18.30.030 Variances.
(a) The Zoning Administrator may vary or modify requirements of Chapter 18.15 CCO, Land Use Permits and Construction Standards, and this chapter and Chapters 18.05 and 18.25 CCO where strict application would cause an undue or unnecessary hardship. In granting a variance, the Zoning Administrator may attach conditions which the Zoning Administrator finds necessary to protect the best interests of the surrounding property or vicinity, and to otherwise achieve the purpose of this chapter and Chapters 18.05 and 18.25 CCO. The Zoning Administrator shall make a written report of each variance granted.
(b) A property owner seeking a variance shall submit a written application for a variance to the Zoning Administrator. The application shall include the fee established in the schedule of fees and penalties, proof of ownership of the real property, a description of why the variance is needed, an explanation of geographic or site limitations that impact the property’s need for a variance (if applicable), and an explanation of the hardship imposed by compliance (if applicable).
(c) Upon receipt of a complete application for a variance, the Zoning Administrator shall schedule an informal meeting with the applicant. The informal meeting shall be held not more than 45 days after receipt of the complete application. The City Clerk shall also mail a notice containing the applicant’s name, a summary of the variance sought, the property location, and the date of the informal meeting to each person who (1) has an interest in the real property that is the subject of the application, or (2) has an interest in real property that is located within 700 feet of the exterior boundaries of the real property that is the subject of the application.
(d) The Zoning Administrator shall make his/her decision concerning a variance application within 30 days after the informal meeting described in subsection (c) of this section. As required by AS 29.40.040(b), in no event will a variance be granted under this section if:
(1) Special conditions that require the variance are caused by the person seeking the variance;
(2) The variance will permit a land use in a district in which that use is prohibited; or
(3) The variance is sought solely to relieve pecuniary hardship or inconvenience.
(e) The Zoning Administrator may grant an application for a variance if it:
(1) Furthers the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan;
(2) Will be compatible with existing and planned land uses in the surrounding neighborhood and with the intent of the applicable use district; and
(3) Will not have a permanent negative impact substantially greater than anticipated from permitted development within the district.
(f) If the conditions set forth in subsection (e) of this section are not present, the Zoning Administrator has the discretion to approve an application for a variance by finding:
(1) Special conditions that require the variance are not caused by the person seeking the variance and that exceptional or extraordinary circumstances apply to the property which do not apply generally to other properties in the same zoning district, and result from lot size, shape, topography, or other circumstances over which the applicant has no control. An argument of “financial hardship” when defined as causing a developer to spend more than he is willing to in order to conform, is not an overriding factor in the granting of a variance;
(2) That the variance is necessary for the preservation of a property right of the applicant substantially the same as is possessed by other landowners in the same zoning district;
(3) That the granting of the variance will not materially affect the health or safety of persons residing or working in the neighborhood and will not be materially detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to property or improvements in the neighborhood; and
(4) That the variance will not be materially detrimental to the intent of this chapter and Chapters 18.05 and 18.25 CCO, or to properties in the same zoning district in which the property is located, or otherwise conflict with the objectives of the comprehensive plan and the variance requested is the minimum variance which would alleviate the hardship.
(g) The Zoning Administrator shall cause written notification of his/her action to be mailed to the applicant within 10 days after the decision has been rendered. The decision shall be final unless appealed as set forth in CCO 18.10.080.
(h) No request for a variance shall be considered by the Zoning Administrator within the 12-month period immediately following a previous denial of such request, except that the Zoning Administrator may consent to a new informal meeting, if in the opinion of the Zoning Administrator new evidence or a change of circumstances warrant it.
(i) Each variance authorized under the provisions of this section which is not actually established, or for which actual construction is not commenced on the buildings or structures involved, within one year from the date of the decision of the Zoning Administrator, will be null and void. In the event construction work is involved, it must actually commence within the stated period and must be diligently pursued to completion. [Code 1979 § 15.03.030.]