A. Appeal Board.

   1. The Pueblo County Planning Commission shall hear and decide appeals and requests for variances from the requirements of this Chapter.

   2. The Commission shall hear and decide appeals when it is alleged there is an error in any requirement, decision or determination made by the Administrator in the enforcement or administration of this Chapter.

   3. Those aggrieved by the decision of the Commission, or any taxpayer, may appeal such decision to the District Court, as provided by law.

   4. In passing upon such applications, the Commission shall consider all technical evaluations, all relevant factors, standards specified in other sections of this Chapter, and:

   a. The danger that materials may be swept onto other lands to the injury of others;

   b. The danger to life and property due to flooding or erosion damage;

   c. The susceptibility of the proposed facility and its contents to flood damage and the effect of such damage on the individual owner;

   d. The importance of the services provided by the proposed facility to the community;

   e. The necessity to the facility of a waterfront location, where applicable;

   f. The availability of alternative locations for the proposed use which are not subject to flooding or erosion damage;

   g. The compatibility of the proposed use with existing and anticipated development;

   h. The relationship of the proposed use to the comprehensive plan and floodplain management program of that area;

   i. The safety of access to the property in time of flood for ordinary and emergency vehicles;

   j. The expected heights, velocity, duration, rate of rise, and sediment transport of the flood waters and the effects of wave action, if applicable, expected at the site; and

   k. 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, and water systems, and streets and bridges.

   5. Upon consideration of the factors of Section 17.108.150(A)(4) and the purposes of this Chapter, the Commission may attach such conditions to the granting of variances as it deems necessary to further the purposes of this Chapter.

   6. The Administrator shall maintain the records of all appeal actions, including technical information, and report any variances to the Federal Emergency Management Agency upon request.

   B. Conditions for Variances.

   1. Generally variances may be issued for new construction and substantial improvements to be erected on a lot of one-half acre or less in size contiguous to and surrounded by lots with existing structures constructed below the base flood level, providing items set out in items (4)(a) through (k) of Section 17.108.150(A)(4) have been fully considered. As the lot size increases beyond the one acre, the technical justification required for issuing the variance increases.

   2. Variances may be issued for the reconstruction, on the National Register of Historic Places or the State Inventory of Historic Places, without regard to the procedures set forth in the remainder of this section.

   3. Variances shall not be issued within any designated floodway if any increase in flood levels during the base flood discharge would result.

   4. Variances shall only be issued upon a determination that the variance is the minimum necessary, considering the flood hazard, to afford relief.

   5. Variances shall only be issued upon:

   a. A showing of good and sufficient cause;

   b. A determination that failure to grant the variance would result in exceptional hardship to the applicant; and

   c. A determination that the granting of a variance will not result in increased flood heights, additional threats to public safety, extraordinary public expense, create nuisances, cause fraud on or victimization of the public as identified in Section 17.108.150 (A)(4), or conflict with existing local laws or ordinances.

   6. Any applicant to whom a variance is granted shall be given written notification that the structure will be permitted to be built with a lowest floor elevation below the base flood elevation and that the cost of flood insurance will be commensurate with the increased risk resulting from the reduced lowest floor elevation.