No variances shall be granted to any development located in a regulatory floodway as defined in § 151.02. However, when a development proposal is located outside of a regulatory floodway, and whenever the standards of this Section place undue hardship on a specific development proposal, the applicant may apply to the Chief Inspector, Village Engineer, and Zoning Board of Appeals.
(A) Appeals and Administrative Decisions. The Chief Inspector of Inspectional Services and Village Engineer are charged with the duties of review, inspection, and approval of structures and items subject to the regulations contained in this Section. In the event that a property owner or some third party is shown to be affected by said Chief Inspector's application of the regulatory provisions contained herein, said person or persons may file a written petition to the Chief Inspector, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Engineer within 30 days setting forth the reasons challenged. In accordance with existing procedures, the Chief Inspector, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Engineer shall then conduct a hearing providing interested parties with an opportunity to be heard. The Chief Inspector, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Engineer shall then either approve, modify, or overrule the determination of the Chief Inspector and Village Engineer, as applied to the petitioning party or parties of interest.
(B) The Chief Inspector, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Engineer shall forward a written summary of the action taken to the Village President and Board of Trustees of the Village, setting forth the Chief Inspector's findings and recommendations. The President and Board of Trustees shall act by approving, modifying, reversing, or remanding the original decision.
(C) The President and Board of Trustees of the Village, after receiving the findings and recommendations of the Chief Inspector, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Engineer on a petition for a variance from the regulatory standards of this Section filed before said Commission, may grant variances from the regulatory standards of this Section in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) Fee: All petitions for a variance submitted to the Chief Inspector, Zoning Board of Appeals, and Village Engineer shall be accompanied by the payment of a $200 fee to cover the administrative costs for the processing of the petition, plus any additional costs incurred by the Village for engineering review of the proposed variance.
(2) No variance shall be granted unless the applicant demonstrates that:
(a) The development activity cannot be located outside the SFHA;
(b) An exceptional hardship would result if the variance were not granted;
(c) The relief requested is the minimum necessary;
(d) There will be no additional threat to public health, safety, beneficial stream uses and functions, especially aquatic habitat, or creation of a nuisance;
(e) There will be no additional public expense for flood protection, lost environmental stream uses and functions, rescue or relief operations, policing, or repairs to stream beds and banks, roads, utilities, or other public facilities;
(g) The activity is not in a regulatory floodway;
(h) The applicant's circumstances are unique and do not represent a general problem; and
(i) The granting of the variance will not alter the essential character of the area involved, including existing stream uses.
(3) The Chief Inspector and Village Engineer shall notify an applicant in writing that a variance from the requirements of § 151.54 that would lessen the degree of protection to a building will:
(a) Result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25 per $100 of insurance coverage;
(b) Increase the risks to life and property; and
(c) Require that the applicant proceed with the knowledge of these risks, and that the applicant will acknowledge in writing that he assumes the risk and liability.
(D) Variances requested in connection with restoration of a site or building listed on the Natural Register of Historical Places or documented as worthy of preservation by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency may be granted using criteria more permissive than the requirements of this Section.
(Ord. 05-2528, passed 7-26-05)