124.80(A) In specific cases where the literal and strict enforcement of the applicable provisions of these Land
Use
Regulations or other regulations or provisions of this Code would result in undue or unnecessary hardship, the
n may grant a petition for variance from said regulations as will provide substantial justice and not be contrary to the public interest reflected in said regulations, provided the
makes the following findings:
124.80(A)(1) The subject property has unique and special conditions, not applying generally to other properties in the same zoning district, which occasion the necessity for the petitioned variance.
124.80(A)(2) The
resulting from the granting of such variance shall be in harmony with the policies embodied within the City Comprehensive Plan.
124.80(A)(3) The granting of such variance shall be consistent with the general purpose and intent of the applicable zoning district regulations governing the property on which approval is granted.
124.80(A)(4) The granting of such variance shall not adversely affect the
or
of neighboring properties in accordance with the applicable zoning district regulations nor hinder or discourage appropriate
and
of adjacent or nearby land and/or
or impair the value thereof.
124.80(A)(5) The literal and strict enforcement of the applicable provisions of the Land Use Regulations or other provisions of the
would result in undue or unnecessary hardship to the
and would deprive the
of rights commonly enjoyed by the owners of other property in the zoning district.
124.80(A)(6) The granting of the requested variance will provide substantial justice and not be contrary to the public interest as reflected in the applicable regulations.
124.80(A)(7) The need for the variance does not arise from conditions that are personal to the
but instead relate to the uniqueness of the property.
124.80(A)(8) The alleged hardship is not self-imposed by the
, prior owners or by any
having an interest in the property.
124.80(A)(9) The variance granted is the minimum variance necessary for the
to make reasonable
of the property.
124.80(B) It is the responsibility of the
to submit documentation that addresses the above criteria. The
shall have the burden of proof which shall include the burden of going forward with the evidence and the burden of persuasion on all questions of fact which are to be determined by the
.
124.80(C) The
may require appropriate conditions, stipulations, and safeguards as conditions of granting any variances. A violation of these conditions, stipulations, and safeguards shall be deemed a violation of the
.
124.80(D) A variance of the
or density provisions of these Land Use Regulations is prohibited.
124.80(E) A variance from the provisions of the
Chapter shall be granted to the specific
for which the variance has been sought and shall not run with the land. However, all other variances granted pursuant to this Section shall run with the land and are not personal to the
of the subject property, and conditions personal to said
and not relating to the uniqueness of the subject property shall not be a valid basis for such variances. Further, the lack of objections from surrounding property owners, while persuasive, should be judged in light of the fact that all future surrounding property will be subject to the permitted variance.
124.80(F) Administrative variance.
124.80(F)(1) An Administrative variance is an approval to correct minor errors or minor deviations as set forth herein from certain requirements of this
granted administratively by the
. Administrative variances are not intended to relieve specific cases of financial hardship, nor to allow circumventing the intent of this
.
124.80(F)(2) Applicability and Eligibility for Certain Deviations from Code Standards. Any property
may apply for an administrative variance for any property located in R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, RE or RZ zoning districts, from certain requirements as set forth herein. An administrative variance cannot be requested if a variance or administrative variance has already been approved for the same property from the same section of the
. To be eligible to utilize the administrative variance process, the deviation from the specified
Section must have been unintentional and unforeseeable. Only relief from the following
requirements can be considered through the administrative variance process:
124.80(F)(2)(a) Administrative variance from setbacks. A property
can apply for an administrative variance up to 10% from dimensional requirements with the exception of maximum Height.
124.80(F)(2)(b) Administrative variance for fence encroachments into lake maintenance easements. A property
can apply for an administrative variance to encroach up to 10% of the width of a lake maintenance easement to replace an existing fence installed prior to 2005 in the exact location, subject to the following requirements:
124.80(F)(2)(b)1. The property
shall provide written consents from all
that have facilities within the easement.
124.80(F)(2)(b)2. The property
shall enter into an agreement in a form provided by the
that provides, among other things:
124.80(F)(2)(b)2.a. The
shall at all times be allowed reasonable access to the entire easement, including the portion for which the administrative variance is issued, without the consent of the property
.
124.80(F)(2)(b)2.b. If the
at any time deems, in its sole discretion, that it is necessary for the
to access the portion of the easement for which the administrative variance was granted, the
shall have the absolute right to do so and to remove the fence for purposes of access to the easement with no obligation of the
to replace or return the fence, and without bearing any responsibility or liability for the cost of the fence or any damage caused as a result of such removal.
124.80(F)(3) Criteria for an administrative variance. The
may grant a petition for an administrative variance from certain regulations as set forth above, provided the
makes the following findings:
124.80(F)(3)(a) The administrative variance will meet the purpose and intent of the underlying zoning district.
124.80(F)(3)(b) The request is consistent with the
of Weston Comprehensive Plan.
124.80(F)(3)(c) The adjustment will be consistent with the general appearance and character of the neighborhood and community.
124.80(F)(3)(d) The adjustment will not be injurious to the adjacent properties and general area involved, or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.
124.80(F)(3)(e) The property has no open
violations or unpaid
enforcement fines, except when the granting of a variance is for the purpose of curing or assisting in the cure of a
violation.
124.80(F)(4) Process for administrative variance. Prior to submitting an application for an administrative variance, the property
shall request a pre-application meeting with staff to determine if the request can be processed as an administrative variance. If the application does not meet the criteria for an administrative variance, the property
may apply for a variance as set forth in § 124.80(A).
124.80(F)(5) Consent of contiguous property Owners and notice to Associations. At the time of submitting the application to the
, the property
shall provide signed consent of all contiguous property
s, including those located across a
or alley. In the case of abutting multi-family, only one signature from the
or management company is required. If consent is not obtained from all contiguous property Owners, the property
may proceed with a variance as set forth in § 124.80(A). In addition, as part of the application, the property
shall certify that a copy of the application has been sent to all Homeowner/Maintenance
s that govern the property, if such an
exists.
124.80(F)(6) City review of administrative variance. Once an application for an administrative variance is received, the
shall review the application and documentation to determine if a complete package was submitted and provide a written response to the application.
124.80(F)(6)(a) It is the responsibility of the property
to submit documentation to address the administrative variance criteria. The property
shall have the burden of proof on all questions of fact which are to be reviewed by the
.
124.80(F)(6)(b) The
may require appropriate conditions, stipulations, and safeguards as conditions of granting any administrative variances. A violation of these conditions, stipulations, and safeguards shall be deemed a violation of the
and is grounds for the revocation of the administrative variance.
124.80(F)(6)(c) The
shall provide written documentation of the decision to the property
. If approved, written documentation shall be reviewed by the
, executed by the
and recorded within the Public Records of Broward County.
124.80(F)(7) Appeal of decisions regarding administrative variances. The property
or any aggrieved party can appeal the decision of the
.
124.80(F)(7)(a) The appeal will be brought before the
, which will consider the application for an administrative variance de novo and review the application based on the criteria as set forth in § 124.80(F)(3).
124.80(F)(7)(a)1. There shall be an additional fee to appeal the decision of the
. The appeal fee will be equal to the difference between the administrative variance fee and the variance fee as set forth in the
's
.
124.80(F)(7)(a)2. If a property
requests the appeal, the property
shall pay the appeal fee. If any aggrieved party requests the appeal, the aggrieved party shall pay the appeal fee.
124.80(F)(7)(b) If the application is denied, the
cannot reapply for the same administrative variance within 12 months.
124.80(F)(8) Fee for an administrative variance. The fee for an administrative variance shall be set forth within the
's
.
(Ord. 2010-21, passed 10-4-2010; Am. Ord. 2023-04, passed 5-1-2023)