Camarillo Municipal Code Art. V Variance and Exemption Procedures

A. The planning commission of the city ("commission") shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this chapter. The commission (and council on appeal) shall hear the variance application at a noticed public hearing with notice made as required for variances pursuant to Title 19, Zoning, of this code.

B. The planning commission shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision or determination made by the director of this chapter. Such appeal shall be filed with the city clerk within ten days following the director's action and shall specify the project and grounds for appeal. Such appeals must be accompanied by an administrative fee in an amount set by city council resolution.

C. Those aggrieved by the decision of the planning commission pursuant to this chapter may appeal such decision to the city council. Such appeal shall be filed with the city clerk within ten days of the commission's decision and shall specify the project and grounds for appeal.

(Ord. 950 § 13, 2002: Ord. 647 § 1 (part), 1988: Ord. 616 § 1 (part), 1986.)

In passing upon such applications, the commission (and council on appeal) shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards, etc., specified in other sections of this chapter, and:

A. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;

B. The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;

C. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;

D. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;

E. The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;

F. The availability of alternative locations for the proposed uses that are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;

G. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;

H. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;

I. The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;

J. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the floodwaters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site;

K. 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 system, and streets and bridges.

(Ord. 647 § 1 (part), 1988: Ord. 616 § 1 (part), 1986.)

A. Generally, variances 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 the items set forth in Section 16.34.510 have been fully considered and the conditions for a variance set forth in Section 16.34.530 are met. As the lot size increases beyond the one-half acre, the justification required for issuing the variance also increases.

B. The commission may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purpose of this chapter, or to insure the health, safety and welfare of the area.

(Ord. 647 § 1 (part), 1988: Ord. 616 § 1 (part), 1986.)

A. Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed on 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. Economic considerations, aesthetics, or past practices are not good and sufficient cause;

2. A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant;

3. A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, nuisances, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.

(Ord. 647 § 1 (part), 1988: Ord. 616 § 1 (part), 1986.)

Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice signed by a city official that the structure will be permitted to be built with a lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation, that such construction below the base flood level increases risk to life and property, and that 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.

(Ord. 780 § 6, 1993: Ord. 647 § 1 (part), 1988: Ord. 616 § 1 (part), 1986.)

The director shall maintain the records of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances in its annual or biennial report submitted to the Federal Insurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(Ord. 780 § 7, 1993: Ord. 647 § 1 (part), 1988: Ord. 616 § 1 (part), 1986.)

A. The procedures for map corrections, letters of map amendments (LOMAs), conditional letters of map amendments and conditional letters of map revisions shall be those procedures set forth by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Code of Federal Regulations; these regulations shall be kept on file in the department of engineering services. The city is preempted from enacting any procedures in this area.

B. The city shall require a fee in an amount to be determined by resolution of the city council for processing any map amendment requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(Ord. 668 § 2, 1989.)