Chapter 14.35
VARIANCE PROCEDURE

Sections:

14.35.010    Appeal board.

14.35.020    Conditions for variances.

14.35.010 Appeal board.

A. The floodplain board of Taylor shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this title.

B. The floodplain board 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 title.

C. In passing upon such applications, the floodplain board shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this title, and:

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

2. The danger of 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 general 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 flood waters 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 system, and streets and bridges.

D. Generally, variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements 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 subsections (C)(1) through (11) of this section have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.

E. Upon consideration of the factors of subsections (A) through (D) of this section and the purposes of this title, the floodplain board may attach such conditions to the granting of variances, as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this title.

F. The floodplain administrator shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Insurance Administration upon request. [Ord. 72 § 1(18-2-7), 2003; Ord. 29 § 6.1, 1986.]

14.35.020 Conditions for variances.

A. Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or restoration of structures listed in 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. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.

C. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.

D. Variances shall only be issued upon:

1. A showing of good and sufficient cause;

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

3. A showing that the use cannot perform its intended purpose unless it is located or carried out in close proximity to water. This includes only facilities defined in Chapter 14.10 TTC in the definition of “functionally dependent use”;

4. A determination that the granting of a variance 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. Any applicant to whom a variance 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. Such notice will also state that the land upon which the variance is granted shall be ineligible for exchange of state land pursuant to the flood relocation and land exchange program provided for by A.R.S. title 26, chapter 2, article 2. A copy of the notice shall be recorded by the floodplain board in the office of the Navajo County recorder and shall be recorded in a manner so that it appears in the chain of title of the affected parcel of land. [Ord. 72 § 1(18-2-7), 2003; Ord. 29 § 6.2, 1986.]