level, of the lowest floor, including the basement, of all new or substantially improved structures.
B. He or she shall maintain for public inspection all records pertaining to the provisions of this chapter.
(5) He or she shall notify adjacent communities and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Water, prior to any alteration or relocation of a watercourse.
(6) He or she shall make interpretations, where needed, as to the exact location of the boundaries of the areas of special flood hazard, for example, where there appears to be a conflict between a mapped boundary and actual field conditions. The person contesting the location of the boundary shall be given a reasonable opportunity to appeal the interpretation as provided in subsection (e) hereof.
(e) The appeal and variance procedure shall be as follows:
(1) The Planning and Zoning Commission shall have the following responsibilities and authority:
A. The Planning and Zoning Commission, as established by the Charter and ordinances of the Village of Hunting Valley, shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter.
B. The Planning and Zoning Commission shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision or determination made by the Building Inspector in the enforcement or administration of this chapter.
C. Those aggrieved by a decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission, or any taxpayer, may appeal such decision to the Common Pleas Court, as provided by law.
D. In passing upon an application, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, the standards specified in other sections of this chapter, and the following: the danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others; the danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage; the susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner; the importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community; the necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable; the availability of alternative locations, for the proposed use, which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage; the compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development; the relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive Plan and the Flood Plain Management Program for the area in question; the safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles; 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 the cost 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.
E. Upon consideration of the factors set forth in paragraph (e)(1)D. hereof, and the purposes of this chapter, the Planning and Zoning Commission may issue such variances and upon such conditions as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.
F. The Building Inspector shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and all variances granted.
(2) Conditions for variances shall be as follows:
A. Generally, variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot five acres in size, as the minimum required by the Zoning Code and Zoning Map, contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, provided that the factors set forth in paragraph (e)(1)D. hereof have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond five acres, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
B. 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 subsection and in Section 1345.04.
C. Variances may be issued in conformance with the provisions of the Planning and Zoning Code.
D. Variances shall not be issued within any floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
E. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
F. 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 to the applicant; and a determination that the granting of the variance will not result in increased flood heights beyond that which is permitted in this chapter, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, nuisances, fraud on or victimization of the public, as identified in paragraph (e)(1)D. hereof, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(Ord. 1992-101. Passed 1-14-92.)