(a) The City Zoning Administrator and City Engineer shall review applications for Protected Area permits. In connection with such review, they are authorized to consult and obtain opinions from such other professionals as hydrological and geotechnical engineers, botanists, biologists, and landscape architects as they may deem necessary.
(b) No Protected Area permit shall be issued until the application has been reviewed and approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission. Any permit for activity within a Protected Area shall be denied if the proposal does not comply with the requirements contained in this Chapter, or if the proposal is so designed, or will be so located, constructed, or maintained as to endanger the public health, safety and welfare based upon generally accepted engineering principles.
(c) Based on site conditions and the extent of the proposed development activity, the City Zoning Administrator and City Engineer may advise applicants for permits in Protected Areas of their right to request variances from side, front, or rear lot setbacks in order to minimize development in the Protected Area. If granting such a variance, the Board of Building and Zoning Appeals, for good cause, may impose such conditions that it deems appropriate to maintain the purposes of this Zoning Code.
(d) Appeals shall be to the City's Board of Building and Zoning Appeals and shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 1117, Appeals and Variances, of the Planning and Zoning Code.
(e) In determining whether there is difficulty with respect to the use of a property or practical difficulty with respect to maintaining the Protected Area as established in this regulation, such as to justify the granting of a variance, the Board of Building and Zoning Appeals shall consider the potential harm or reduction in functions to areas adjacent to watercourses and wetlands that may be caused by a proposed structure or use. In making this determination, Board of Building and Zoning Appeals may consider the following:
(1) The natural vegetation of the property as well as the percentage of the parcel that is in the 100-year floodplain. The criteria of Chapter 1169 - Flood Hazard Precautions may be used as guidance when granting variances in the 100-year floodplain.
(2) The extent to which the requested variance impairs the flood control, erosion control, water quality protection, or other functions of the Protected Area. This determination shall be based on sufficient technical and scientific data.
(3) The degree of hardship, with respect to the use of a property or the degree of practical difficulty with respect to maintaining the Protected Area as established in this regulation, placed on the landowner by this regulation and the availability of alternatives to the proposed structure or use.
(4) Soil-disturbing activities permitted in Protected Area through variances should be designed and executed to minimize clearing to the extent possible and to include Best Management Practices necessary to minimize erosion and control sediment.
(5) In Protected Areas, the presence of significant impervious cover, or smooth vegetation such as lawns, compromise the benefits of protecting these Areas in the City of Willoughby Hills. Variances should not be granted for asphalt or concrete paving in the Protected Area. Variances may be granted for gravel driveways when necessary.
(6) Whether a property, otherwise buildable under the ordinances of the City of Willoughby Hills, will be made unbuildable because of this regulation.
(7) In order to maintain the Protected Area to the maximum extent practicable, the Board of Building and Zoning Appeals may consider granting variances to other area or setback requirements imposed on a property by the City’s Codified Ordinances. These may include, but are not limited to, parking requirements, requirements for the shape, size, or design of buildings, or front, rear, and side lot setbacks.
(8) In granting a variance under this regulation, the Board of Building and Zoning Appeals, for good cause, may impose such conditions that it deems necessary to maintain the purposes of this regulation and to mitigate any necessary impacts in the Protected Area permitted by variance. In determining appropriate mitigation, the Board of Building and Zoning Appeals shall consult with the City Engineer and may consult with other agencies including the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc.
(f) Compliance with the provisions of this Chapter 1167, Protected Area Regulations, does not relieve the applicant from compliance with other applicable provisions of the City's Codified Ordinances. In the event of conflict between the provisions of this Chapter and any other provision of the City's Codified Ordinances, the more restrictive provision shall control.
(Ord. 2008-15. Passed 6-12-08.)