A.
The Building Code Board of Appeals, as established by the Town of
Guilford, shall hear and decide requests for variances from the requirements
of this chapter.
B.
Upon a denial of a requested variance by the Building Code Board
of Appeals, the applicant may pursue any and all rights and remedies
to which he/she may be entitled, under law or equity.
C.
The Town Engineer shall maintain the records of all variance actions
and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) in its biennial report.
A.
Buildings on a historic register.
(1)
Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, rehabilitation or
restoration of structures listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, the State Inventory of Historic Places, or any locally-adopted
historic district without regard to the procedures set forth in the
remainder of this section and provided the proposed reconstruction,
rehabilitation or restoration will not result in the structure losing
its historical designation.
B.
Functionally dependent use or facility.
(1)
Variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements and other development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent use or facility provided the structure or other development is protected by methods that minimize flood damage, creates no additional threat to public safety and meet all the requirements of § 174-18.
In reviewing such applications for variances, the Building Code Board of Appeals shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, all standards specified in other sections of this chapter and the items listed below as § 174-24A through K. Upon consideration of these factors and the purposes of this chapter, the Building Code Board of Appeals may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this chapter.
A.
The danger that materials may be swept onto lands causing injury
to others;
B.
The danger to 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 the individual owner;
D.
The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility
to the community;
E.
The necessity of the facility to waterfront location, in the case
of a functionally dependent facility;
F.
The availability of alternative locations not subject to flooding
or erosion damage for the proposed use;
G.
The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated
development;
H.
The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and
floodplain management program for that area;
I.
The safe access to the property in times of flood for ordinary and
emergency vehicles;
J.
The heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise and sediment transport
of the floodwaters and the effects of wave action, if applicable,
expected at the site; and
K.
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.
A.
Variances shall only be used upon a determination that the variance
is the minimum necessary to afford relief considering the flood hazard;
and in the instance of a historical building, a determination that
the variance is the minimum necessary as not to destroy the historic
character and design of the building and result in the loss of historic
designation of the building. Variances pertain to a piece of property
and are not personal in nature. A properly issued variance is granted
for a parcel of property with physical characteristics so unusual
that complying with the regulation would create an exceptional hardship
to the applicant or the surrounding property owners. Those characteristics
must be unique to that property and not be shared by adjacent parcels.
For example, economic or financial hardship is not sufficient cause
for a variance, nor are inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical
handicaps, personal preferences or disapproval of one's neighbors.
B.
Variances shall only be granted upon:
(1)
A showing of good and sufficient cause;
(2)
A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in
exceptional hardship; and
(3)
A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, creation of nuisance, damage the rights or property values of other persons in the area, cause fraud on or victimization of the public, or conflict with existing local laws, ordinances or regulations. Only hardships that are based on unusual or unique physical characteristics of the property in question, characteristics that are not shared by adjacent parcels, shall qualify to meet Subsection B(2) above. Claims of hardship based on the structure, on economic gain or loss, or on personal or self-created circumstances are not sufficient cause for the granting of a variance.
C.
No variance may be issued within a regulatory floodway that will
result in any increase in the 100-year flood levels. A variance may
be issued for new construction, substantial improvements and other
development necessary for the conduct of a functionally dependent
use provided that there is good and sufficient cause for providing
relief; and the variance does not cause a rise in the 100-year flood
level within a regulatory floodway. The structure and other development
must be protected by methods that minimize flood damages.
D.
Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written
notice that the structure will be permitted to be built with the lowest
floor elevation below the base flood elevation (BFE), and that the
cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk
resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation up to amounts as
high as $25 for $100 of insurance coverage.
