Chapter 17.37
VARIANCES AND APPEALS

Sections:

17.37.010    Variances and appeals.

17.37.010 Variances and appeals.

All appeals of decisions and requests for a variance, other than for sexually oriented businesses pursuant to Sections 17.35.030 and 17.35.040, shall be processed as described in this chapter.

A.    Appeals of Decisions.

1.    Who May Apply. Appeals to the City Council may be made by any person aggrieved by the inability to obtain a building permit or by decision of any administrative officer in the city based upon or made in the course of the administration of or enforcement of the provisions of this code. Appeals to the City Council may be made by any officer, department, board or bureau of the city affected by the grant or refusal of the building permit, or by other decision of the administrative officer or agency, based on or made in the course of administration or enforcement of this regulation.

2.    Time Limit. Appeals to the City Council must be made in writing and filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days of the action or decision appealed.

3.    Stay of Proceedings. An appeal stays all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from unless the City Council, after the notice of appeal is filed, determines that by reason of facts stated in the notice a stay would cause eminent peril of life and property, in which case proceedings shall be stayed by a restraining order which may be granted by the City Council or a court of appropriate jurisdiction.

B.    Variances. Requests for relief from the regulations and development standards of this code may be taken to the City Council when the strict application of this code will deprive a property of the privileges enjoyed by other property in the same zoning district because of special circumstances applicable to a property, including its size, shape, topography, location or surrounding.

C.    Hearing. Hearings of the City Council shall commence no later than the next regularly scheduled meeting following the completion of required notice procedure as required by Section 17.32.060. The City Council may continue a hearing as may be necessary to obtain information and make its decision.

D.    Decision of the City Council. After a public hearing, the City Council may modify the application of the regulations or provisions of the code relating to the construction or alteration of buildings or structures or uses of land if the City Council finds that all of the following exist:

1.    Due to exceptional and extraordinary circumstances unique to the property or structure for which the variance is sought, the strict enforcement of the provisions of this code would cause an unnecessary hardship to the applicant;

2.    The circumstances causing the unnecessary hardship were not created by an owner or user of the property or by the applicant for the variance;

3.    The hardship is not established on the basis of lack of knowledge of the restrictions upon constructing or altering a structure; nor by the purchasing of a property without knowledge of applicable restrictions; nor by showing that greater profit would result if the variance were granted;

4.    The circumstances causing the unnecessary hardship are particular to the land or structure for which the variance is sought and do not apply generally to land and buildings in the zoning district in which the property is located;

5.    The variance granted is the minimum deviation from the code necessary to allow the same and no greater use as that allowed of other land or structures in the same zoning district;

6.    The granting of the variance will not injure the appropriate use of adjacent conforming properties, will not impair an adequate supply of light and air, will not impair the view from adjacent property, and will not substantially diminish or impair property values within the surrounding area;

7.    The granting of the variance will be consistent with the spirit, purpose, and intent of this title and will not create a situation which alters the character of the area surrounding the property for which the variance is granted;

8.    The granting of the variance will secure and in no way diminish the public safety and welfare, not impair prevention of or increase risk of fire, flood, traffic congestion or other hazard;

9.    The granting of the variance is necessary to cause substantial justice to be done;

10.    The granting of the variance will not allow uses or densities not permitted in the zoning district in which it is granted nor allow the expansion or establishment of a nonconforming use.

E.    In granting a variance, the City Council may prescribe any safeguard that it deems necessary to secure substantially the objectives of the regulations or provisions to which the variance applies and may impose such conditions on the use of the property for which the variance is sought as are consistent with purposes of this code. If such safeguards or conditions are imposed, the variance shall not become effective until the owner of the property and the applicant agree to abide by such conditions.

F.    Not Transferable. Each variance shall apply specifically to the property or structure described in the approval and shall not be transferable to any other property or structure.

G.    Duration. Unless limited by its terms, a variance shall remain in full force and effect as long as the use for which the variance is sought continues. However:

1.    Failure to apply for a building permit to carry out the work or failure to begin the use involved in the variance, within one (1) year from the date the variance was granted, shall constitute abandonment of the variance.

2.    Discontinuance of the use for which the variance was granted for a period of one (1) year or more shall constitute abandonment of the variance.

3.    Upon abandonment, the variance shall automatically cease to exist with no further action by the City Council. (Ord. 2007-14 § 1 (part): Ord. 1997-13 § 1 (part))