17.120.090 Conditions for variances.
(1) Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the granting of a 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 laws or ordinances. Unavoidable impacts to floodplain functions and values shall be mitigated in accordance with SMC 17.114.180(4), Mitigation Sequencing.
(2) Variances may be issued for the repair, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or restoration 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.
(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 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) 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 BFE, provided the procedures of SMC 17.120.030, Administration, and SMC 17.120.040, Provisions for flood hazard reduction, have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond one-half acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.
(5) Variances, as interpreted in the National Flood Insurance Program, are based on the general zoning law principle that they pertain to a physical piece of property; they are not personal in nature and do not pertain to the structure or its inhabitants’ economical or financial circumstances. They primarily address small lots in densely populated residential neighborhoods. As such, variances from the flood elevation should be quite rare.
(6) Variances may be issued for nonresidential buildings in very limited circumstances to allow a lesser degree of floodproofing than watertight or dry floodproofing, where it can be determined that such action will have low damage potential, complies with all other variance criteria, except subsection (1) of this section, and otherwise complies with SMC 17.120.040(1) through (3).
(7) 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 base flood elevation and that:
(a) The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the BFE will result in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25.00 for $100.00 of insurance coverage; and
(b) Such construction below the BFE increases risks to life and property.
(8) The floodplain administrator shall maintain a record of all variance actions, including justification for their issuance. (Ord. 1486 § 2 (Exh. B), 2020; Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1110 § 3, 2002; Ord. 1089 §§ 9, 10, 2000; Ord. 929 Ch. 10(F)(5)(b), 1995).