Sacramento County Zoning Code § 907-01 Variances

• A. Except as provided in Section 907-02, a variance may be granted by the Board of Supervisors if it finds that:

  1. Failure to grant the variance will result in exceptional hardship to the applicant, because of the exceptional, unusual, and peculiar physical characteristics of the property. The characteristics must be unique to the property and not be shared by adjacent parcels. The unique characteristics must pertain to the land itself, not to the structure, its inhabitants, or the property owners. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. Inconvenience, aesthetic considerations, physical handicaps, personal preferences, or the disapproval of one's neighbors likewise cannot, as a rule, qualify as an exceptional hardship. All of these problems can be resolved through other means without granting a

variance, even if the alternative is more expensive, or requires the property owner to build elsewhere or put the parcel to a different use than originally intended;

2. There are no viable alternatives to the granting of the variance and, the variance is the minimum necessary to afford relief; and

3. The granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, threaten the safety or health of the community, neighborhood, or any considerable number of persons, or result in extraordinary public expense or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.

• B. In passing upon requests for variances, the Board of Supervisors shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this ordinance, and the following factors:

  1. Danger to persons and property by materials swept onto other lands;

  2. Danger to persons and property from flooding;

  3. Susceptibility of the structure and its contents to flood damage;

  4. Public importance of services to be provided by the structure;

  5. Necessity to the structure of a waterfront location;

  6. Availability of alternate locations not subject to flooding;

  7. Compatibility of the use with existing and anticipated development;

  8. Relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;

  9. Vehicle access to the property in time of flood;

  10. Expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the site; and

  11. Costs of providing governmental services during and after flood conditions, including maintenance and repair of public utilities and facilities.

• C. The Board of Supervisors may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this ordinance.

• D. Any applicant to whom a variance is proposed to be granted shall be given written notice by the Floodplain Administrator that the issuance of a variance to construct a structure below the base flood level may result in a significant increased cost of flood insurance premium rates (example, annual premium could be as high as $25 per $100 insured), and such construction

below the base flood level increases risks to life and property. If the variance is granted, such notice shall be in a form acceptable to County Counsel and the Board of Supervisors. It shall be executed and recorded on the property.

• E. The Floodplain Administrator will maintain a record of all variance actions, including the justification for their issuance, and report such variances issued in its biennial report submitted to the Federal Insurance Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency.