Ventura County Municipal Code Art. 6 Variance Procedure

A variance 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 a variance. Variances pertain to property and are not personal in nature. In order to vindicate the purposes of this Chapter, variances should be granted only as a last resort and only to the extent necessary.

(Ord. No. 4521, § 6.1, 3-27-2018)

The County Board of Supervisors may issuance variances from the requirements of this Chapter in accordance with this section.

(a) 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 flood level, provided the criteria in Section 5606-2(e) are met.

(b) 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 criteria in Section 5606-2(e) are met 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.

(c) Variances may be issued other than as provided for in Sections 5606-2(a) and (b) only if the criteria in Section 5606-2(e) are met, in extraordinary circumstances and based on a heightened technical justification.

(d) Application.

(1) Applications for variances shall submitted to the Director on such forms as the Director may prescribe.

(2) The Director may require the applicant to submit any information necessary to evaluate the application under this Article 6.0.

(3) Applications shall be accompanied by payment of all applicable fees.

(e) Critiera.

(1) Variances shall not be issued within any mapped regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.

(2) Variances shall only be issued upon (i) a showing of good and sufficient cause, (ii) a determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant, and (iii) a 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 and victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.

(3) 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, this means the County Board of Supervisors 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 County Board of Supervisors believes will both provide relief and preserve the integrity of the local ordinance.

(f) In passing upon requests for variances, the County Board of Supervisors shall consider the standards and purposes of this Chapter, and the following matters:

(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 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 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;

(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 systems, and streets and bridges; and

(12) Any other relevant factors.

(g) The Board of Supervisors may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this Chapter.

(h) The Director shall give any applicant to whom a variance is granted signed, written notice that:

(1) 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 ($25.00) for one hundred dollars ($100.00) of insurance coverage, and

(2) Such construction below the base flood level 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.

(i) The Director shall maintain a record of all variances granted, including justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in the biennial report submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(Ord. No. 4521, § 6.2, 3-27-2018)