1377.05 APPEALS AND VARIANCES.
(a) Establishment of Appeals Board.
(1) The Independence Board of Zoning Appeals is hereby appointed to serve as the Appeals Board for this chapter as specified by Chapter 1125 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Independence.
(b) Powers and Duties.
(1) The Board of Zoning Appeals shall:
A. Hear and decide appeals from any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Floodplain Administrator in the administration or enforcement of this Chapter; and
(2) Records of the Board of Zoning Appeals relating to this Chapter shall be kept and filed in the City’s Building Department located at 6335 Selig Drive, Independence, Ohio 44131.
(c) Appeals. Any person affected by any notice and order, or other official action of the Floodplain Administrator may request and shall be granted a hearing on the matter before the Board of Zoning Appeals provided that such person shall file, within 10 days of the date of such notice and order, or other official action, a brief statement of the grounds for such hearing or for the mitigation of any item appearing on any order of the Floodplain Administrator’s decision. Such appeal shall be in writing, signed by the applicant, and be filed with the Floodplain Administrator. Upon receipt of the appeal, the Floodplain Administrator shall transmit said notice and all pertinent information on which the Floodplain Administrator’s decision was made to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall fix a reasonable time for the appeal, give notice in writing to parties in interest, and decide the appeal within a reasonable time after it is submitted;
(c) Variances. Any person believing that the use and development standards of this Chapter would result in unnecessary hardship may file an application for a variance. The Board of Zoning Appeals shall have the power to authorize, in specific cases, such variances from the standards of this Chapter, not inconsistent with Federal regulations, as will not be contrary to the public interest where, owning to special conditions of the lot or parcel, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter would result in unnecessary hardship.
(1) Application for a variance.
A. Any owner, or agent thereof, of property for which a variance is sought shall make an application for a variance by filing it with the Floodplain Administrator, who upon receipt of the variance shall transmit it to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
B. Such application at a minimum shall contain the following information: Name, address, and telephone number of the applicant, legal description of the property, parcel map, description of the existing use, description of the proposed use, location of the floodplain, description of the variance sought, and reason for the variance request.
(2) Public hearing.
A. At such hearing, the applicant shall present such statements and evidence as the Board of Zoning Appeals requires. In considering such variance applications, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall consider and make findings of fact on all evaluations, relevant factors, and standards specified in this Chapter. In addition, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall also consider and make finding of facts on the following factors:
1. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
2. The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
3. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
4. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the City;
5. The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
6. The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
7. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
8. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;
9. The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
10. 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
11. 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.
B. 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 due to the physical characteristics of the property. Increased cost or inconvenience of meeting the requirements of this Chapter does not constitute an exceptional hardship to the applicant;
3. A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights beyond that which is allowed in this Chapter; additional threats to public safety; extraordinary public expense, nuisances, fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws;
4. A determination that the structure or other development is protected by methods to minimize flood damages; and
5. A determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
Upon consideration of the above factors and the purposes of this Chapter, the Board of Zoning Appeals may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this Chapter.
(3) Other conditions for variances.
A. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
B. Generally, 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 Section 1377.05(d)(2)(A)(i) to (xi) have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
C. 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 the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.
(e) Appeal to the Court. Those aggrieved by the decision of the Board of Zoning Appeals may appeal such decision to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, as provided in Chapter 2506 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(Ord. 2007-31. Passed 12-11-07.)