24.080 Floodway Variances.
A. Purpose. The purpose of floodway variances is to grant relief from the requirement of Chapter 6 that permit construction manner otherwise prohibited by Chapter 6. Floodway variances must only be issued in accordance with standards set forth in provisions (A) through (F) of this section.
B. Investigation and Report. The Director shall determine from data submitted whether the proposed variance meets the requirements of this chapter and prepare a report with recommendations and submit the report to the appropriate reviewing authority, as described in Section 1.030.
C. Procedure. On matters to be reviewed by the Planning Commission the applicant shall be so notified and a hearing date shall be established. On the date of the hearing, the Planning Commission shall consider the Director’s report and any additional staff comment and shall permit the applicant or any other affected person to present any evidence which the Planning Commission deems to be relevant. The Planning Commission shall approve, disapprove, or approve with modifications applications for which the Planning Commission is the entitling body, or recommend approval, disapproval, or approval with modifications or give other appropriate recommendation to the City Council, concerning applications for which the Planning Commission is an advisory body.
D. Standards for Review of Applications. In considering applications for floodway variances, the reviewing authority shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, all applicable standards specified in other sections of this Zoning Ordinance, and the following:
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 necessity to the facility of a waterfront location where applicable;
5. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
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 times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
10. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, 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.
E. 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 provisions (D)(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 a variance increases.
F. Conditions. Upon consideration of the 11 factors in provision (D) of this section and the purpose of this Zoning Ordinance, the reviewing authority may attach such additional conditions to the granting of variances as deemed necessary to further the purposes of this Zoning Ordinance.
G. Reporting. The reviewing authority shall maintain the records of all appeal actions and report any variances to the Federal Flood Insurance Administration.
H. Conditions for Variances in Floodways.
1. Variances 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.
2. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
3. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
4. Variances shall only be issued upon:
a. A showing of good and sufficient cause;
b. A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and
c. A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, public expense, create nuisances, or fraud upon or victimization of the public pursuant to Section 6.080(D), or conflict with existing laws or ordinances.
5. Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notice that if any structure is permitted to be replaced with a lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation 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 Administrator in the office of the Sonoma 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. Reviewing Authority. The Planning Commission shall be the reviewing authority for all floodway variances and may grant the variance, or may grant the variance subject to specified conditions, or may deny the variance. The reviewing authority shall notify the applicant forthwith of any action taken.
J. Public Notice. Notice of floodway variances shall be in accordance with Section 24.100. At no time shall the required notification be less than a 500-foot radius of the boundaries of the property at issue.
K. Recurrent Conditions. No variance shall be granted if the reviewing authority finds that the condition of the specific piece of property, or the intended use of said property, for which variance is sought, is so general or recurrent in nature as to make reasonably practicable the formulation of a general regulation for such condition.
L. Lapse of Variance. A variance shall lapse and shall become void after one year following the date on which the variance became effective unless prior to the expiration of one year a building permit is issued and construction is commenced and diligently pursued toward completion on the site which was the subject of the variance application or a zoning permit is issued authorizing occupancy of the site or structure which was the subject of the variance application. A variance may be renewed for an additional period of one year; provided, that prior to the expiration of one year from the date when the variance originally became effective, an application for renewal of the variance is made to the Director. The Director may grant or deny any application for renewal of a variance.
M. Enforcement. Violation of a variance, or of any conditions attached thereto, shall constitute a violation of this Zoning Ordinance and shall be cause for enforcement action in accordance with Chapter 26.
N. Transferability. Unless specified otherwise at the time the variance is granted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, it shall run with the land and shall be valid for the successors in interest of the original grantee.
O. New Application. Following the denial or revocation of a variance, no application for the same or a substantially similar variance on the same site shall be filed within one year unless it can be shown that there has been a substantial change in conditions or environs.
P. Appeal. Any determination made pursuant to this section may be appealed in accordance with Section 24.090. (Ord. 2811 § 2 (Exh. 1), 2022.)