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(1) Floodplain Variance Application—Contents. An applicant may request a variance from the provisions of 17.100.050(3) and 17.100.050(9) by filing an application for a floodplain variance with the director, on forms provided by the city, accompanied by the following:

(a) a nonrefundable filing fee, the amount of which shall be set by Council resolution;

(b) a legal description that adequately describes the property in question;

(c) the applicant’s proposed written findings of fact for consideration by the hearing examiner;

(d) four (4) copies of a site plan showing all existing and proposed structures including location, size, bulk, required yards, property lines, driveways, streets, landscaped areas, and any elevations, perspectives, or other sketches deemed necessary by the director to illustrate the variance request; and

(e) any other engineering data, calculations, or illustrations that may be required by the director.

(f) a notarized letter from a title company listing the names, addresses, and parcel numbers from the current assessor’s roll of all owners of property located within three hundred (300) feet of the exterior boundary of the property involved.

The application shall be forwarded to the hearing examiner for public hearing within ninety (90) days of the date of filing of the application. The application form for the floodplain variance must state that

“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 that such construction below the base flood level increases risks to life and property.”

(2) Floodplain Variance—Notice of Public Hearing. Notice of a public hearing on a request for a floodplain variance shall be given in the same manner as provided in 17.170.020.

(3) Floodplain Variance—Standards. In deciding upon variance applications, the hearing examiner shall consider all technical evaluations, relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this Title, and:

(a) the danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;

(b) the danger of loss of 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 its owner;

(d) the importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;

(e) the availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;

(f) the compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;

(g) the relationship of the proposed use to the Comprehensive Plan and floodplain management program for that area;

(h) access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;

(i) the heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters and effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site; and

(j) the costs of providing governmental services during and after floods, including maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities.

(4) Floodplain Variance—Findings of Fact. Prior to granting a floodplain variance, facts shall be presented to the hearing examiner sufficient for the hearing examiner to determine that the following conclusions apply:

(a) a showing of good and sufficient cause for granting the variance has been made by the applicant;

(b) failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant;

(c) granting the variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, nuisances, fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances; and

(d) the variance is the minimum necessary to afford relief to the applicant.

The burden of proof shall be upon the applicant, and the hearing examiner may require such substantiating data as it may deem necessary.

(5) Written Decision. The hearing examiner shall issue a written decision on the application for variance which states the reasons therefor. A copy of the resolution shall be transmitted to the director who shall incorporate the terms and conditions stipulated by the hearing examiner in the permit granted to the applicant.

(6) Appeal. Appeal from the decision of the hearing examiner on an application for a variance shall be governed by 17.185.040. (Ord. 22-2 §8, 2022; Ord. 03-33 §38, 2003; Ord. 01-5 §13, 2001; Ord. 87-9 §1, 1987).