1. The Commission shall hear and decide appeals and requests for flood control
variances from the requirements of this Chapter.
A. The Commission shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision, or determination made by the City Engineer in the enforcement or administration of this Chapter.
B. In passing upon such applications, the Commission shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this chapter, and;
1. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
2. The danger of life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
3. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
4. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the City;
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 General Plan and flood plain management program for that area;
8. The safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
9. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters expected 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 system, and streets and bridges.
C. Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places, without regard to the procedures identified in the remainder of this Section.
D. Generally, variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot 1/2 acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing items 19.16.050 through 19.16.080 have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond 1/2 acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
E. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
F. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
G. Flood control variances shall only be issued if:
1. There are exceptional or extraordinary circumstances or conditions applicable to the property involved or to the intended use of the property, which do not apply generally to other property in the same flood zone;
2. A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant;
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 the Municipal Code.
H. Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements and for other development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use provided that the provisions of Sections 19.16.050 through 19.16.080 are satisfied and that 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.
I. Upon consideration of the factors in this Section and the purposes of this Chapter, the Commission may impose conditions to the granting of flood control variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this Chapter.
J. Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that:
1. The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage, and
2. Such construction below base flood level increases risks to life and property. A copy of the notice shall be recorded by the City Engineer in the office of the San Bernardino County Recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land.
(Ord. MC-1062, 11-16-99)
K. The City Engineer shall maintain the records of variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in its biennial report submitted to the Federal Insurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
(Ord. MC-1062, 11-16-99)