Torrance Municipal Code Art. 6 Exceptions (variances) Procedures

a) The City Council of the City of Torrance shall hear and decide appeals and requests for exceptions from the requirements of this Chapter.

b) The City Council of the City of Torrance 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 Chapter.

c) In passing upon such applications, the City Council of the City of Torrance shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other Sections of this Chapter, and:

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

2. The danger to 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, exceptions may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half (1/2) 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 (c)(11) of this Section have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond the one-half (1/2) acre, the technical justification required for issuing the exception increases.

e) Upon consideration of the factors of subsection (c) of this Section and the purposes of this Chapter, the City Council of the City of Torrance may attach such conditions to the granting of exceptions as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this Chapter.

f) The Floodplain Administrator shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any exceptions to the Federal Insurance Administration upon request.

(Amended by O-3802)

a) Exceptions 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) Exceptions shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.

c) Exceptions shall only be issued upon a determination that the exception is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.

d) Exceptions shall only be issued upon:

1. A showing of good and sufficient cause;

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

3. A determination that the granting of an exception 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) Exceptions 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 an exception is granted shall be given written notice that the structure will be permitted to be built with a lowest floor elevation below the regulatory flood elevation and that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation. A copy of the notice shall be recorded by the Floodplain Board in the office of the Los Angeles County Recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land.

(Added by O-3802)

The issuance of an exception is for floodplain management purposes only. Insurance premium rates are determined by statute according to actuarial risk and will not be modified by the granting of an exception.

The exception criteria set forth in this Article are based on the general principle of zoning law that exceptions pertain to a piece of property and are not personal in nature. An exception 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.

It is the duty of the City Council to help protect the 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 exceptions from the flood elevation or from other requirements in the flood ordinance are quite rare. The long term goal of preventing and reducing flood loss and damage can only be met if exceptions are strictly limited. Therefore, the exception guidelines provided in this Article are more detailed and contain multiple provisions that must be met before an exception can be properly granted. The criteria are designed to screen out those situations in which alternatives other than an exception are more appropriate.