Ventura Municipal Code Ch. 12.450 Variances

A. The variance criteria set forth in this chapter 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 division 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 and not to the structure, its inhabitants, or the property owners.

B. It is the city’s responsibility 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 is so serious that variances from the flood elevation or from other requirements in the floodplain regulations adopted by this division should be 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 requirements set forth in this chapter contain multiple conditions 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. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

The floodplain administrator is authorized to grant variance from the floodplain development standards adopted by or pursuant to Chapter 12.430 only in the manner provided for by this chapter. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

Applications for a variance authorized by this chapter shall be on forms furnished by the floodplain administrator, and shall include all of the following information:

A. A statement of the floodplain development standard or standards that are the subject of the proposed variance;

B. A description of the manner in which the applicant proposes to deviate from such standard or standards;

C. Plans, drawn to scale, showing the nature, location, dimensions, and elevation of the structure, area, or part thereof that is the subject of the proposed variance;

D. A description of the extent to which any watercourse will be altered or relocated as a result of the proposed variance to include a registered professional engineer’s analysis to include a hydrology and hydraulic study; and

E. Such other information as may be required by the floodplain administrator. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

All applications for a variance authorized by this chapter shall be accompanied by an application fee in an amount established by resolution of the city council. Such fee shall be based of the estimated cost of reviewing a variance application and issuing a variance in the manner provided for by this chapter. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

The floodplain administrator may issue a variance authorizing construction or other development within a special flood hazard area that does comply with one or more of the floodplain development standards adopted by or pursuant to Chapter 12.430 if, and only if, the floodplain administrator finds that:

A. There is good cause for approving the variance as outlined in Section 12.450.060;

B. Failure to approve and issue the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant as outlined in Section 12.450.070; and

C. Issuance of the variance will not conflict with other applicable laws and regulations. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

In determining whether there is good cause for approving a variance, the floodplain administrator shall consider all of the following factors:

A. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands causing injury to 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 and future owners of the property;

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

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

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

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

H. The relationship of the proposed facility to the city’s general plan and any flood management program for the area;

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

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

K. The cost of maintaining and repairing public utilities and providing government services during and after flood conditions, including gas, electrical and potable water utilities, and police, street repair and bridge repairs. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

In determining whether the failure to approve and issue the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant, the floodplain administrator must find that there are exceptional and unusual conditions that are peculiar to the property involved. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional.

Inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one’s neighbors, likewise, cannot, as a rule, qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

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 flood level; providing, that the provisions of this division have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.

B. 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 the most minimal deviation possible from the requirements of the floodplain regulations adopted by this division. For example, in the case of variances to an elevation requirement, this means the floodplain administrator 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 floodplain manager determines will both provide relief and preserve the integrity of the floodplain regulations adopted by this division.

C. 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 a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.

D. Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given 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 $25.00 for $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 Ventura County recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land.

E. The floodplain administrator shall 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 and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)

Variances shall not be issued within any mapped regulatory floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result. (Ord. No. 2021-001, § 1, 1-11-21)