A. Purpose. A property owner or other person expressly authorized by the owner in writing may request an exemption from the subdivision requirements of Chapter 16.76 (Subdivision Standards) but only to provide relief from certain practical difficulties or hardships in carrying out the strict letter of those requirements. Only the subdivision requirements of Chapter 16.76 (Subdivision Standards) are eligible for an exemption. Variation from the zoning requirements of the applicable zoning district shall follow the variation provisions of § 16.20.020 (Variation). The subdivision shall comply with the requirements of all other ordinances unless variances from those ordinances are separately approved by the responsible enforcement agency.
B. Process.
1. Requests for exemptions shall be made in writing and presented to the Staff Plat Review Committee as part of the preliminary plat review process. If the Staff Plat Review Committee determines that an exemption is unwarranted, the applicant may appeal to the Planning, Environment, and Development Committee. The Planning, Environment, and Development Committee may reverse or affirm the decision of the Staff Plat Review Committee during their review of the preliminary plat and preliminary engineering drawings.
2. The exemption request shall be included as part of the preliminary plat. Review of the exemption is required by both the Staff Plat Review Committee and the Planning, Environment, and Development Committee, and will be evaluated against the standards of subsection C. below (Standards). An exemption request can move forward either by approval of exemption by both the Staff Plat Review Committee and the Planning, Environment, and Development Committee or, if an exemption is denied by the Staff Plat Review Committee it may be appealed to the Planning, Environment, and Development Committee, which may reverse or affirm the decision of the Staff Plat Review Committee.
C. Standards. Requests for exemptions shall, at a minimum, include evidence and written documentation that demonstrate the exemption meets the following standards:
1. The particular surroundings, shape, or topographical condition of the specific property involved would result in a particular hardship upon the owner, as distinguished from a mere inconvenience, if the strict letter of the regulations was carried out.
2. The purpose of the exemption is not based exclusively upon a desire to increase the monetary gain realized from the property.
3. The alleged difficulty or hardship is caused by the Ordinance and has not been created by any person presently having an interest in the property.
4. That the granting of the exemption will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to other property or improvements in the neighborhood in which the property is located.
5. That the granting of the exemption requested will not confer on the applicant any special privilege that is denied by this Ordinance to other land.
(Ord. O-201410-10-035, passed 10-14-2014; Ord. O-201601-ZBA-006, passed 1-19-2016; Ord. O-201603-ZBA-010, passed 3-17-2016, § 6.5; Ord. O-201803-ZBA-10-08, passed 3-19-2018; Ord. O-201808-10-033, passed 8-21-2018; Ord. O-202301-12-003, passed 1-17-2023)