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1 <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />47 <br />48 <br />49 <br />(1) Variance applications. An application for a variance to the provisions of this Subdivision will <br />be processed and reviewed in accordance with applicable state statutes and section 117-53. <br />(2) Adherence to state floodplain management standards. A variance must not allow a use that <br />is not allowed in that district, permit a lower degree of flood protection than the regulatory <br />flood protection elevation for the particular area, or permit standards lower than those <br />required by state law. <br />(3) Additional variance criteria. The following additional variance criteria of the Federal <br />Emergency Management Agency must be satisfied: <br />a. Variances must not be issued by a community within any designated regulatory <br />floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result. <br />b. Variances may only be issued by a community upon (i) a showing of good and sufficient <br />cause, (ii) a determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional <br />hardship to the applicant, and (iii) a determination that the granting of a variance will <br />not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary <br />public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public, or <br />conflict with existing local laws or ordinances. <br />C. Variances may only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum <br />necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief. <br />(4) Flood insurance notice. The zoning administrator must notify the applicant for a variance that: <br />a. The issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level will result <br />in increased premium rates for flood insurance up to amounts as high as $25.00 for <br />$100.00 of insurance coverage; and <br />b. Such construction below the base or regional flood level increases risks to life and <br />property. Such notification must be maintained with a record of all variance actions. <br />(5) General considerations. The city may consider the following factors in granting variances and <br />imposing conditions on variances and conditional uses in floodplains: <br />a. The potential danger to life and property due to increased flood heights or velocities <br />caused by encroachments. <br />b. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands or downstream to the injury <br />of others. <br />C. The proposed water supply and sanitation systems, if any, and the ability of these <br />systems to minimize the potential for disease, contamination and unsanitary <br />conditions. <br />d. The susceptibility of any proposed use and its contents to flood damage and the effect <br />of such damage on the individual owner. <br />e. The importance of the services to be provided by the proposed use to the community. <br />f. The requirements of the facility for a waterfront location. <br />g. The availability of viable alternative locations for the proposed use that are not subject <br />to flooding. <br />h. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing development and development <br />anticipated in the foreseeable future. <br />i. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive land use plan and flood <br />plain management program for the area. <br />j. The safety of access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and emergency <br />vehicles. <br />k. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport of the <br />flood waters expected at the site. <br />(6) Submittal of hearing notices to the department of natural resources (DNR). The zoning <br />administrator must submit hearing notices for proposed variances to the DNR sufficiently in <br />Page 128 of 160 <br />