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.
(A) Variances shall not be issued within any mapped regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
(B) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the "minimum necessary" to afford relief considering the flood hazard. “Minimum necessary” means to afford relief with a minimum of deviation from the requirements of this chapter. For example, in the case of variances to an elevation requirement, this means the City Council need not grant permission for the applicant to build at grade, or even to whatever elevation the applicant proposes, but only to that elevation which the City Council believes will both provide relief and preserve the integrity of the local ordinance.
(C) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the “minimum necessary” to afford relief considering the flood hazard. In the instance of an historical structure, a determination shall be made that the variance is the minimum necessary to afford relief and not destroy the historic character and design of the structure.
(D) 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 to the applicant (as defined in this chapter); and
(3) A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood height, additional threats to public safety, cause extraordinary public expense, create nuisance (as defined in the definition section under “Public safety and nuisance”), cause fraud or victimization of the public (as defined in the definition section) or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(E) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice specifying the difference between the base flood elevation and the elevation to which the structure is to be built and stating that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.
(F) The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Insurance Administration (FIA) upon request.
(G) Variances may be issued for new construction, substantial improvement, and other proposed new development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use provided that the provisions of § 157.47 are satisfied and that the structure or other development is protected by methods that minimize flood damages during the base flood and does not result in additional threats to public safety and does not create a public nuisance.
(Ord. 2008-03, passed 4-21-08)