§ 2012. Administrative variances.

The director of community and economic development shall have the power to grant variances (except for density and use) from the development standards of this chapter if the intent of the appendix can be achieved and equal performance obtained by granting a variance.

(1)

Authority. The authority to grant variances in accord with this section shall be limited to variances from the following requirements:

a.

Front yard or a yard adjacent to a public street: Variances shall not exceed ten feet;

b.

Side yard: Variances shall not exceed five feet;

c.

Rear yard: Variances shall not exceed ten feet;

d.

Building height: A variance may be granted up to, but not exceeding, ten feet if such variance does not allow space habitable by humans and is also approved by the fire marshal and would not result in an increase in the number of stories that would otherwise be allowed by the land use district;

e.

Buffers: The dimensions of a landscaping buffer required by this chapter if the intent of the required buffer can be equally achieved; however, no buffer required as a condition of land use shall be modified;

f.

Parking: If the required parking standards cannot reasonably be met and if a variance will not adversely affect the spirit or intent of the appendix or this chapter, then a variance of not more than ten percent may be granted;

g.

Home occupations: If the intended use is clearly allowed pursuant to the definition of "Home occupation," then an administrative variance may be granted to conduct such business.

(2)

Notification. The applicant may choose to either submit an affidavit attesting to notice that includes signatures of all adjoining property owners listed within the application package or the applicant may choose to permit written notice from the county planning department to adjoining property owners of the variance application and then wait at least ten business days from notice to all adjoining property owners before the variance may be considered for approval. Also, notice of the variance application shall be posted upon the property 15 days before the variance is considered and shall state the variance requested and the date the variance shall be considered.

(3)

Basis for approval. The following criteria shall be considered by the director before allowing an administrative variance. No variance may be granted administratively for an application for a variance that has been heard by the planning commission within one year or if the application is for the expansion of a non-conforming use or structure.

a.

The variance neither interferes with the rights of others as provided in this chapter nor is injurious to the public health, safety, general welfare;

b.

A strict interpretation and enforcement of the standards or requirement would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship;

c.

No exceptional or extraordinary circumstances applicable to the subject property exist that do not generally apply to other properties in the same district;

d.

The variance provides for reasonable use under the specified circumstances of each application;

e.

The variance achieves the general intent of this chapter;

f.

The variance is the minimum possible variance under the specific circumstances; and

g.

The variance does not exceed the scope of the authority set forth in subsection (1) of this section.

(4)

Conditions of approval. The director of community and economic development may impose reasonable conditions upon any administrative variance to ensure that the public health, safety, and general welfare are protected. A violation of any imposed condition shall be a violation of this section.

(5)

Administration. After all requirements for a variance application in accord with the terms hereof are received, the planning and development department shall review and certify that all required information is complete and that the request is within the limits of consideration set forth in subsection (1) of this section. The applicant shall then be advised to proceed with public notice in accord with subsection (2) of this section. After required notice has been provided and the time period for response has passed, the planning director shall have ten business days to render a decision. Notice of the decision shall be provided to the applicant by mailing such decision within five business days of the decision. Notice of the action taken by the director shall be provided to the planning commission of White County and shall be placed as an item of old business for no further action upon the agenda of the planning commission within 31 days.

(6)

Compliance with other county codes. The effect of an administrative variance approval shall be that a specific request is determined to be appropriate for a specific location. The administrative variance application shall not approve a site plan nor waive or modify any other requirements of any other county code other than as specifically granted pursuant to the variance.

(7)

Appeal. The applicant or an adjoining property owner may appeal to the county commission the decision of the director regarding an administrative variance within ten days of the decision via written objection and appeal. Any such appeal shall be heard by the White County Board of Commissioners in accord with the standard appeal procedure.