(a) The Board of Supervisors of the County of San Diego shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this ordinance.
(b) The Board of Supervisors shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision, or determination made by the Floodplain Administrator in the enforcement or administration of this ordinance.
(c) In deciding on appeals and requests for variances, the Board of Supervisors shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this ordinance, and the:
(1) Danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
(2) Danger of life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
(3) Susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
(4) Importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
(5) Necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
(6) Availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
(7) Compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
(8) Relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;
(9) Safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(10) Expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the site; and
(11) 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 system, and streets and bridges.
(d) No particular weight need be given by the Board of Supervisors to any one or combination of the factors identified in Section 811.601(c). Failure of the Board of Supervisors to consider any one or more of the factors shall not invalidate the Board's decision. The Board may base its decision on any one or more or the factors listed above or such other factors as the Board deems pertinent to the decision.
(e) The Board of Supervisors may attach such conditions to the granting of variances or an appeal as it deems necessary to further the purposes of the ordinance.
(f) The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Insurance Administration in the County's biannual report.
(Amended by Ord. No. 9998 (N.S.), effective 9-4-09; amended by Ord. No. 10631 (N.S.), effective 11-29-19)
(a) Variances may be issued for the rehabilitation or restoration of historic structures where the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure from continuing to carry a historic designation and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic design and character of the structure. The procedures set forth in the remainder of this section are not applicable to variances for historic structures.
(b) Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
(c) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
(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; and
(3) 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 on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.
(f) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that the issuance of a variance to allow construction of a structure below the base flood elevation will likely result in increased premium rates for the flood insurance and that such construction below the base flood elevation increases risks to life and property. A copy of the notice shall be recorded by the Floodplain Administrator in the office of the County of San Diego County Recorder.
(g) Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial for other development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use provided that (1) the criteria of Section 811.602(a) through 811.602(e) are met, and (2) the structure or other development is protected by methods that minimize flood damages during the base flood and create no additional threats to public safety. A functionally dependent use is a use which cannot be performed unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water, and includes, without limit docking facilities, port facilities, and ship building and repair facilities, but excludes long-term storage or related manufacturing facilities.
(Amended by Ord. No. 9998 (N.S.), effective 9-4-09; amended by Ord. No. 10631 (N.S.), effective 11-29-19)