1741.08 APPEALS.

   (a)    Appeals. Whenever any person is aggrieved by a decision of the Floodplain Administrator with respect to the provision of this article, it is the right of that person to appeal to the City Council, which shall be known as the Appeals Authority. Such appeal must be filed, in writing, within thirty (30) days after the determination by the Floodplain Administrator. Upon receipt of such appeal, the Appeals Authority shall set a time and place not less than thirty (30) nor more than sixty (60) days for the purpose of hearing the appeal. Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given to all parties at which time they may appear and be heard. The determination by the Appeal Authority shall be final in all cases.

   (b)    Appeal Review Criteria. All appeals contesting only the permit fee, the flood protection setback requirement of Section 1741.05 (e) or the freeboard requirements in Section 1741.06 may be handled at the discretion of the Appeals Authority.

   All decisions on appeals to all other provisions of this article shall adhere to the following criteria:

      (1)    Affirmative decisions shall only be issued by the Appeals Authority upon:

         A.    A showing of good and sufficient cause,

         B.    A determination that failure to grant the appeal would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant, and

         C.    A determination that the granting of an appeal will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public or conflict with existing local laws or ordinance.

      (2)    An affirmative decision shall be issued only upon determination that it is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief. Financial hardship, as a sole criterion, shall not be considered sufficient justification to grant an appeal.

      (3)    An affirmative decision 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 necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.

      (4)    The Appeals Authority shall notify the applicant in writing over the signature of a community official that:

          A.    The issuance of a decision to allow construction of a structure below the base Flood Elevation will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance,

         B.    Such construction below Base Flood Elevation increases risk to life and property. Such notifications shall be maintained with a record of all decisions as required in paragraph (4) of this section; and

      (5)    The Appeals Authority shall:

         A.    Maintain a record of all decisions including justification for their issuance, and

         B.    Report such decisions issued in its biennial report submitted to the Federal Insurance Administration.

       (6)    An affirmative decision shall not be granted for any construction, development, use or activity within any floodway area that would cause an increase in the Base Flood Elevation.