Red Bluff Municipal Code Art. VI Variance and Appeal Procedure

(A) The variance criteria set forth in this article of the chapter are based on the general principle of zoning law that variances pertain to 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 chapter 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 to help protect its citizens from flooding. This need is so compelling and the implications of the cost of insuring a structure built below flood level are so serious that variances from the flood elevation or from other requirements of this chapter are quite rare. The long term goal of preventing and reducing flood 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.

(C) The cost of processing a variance shall be paid by the applicant. The Planning Commission and City Council can authorize a partial or full refund of variance processing fees.

(`61 Code, § 26.6-1) (Ord. 913, passed 4-18-2000)

(A) (1) The Planning Commission shall act as the Appeals Board for the city and shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances for the requirements of this chapter. Decisions of the Planning Commission may be appealed to the City Council in writing within ten days of the date the Planning Commission’s decision notice is transmitted to the applicant.

(2) The appeal processing fee must be submitted with the appeal.

(B) In passing upon requests for variances, the city shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other articles of this chapter, 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 flooding or erosion damage;

(3) Susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of the 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 flooding 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 floodplain management program for that area;

(9) Safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;

(10) Expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the site; and

(11) 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.

(C) 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 elevation will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance of $25 or more for each $100 of insurance coverage; and

(2) The construction below the base flood elevation increases risks to life and property. A copy of the notice shall be recorded by the Floodplain Administrator in the office of the County Recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land.

(D) 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 Insurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(`61 Code, § 26.6-2) (Ord. 913, passed 4-18-2000)

(A) Generally, variances may be issued for new construction, substantial improvements 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 flood level, providing that the procedures of Articles IV and V of this chapter have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.

(B) Variances may be issued for the repair or rehabilitation of “historic structures” upon a determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure’s continued designation as an 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 regulatory floodway except as provided in § 26.5-8.

(D) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the “minimum necessary” considering the flood hazard, to afford relief. “Minimum necessary” means to afford relief with a minimum of deviation from the requirements of this chapter. For example, in the case of variances to an elevation requirement or to encroachment restrictions, this means the Appeals Board need not grant permission for the applicant to build at any particular grade or to encroach to the extent requested, but only to that elevation or extent which the Appeals Board believes will both provide relief and preserve the integrity of this chapter.

(E) Variances shall only be issued upon a:

(1) Showing of good and sufficient cause;

(2) Determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and

(3) Determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety or extraordinary public expense, create a nuisance, cause fraud or victimization of the public or conflict 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 divisions (A) through (E) above are satisfied and that the structure or other development is protected by methods that minimize flood damages during the base flood and does not result in additional threats to public safety and does not create a public nuisance.

(G) Upon consideration of the factors of division (B) above and the purposes of this chapter, the Planning Commission or the City Council may attach conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.

(`61 Code, § 26.6-3) (Ord. 913, passed 4-18-2000)