Coronado Municipal Code Ch. 68.60 Variance Procedure

Sections:

• 68.60.010 Nature of variances.

• 68.60.020 Appeal board.

• 68.60.030 Conditions for variances.

A. The variance criteria set forth in this section are based on the general principle of zoning law that variances pertain to a piece of property and are not personal in nature. A variance may be granted for a parcel of property with physical characteristics so unusual that complying with the requirements of this title would create an exceptional hardship to the applicant or the surrounding property owners. The characteristics must be unique to the property and not be shared by adjacent parcels. The unique characteristic must pertain to the land itself, not to the structure, its inhabitants, or the property owners.

B. It is the duty of the City Council to help protect its citizens from Kooding. This need is so compelling and the implications of the cost of insuring a structure built below Kood level are so serious that variances from the Kood elevation or from other requirements in the Kood ordinance are quite rare. The long-term goal of preventing and reducing Kood loss and damage can only be met if variances are strictly limited. Therefore, the variance guidelines provided in this chapter are more detailed and contain multiple provisions that must be met before a variance can be properly granted. The criteria are designed to screen out those situations in which alternatives other than a variance are more appropriate. (Ord. 2095 § 3 (Exh. A), 2019)

A. In passing upon requests for variances, the City Council shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards speciJed in other sections of this title, and the:

1. Danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;

2. Danger of life and property due to Kooding or erosion damage;

3. Susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to Kood damage and the eMect of such damage on the existing individual owner and future owners of the property;

4. Importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;

5. Necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;

6. Availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to Kooding or erosion damage;

7. Compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;

8. Relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and Koodplain management program for that area;

9. Safety of access to the property in time of Kood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;

10. Expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the Kood waters expected at the site; and

11. Costs of providing governmental services during and after Kood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities such as sewer, gas, electrical, and water system, and streets and bridges.

• B. Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice over the signature of a community oLcial that:

  1. The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base Kood level will result in increased premium rates for Kood insurance up to amounts as high as $25.00 for $100.00 of insurance coverage; and

  2. Such construction below the base Kood 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 OLce of the County Recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the aMected parcel of land.

C. The Floodplain Administrator will maintain a record of all variance actions, including justiJcation for their issuance, and report such variances issued in its biennial report submitted to the Federal Insurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency. (Ord. 2095 § 3 (Exh. A), 2019)

A. Generally, variances may be issued for new construction, substantial improvement, and other proposed new development 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 Kood level, providing that the procedures of Chapters 68.40 and 68.50 CMC have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justiJcation required for issuing the variance increases.

B. Variances may be issued for the repair or rehabilitation of “historic structures” (as deJned in Chapter 68.20 CMC) upon a determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.

C. Variances shall not be issued within any mapped regulatory Koodway if any increase in Kood levels during the base Kood discharge would result.

D. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the “minimum necessary” considering the Kood hazard to aMord relief. “Minimum necessary” means to aMord relief with a minimum of deviation from the requirements of this title. For example, in the case of variances to an elevation requirement, this means the City Council need not grant permission for the applicant to build at grade, or even to whatever elevation the applicant proposes, but only to that elevation which the City Council believes will both provide relief and preserve the integrity of the local ordinance.

• E. Variances shall only be issued upon a:

  1. Showing of good and suLcient cause;

  2. Determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional “hardship” (as deJned in Chapter 68.20 CMC) to the applicant; and

3. Determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased Kood heights, additional threats to public safety, or extraordinary public expense, create a nuisance (as deJned in Chapter 68.20 CMC – see “Public safety or nuisance”), cause fraud or victimization (as deJned in Chapter 68.20 CMC) of the public, or conKict with existing local laws or ordinances.

F. Variances may be issued for new construction, substantial improvement, and other proposed new development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use; provided, that the provisions of subsections A through E of this section are satisJed and that the structure or other development is protected by methods that minimize Kood damages during the base Kood and does not result in additional threats to public safety and does not create a public nuisance.

G. Upon consideration of the factors of CMC 68.60.020(A) and the purposes of this title, the City Council may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this title. (Ord. 2095 § 3 (Exh. A), 2019)

The Coronado Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 2026-05, passed June 16, 2026.

Disclaimer: The City Clerk’s OLce has the oLcial version of the Coronado Municipal Code. Users should contact the City Clerk’s OLce for ordinances passed subsequent to the ordinance cited above.

City Website: www.coronado.ca.us

Hosted by ICC Code Solutions.