(a) Appeals Board Established.
(1) The Village of Metamora shall appoint the Metamora Zoning Board of Appeals, consisting of all five (5) members. The members shall serve overlapping five (5)-year terms, after which time they shall be reappointed or replaced by the Village of Metamora. Each member shall serve until his/her successor is appointed.
(2) A chairperson shall be elected by the members of the Appeals Board. Meetings of the Appeals Board shall be held as needed and shall be held at the call of the Chairperson, or in his absence, the Acting Chairperson. All meetings of the Appeals Board shall be open to the public except that the Board may deliberate in executive sessions as part of quasi-judicial hearings in accordance with law. The Appeals Board shall keep minutes of its proceedings showing the vote of each member upon each question and shall keep records of all official actions. Records of the Appeals Board shall be kept and filed in the office of the Village of Metamora, 114 E. Main St., Metamora, OH 43540.
(b) Powers and Duties.
(1) The Appeals Board shall hear and decide appeals where it is alleged there is an error in any order, requirement, decision or determination made by the Floodplain Administrator in the administration or enforcement of these regulations.
(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 Appeals Board provided that such person shall file, within thirty (30) 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 Appeals Board.
Upon receipt of the notice of appeal, the Appeals Board 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.
(d) Variances. Any person believing that the use and development standards of these regulations would result in unnecessary hardship may file an application for a variance. The Appeals Board shall have the power to authorize, in specific cases, such variances from the standards of these regulations, 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 these regulations 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 Appeals Board.
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) Notice for Public Hearing. The Appeals Board shall schedule and hold a public hearing within thirty (30) days after the receipt of an application for a variance from the Floodplain Administrator. Prior to the hearing, a notice of such hearing shall be given in one (1) or more newspapers of general circulation in the community at least ten (10) days before the date of the hearing.
(3) Public Hearing. At such hearing the applicant shall present such statements and evidence as the Appeals Board requires. In considering such variance applications, the Appeals Board shall consider and make findings of fact on all evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of these regulations and the following factors:
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 availability of alternative locations for the proposed use, which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage.
F. The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable.
G. The compatibility of the proposed use with the existing and anticipated development.
H. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area.
I. The safety of access to the property in times of floor for ordinary and emergency vehicles.
J. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the floodwaters and the affects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site. The Appellant must supply this data.
K. The costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions, including the maintenance and repair of utilities and faculties, such as sewer, gas, electrical, water systems, streets and bridges.
1. A variance shall only be issued upon:
a. A showing of good and sufficient cause.
b. A determination that not granting the variance would result in undue hardship because of the physical characteristics of the real property that is the subject of the variance request.
c. A determination that granting the variance would not result in increased flood heights beyond that which are allowed in this Ordinance; or that the variance would not pose additional threat to public safety; or that granting the variance would not cause extraordinary public expense; or that the variance would not create a nuisance, fraud, or victimization of the public; or that that variance is not in conflict with existing City Ordinances.
d. A determination that the structure or other development is protected by measures that minimize flood damage.
e. A determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
f. Any other factors that the City Planning Commission deems appropriate.
2. After considering the factors described in this Section 1311.05
(d), above, the City Planning Commission could attach any such conditions to the grant of a variance that the Commission deems necessary to further the purposes of this Ordinance.
(4) 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 on a lot of one-half (½) acre or less in size, contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, provided that the items listed at Section 1311.05
(d)(3)A. to K. have been fully considered. As a lot size increases beyond one-half (½) acres, the technical justifications required for granting a variance increase.
C. Any applicant granted a variance shall be given notice of the variance in writing. The notice shall inform the applicant that the structure that is the subject of the variance may 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 reduced lowest floor elevation.
(e) Hearing Procedure.
(1) In general, the hearing shall be conducted in the manner in which the City Planning Commission meetings are typically conducted.
(2) All testimony shall be given under oath.
(3) Minutes of the proceedings shall be kept; except that, the deliberations of the Planning Commission shall be confidential to the limits permitted pursuant to §149.44 of the Ohio Revised Code. The record of the proceedings shall include all documentary evidence presented at the hearing and as part of the request for the variance. Testimonial evidence shall be taken; except that, the Appellant/Applicant may choose to request a Court Reporter or other verbatim recording of the hearing at the expense of the Appellant/Applicant.
(4) The Floodplain Administrator may present evidence or testimony concerning the appeal for a variance.
(5) Witnesses who present testimony shall be subject to cross-examination by the adverse party or his/her counsel and/or members of the Planning Commission.
(6) Evidence that is not admitted may be proffered, and shall be included with the record of the hearing.
(7) The City Planning Commission shall issue subpoena upon written request by the Appellant for particular witnesses. A reasonable deposit for issuing the subpoena shall be made at the time the subpoena request is made. The Planning Commission shall, in its discretion, establish a reasonable fee for service of subpoena and mileage. All such subpoenas are to be served by the Findlay Police Department.
(8) The City Planning Commission shall prepare conclusions of fact supporting its decision. The decision could be announced either at the conclusion of the hearing and thereafter given in writing; or the Commission could choose to issue its decision within a reasonable time, not later than the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Commission, unless it determines that a longer period is necessary, in the interest of justice, to obtain relevant engineering or other data on which the Commission must base its decision.
(f) Appeal to the Court. Those aggrieved by the decision of the Appeals Board may appeal such decision to the County Court of Common Pleas, as provided in Chapter 2506 of the Ohio Revised Code.
(Ord. 806. Passed 4-4-11.)