If compliance with any of the requirements of this chapter would result in an exceptional hardship for a prospective builder, developer or landowner, the City of New Kensington may, upon request, grant relief from the strict application of the requirements.
A. 
Requests for variances shall be considered by the City of New Kensington in accordance with the following:
(1) 
No variance shall be granted for any construction, development, use, or activity within any FF (flood-fringe area) that would, together with all other existing and anticipated development, increase the BFE more than one foot at any one point.
[Amended 3-1-2011 by Ord. No. 1-11]
(2) 
Except for a possible modification of the freeboard requirements involved, no variance shall be granted for any of the other requirements pertaining specifically to development regulated by special permit (see Article VI) or to § 121-26, Development which may endanger human life.
(3) 
If granted, a variance shall involve only the least modification necessary to provide relief.
(4) 
In granting any variance, the City of New Kensington shall attach whatever reasonable conditions and safeguards it considers necessary in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to achieve the objectives of this chapter.
(5) 
Whenever a variance is granted, the City of New Kensington shall notify the applicant, in writing, that:
(a) 
The granting of the variance may result in increased premium rates for flood insurance.
(b) 
Such variances may increase the risks to life and property.
(6) 
In reviewing any request for a variance, the City of New Kensington shall consider, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) 
That there is good and sufficient cause.
(b) 
That failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant.
(c) 
That the granting of the variance will neither result in an unacceptable or prohibited increase in flood heights, additional threats to public safety or extraordinary public expense nor create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimize the public or conflict with any other applicable state statute or regulation or local ordinance or regulation.
(7) 
A complete record of all variance requests and related actions shall be maintained by the City of New Kensington. In addition, a report of all variances granted during the year shall be included in the annual report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Amended 3-1-2011 by Ord. No. 1-11]
(8) 
No variance shall be granted for any construction, development, use, or activity within any floodway area that would cause any increase in the BFE.
[Added 3-1-2011 by Ord. No. 1-11]
B. 
Notwithstanding any of the above, however, all structures shall be designed and constructed so as to have the capability of resisting the one-hundred-year flood.