Public Hearing and Consideration of Variance: Request for a Variance of City Code Title 12 Floodplain Regulations by Katlon RV Entrance Gate Shed

The property owner of an existing RV storage facility is requesting that a new structure be constructed in the floodway, which is prohibited by City Code Title 12 Floodplain Regulations. The proposed structure is a gate shed located at the entrance. The RV Park was originally approved for construction under a floodplain use permit issued in 1995 without a variance.

In its most summarized form, a floodplain variance requires the following:
 
While any development in the floodway ought to be scrutinized and discouraged, the review of the circumstances for this project have led the Water Services - Stormwater Section and the Water Commission to recommend approval of this variance. The recommendation for approval comes from considering the following:

1. This is a backwater floodway area, similar to a lake rather than a river.
2. The shed has no adverse impacts to a community or adjacent properties, and there is no increase in flood elevation or hazard.
3. The shed is a simple accessory structure allowed in the flood fringe per our floodplain regulations.
4. The shed will be elevated above the 100-year flood.
5. The shed has negligible volume in the floodway.
6. City’s Floodplain regulations are stricter than the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA). 
7. There is a low risk of impacting the City's Community Rating System (CRS) rating.

None.

1. The potential for this variance to set a precedent to allow large scale development in the floodway is very low since this project is only for a single accessory shed.
2. The potential for this variance to impact our FEMA CRS rating is low since FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) development policies would allow this development, and conversations with the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) staff who audit communities for NFIP compliance agree that there is a low risk.

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No. However, there was another shed allowed in this area of the backwater floodway for the Continental Country Club through an approved variance in February 2013.

1. Approve the variance.
2. Approve the variance with conditions.
3. Deny the variance.

The property owner of an existing RV storage facility is requesting that a new structure be constructed in the floodway, which is prohibited by City Code Title 12 Floodplain Regulations. The proposed structure is a gate shed located at the entrance. The RV Park was originally approved for construction under a floodplain use permit issued in 1995 without a variance. This variance request was reviewed and discussed in previous Water Commission meetings on October 17, 2019 and November 21, 2019 once more research was completed on floodplain policy.  

For this new variance request, the property owner, through a contracted civil engineering firm, Turner Engineering, Inc., has prepared a response (included as an attachment) to topics required by our variance process guidelines outlined in the City's floodplain regulations. The highlights of their response are that 1) the shed is ancillary to the operation of the storage yard gate and security appurtenances, 2) flood elevations will not increase, and 3) there will not be any adverse impacts to the community.
 
Below are excerpts from the City’s floodplain regulations regarding the variance process and requirements:
 
Excerpt from SECTION 12-01-001-0007.2 VARIANCES, A. NATURE OF VARIANCES

"The variance criteria set forth in these regulations are based on the general principle of zoning law that variances pertain to a piece of property and are not personal in nature. A variance may be granted for a parcel of property with physical characteristics so unusual that complying with the requirements of this Ordinance would create an exceptional hardship to the applicant or the surrounding properties. Mere economic or financial hardship alone is not exceptional. The characteristics must be unique to the property and not be shared by adjacent parcels. The unique characteristic must pertain to the land itself, not the structure, its inhabitants, or the property owners. It is the duty of the Floodplain Board to help protect its citizens from flooding. This need is so compelling and the implications of the cost of insuring a structure built below the regulatory flood elevation are so serious that variances from the flood elevation or from other requirements in the flood ordinance are quite rare. The long-term goal of preventing and reducing flood loss and damage can only be met if variances are strictly limited. Therefore, the variance guidelines provided in this ordinance are more detailed and contain multiple provisions that must be met before a variance can be properly granted. The criteria are designed to screen out those situations in which alternatives other than a variance are more appropriate.”
 
Excerpt from SECTION 12-01-001-0007.1 APPEAL AND VARIANCE BOARD

"A. The Floodplain Board (the “Board”) of the City of Flagstaff shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of these regulations.

G. In passing upon such applications, the Board shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of these regulations, and:

1. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;
2. The danger of life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;
3. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;
4. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;
5. The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;
6. The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;
7. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;
8. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program for that area;
9. The safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;
10. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters expected at the site; and,
11. 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, water system, and streets and bridges.” 

Excerpt from SECTION 12-01-001-0007.2 VARIANCES, B. CONDITIONS FOR VARIANCES

1. "Variances may be issued for the repair, rehabilitation, or restoration of structures listed in the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places, upon a determination that the proposed repair or rehabilitation will not preclude the structure's continued designation as a historic structure and the variance is the minimum necessary to preserve the historic character and design of the structure.
2. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.
3. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.
4. Variances shall only be issued upon:

Upon completing additional in-depth research on FEMA floodplain regulations, two water Commission meetings, and several meetings with the property owner and the Stormwater Section to iterate the design of the shed, the Stormwater Section and the Water Commission are recommending approval of this variance with the following considerations:

1. The floodplain in this area is a backwater floodway which behaves like a lake instead of a river. The backwater condition is less dangerous than the flood fringe where our regulations allow development. Based on hydraulic studies performed for other proposed projects in this area, the shed is also outside of a hypothetical floodway for the Rio de Flag if the railroad ever had large culverts installed to allow the floodwaters to pass without backing up.
2. The applicant has demonstrated that the structure will not have any adverse impacts to the community or adjacent properties, and there is no increase in the flood elevation or flood hazard.
3. The shed is considered an accessory structure in the floodplain regulations as it is not greater than 200 square feet and is used primarily for storage. In this case the storage is for electrical and security equipment. The shed will not be allowed to serve as a home or office and therefore kitchen and bathroom facilities are prohibited.
4. The shed’s finished floor elevation is elevated by piers 1 foot above the 100-year flood elevation which will address elevating the utilities in the shed. In general new structures in the floodplain are required to have the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member be elevated 1 foot above the 100-year flood elevation, however this rule is not required for accessory structures used for parking and storage; Commercial accessory structures are allowed to be dry flood proofed or wet-flood proofed below the 100-year floodplain elevation.
5. Backwater floodways elevations will increase if development displaces floodwater volume, and therefore any development that displaces floodwater volume must have an equal or greater amount of excavation or removal of floodwater volume to compensate. Volume exchange for this proposed project is considered negligible if the structure is elevated on 4 piers, however volume exchange requirements will be reviewed when the structure is submitted with additional details under a building permit, and any necessary volume exchange will be addressed with conditions in the Floodplain Use Permit. 
6. The City’s floodway development standards are stricter than FEMA’s standards. The City does not allow any floodway encroachments at all without a variance, however FEMA will allow floodway development if it can be shown that there are no adverse impacts to the community or adjacent properties, and there is no increase in the flood elevation or flood hazard.
7. Considering the aforementioned. This project has low risk of negatively impacting our CRS rating. The CRS is a FEMA program where communities participating in the NFIP can perform various floodplain management activities that give the community’s residents who have flood insurance a discount on their premiums. Currently, the City of Flagstaff is a Class 5, which corresponds to a 25% discount in flood insurance premiums.