(A) Designation of Variance and Appeals Board. The Board of Zoning Appeals, as established by the County Board of Commissioners, shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter.
(B) Duties of Variance and Appeals Board. The Board shall hear, and decide, appeals when it is alleged an error in any requirement, decision, or determination is made by the Floodplain Administrator in the enforcement, or administration, of this chapter. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Board may appeal such decision to the appropriate court, as provided in statute.
(C) Variance procedures. In passing upon such applications, the appointed board shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, all standards specified in other sections of this chapter, and:
(1) The danger of life and property due to flood or erosion damage;
(2) The susceptibility of the proposed facility, and its contents, to flood damage, and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
(3) The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
(4) The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
(5) The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
(6) The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
(7) The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;
(8) The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(9) The expected height, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment of transport of the floodwaters at the site; and
(10) 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.
(D) Conditions for variances.
(1) Variances shall only be issued when there is:
(a) A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(b) A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship; and
(c) A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing laws or ordinances.
(2) No variance for a residential use within a floodway, subject to § 153.05(E) or (G)(1), may be granted.
(3) Any variance granted in a floodway, subject to § 153.05(E) or (G)(1), will require a permit from the State Department of Natural Resources.
(4) Variances to the provisions for flood hazard reduction of § 153.05(B) may be granted only when a new structure is to be located on a lot of one-half acre or less in size, contiguous to, and surrounded by, lots with existing structures constructed below the flood protection grade.
(5) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(6) Variances may be granted for the reconstruction, or restoration, of any structure individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places or the State Register of Historic Sites and Structures.
(7) Any application 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 lowest floor is to be built, and stating that the cost of the flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation (see division (E) below).
(8) The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain the records of appeal actions, and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the State Department of Natural Resources upon request (see division (E) below).
(E) Variance notification.
(1) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice over the signature of a community official that:
(a) The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood elevation will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance, up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage; and
(b) Such construction below the base flood level increases risks to life and property. A copy of the notice shall be recorded by the Floodplain Administrator in the Office of the County Recorder, and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land (second sentence optional).
(2) The Floodplain Administrator will maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in the community’s biennial report submission to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(F) Historic structure. Variances may be issued for the repair, or rehabilitation, of historic structures upon a determination that the proposed repair, or rehabilitation, will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic structure, and the variance is the minimum to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
(G) Special conditions. Upon the consideration of the factors listed in this section, 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.
(Ord. passed 5-7-2007)