Chapter 20.16
VARIANCES
20.16.020 Conditions for variances.
20.16.010 Board of appeals.
(a) The building board of appeals of the city shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this title.
(b) The building board of appeals 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 title.
(c) In passing upon such applications, the building board of appeals shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this title, 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 damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
(4) The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
(5) The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location where applicable;
(6) The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
(7) The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
(8) The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;
(9) The safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
(10) The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the floodwaters expected at the site; and
(11) 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 systems, and streets and bridges.
(d) Generally, variance may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing subsections (c)(1) through (11) of this section have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
(e) Upon consideration of the factors of subsection (c) of this section and the purposes of this title, the building board of appeals may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this title.
(f) The floodplain administrator will maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in its biennial report submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (Ord. 1316 § 4(A), 2007; Ord. 1278 § 2 (part), 2002).
20.16.020 Conditions for variances.
(a) Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places, without regard to the procedures set forth in the remainder of this section.
(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.
(e) 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 subsections (a) through (d) of this section 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.
(f) Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice over the signature of a community official 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 twenty-five dollars for one hundred dollars of insurance coverage, and (2) such construction below the base flood level increases risks to life and property. It is recommended that a copy of the notice shall be recorded by the floodplain administrator in the office of the Yuba 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. 1316 § 4(B), 2007; Ord. 1278 § 2 (part), 2002).