Pursuant to § 15.2-2301 et seq. of the Code of Virginia
and the provisions of Articles 18 and 19 of this chapter, an appeal
to the Board of Zoning Appeals ("BZA") may be taken by any person
aggrieved or by any officer, department, board or bureau of the County
affected by any decision of the Administrator or from any order, requirement,
decision or determination made by any other administrative officer
in the administration or enforcement of any provision of this article.
Any building or structure which was lawfully existing on the
effective date of this article or any subsequent amendment thereto,
and which does not conform with the requirements established by this
article or by such amendment thereto, may be continued in accordance
with the provisions of Article 16 of this chapter.
A.
The Administrator may grant a waiver from the requirements of this
article to permit an addition to a structure existing at the effective
date of this article which becomes nonconforming as a result of enactment
of this article, provided that:
(1)
There shall be no net increase in non-point source pollution
load;
(2)
Any development or land disturbance exceeding 2,500 square feet
shall comply with all erosion and sediment control requirements of
this article;
(3)
All other requirements of this chapter applicable in the underlying
district shall be met, including the approval of a zoning permit as
set forth in Article 20.
(4)
The request for the waiver is the minimum necessary to afford
relief;
(5)
Granting the waiver will not confer upon the applicant any specific
privileges that are denied by this article to other property owners
in similar situations;
(6)
The waiver is in harmony with the purpose and intent of this
article and does not result in water quality degradation;
(7)
The waiver is not based on conditions or circumstances that
are self-created or self-imposed;
(8)
Reasonable and appropriate conditions are imposed, as warranted,
that will prevent the waiver from causing degradation of water quality;
(9)
Other findings, as appropriate and required by Mathews County
are met.
B.
This provision shall not apply to accessory structures.
The following exemptions are permitted:
A.
Construction, installation, operation and maintenance of electric,
natural gas, fiber-optic, and telephone transmission lines; railroads;
and public roads constructed by the Virginia Department of Transportation
and their appurtenant structures in compliance with the Erosion and
Sediment Control Law (§ 10.1-560 et seq. of the Code of
Virginia) and the Stormwater Management Act (10.1-6301 et seq. of
the Code of Virginia) and the Erosion and Sediment Control Ordinance
of Mathews County shall be deemed to constitute compliance with the
relevant requirements of this article. The exemption of public roads
is further conditioned on the following;
B.
Construction, installation and maintenance of water, sewer, natural
gas, and underground telecommunications and cable television lines
owned, permitted, or both by Mathews County or a regional service
authority shall be exempt from the requirements of this article, provided
that:
(1)
To the degree possible the location of such utilities and facilities
shall be outside the RPA;
(2)
No more land shall be disturbed than is necessary for the proposed
utility installation;
(3)
All such construction, installation and maintenance of such
utilities and facilities shall be in compliance with all applicable
federal, state and County permits and designed and constructed in
a manner that protects water quality; and
Silviculture activities are exempt from the requirements of
this article provided they adhere to water quality protection procedures
and/or best management practices prescribed by the Virginia Department
of Forestry in Virginia's Forestry Best Management Practices for Water
Quality. The Virginia Department of Forestry will oversee and document
installation of best management practices and will monitor in-stream
impacts of forestry operations in Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas.
Land disturbances within the RPA associated with water wells,
passive recreation facilities such as boardwalks, trails and pathways,
and historic preservation involving archeological activities, shall
be exempt from the requirements of this article provided it is demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the Administrator that:
Pursuant to the provisions of §§ 15.2-2309 and
15.2-2310 of the Code of Virginia and the applicable provisions of
Article 19 of this chapter, the Board of Zoning Appeals shall have
the power to hear and decide applications for variances from the provisions
of this article. Mathews County shall notify the affected public of
any such variance requests and shall consider these requests in a
public hearing in accordance with Section 15.2-2204 of the Code of
Virginia, except that only one hearing shall be required. In addition
to the requirements set forth in the Code of Virginia and elsewhere
in this chapter relative to the granting of variances, the following
shall apply:
A.
The applicant for a variance from the provisions of §§ 175-22.11 through 175-22.17 of this article shall submit to the Board of Zoning Appeals a written request and a water quality impact assessment as required by this article for purposes of identifying the potential impacts of the requested variance on water quality and on lands within the RPA.
B.
The Administrator shall submit a report to the Board describing the
Administrator's evaluation of the water quality impact assessment
provided by the applicant;
C.
The Board shall consider the water quality impact assessment, along
with all other appropriate factors, in determining if the requested
variance will be in harmony with the intended spirit and purpose of
this article and this chapter and must make the following findings:
(1)
Granting the variance will not confer upon the applicant any
special privileges denied by this article to other property owners
in the Overlay District;
(2)
The variance request is not based on conditions or circumstances
that are self-created or self-imposed, nor does the request arise
from conditions or circumstances either permitted or nonconforming
that are related to adjacent parcels;
(3)
The variance request is the minimum necessary to afford relief;
(4)
The variance request will be in harmony with the purpose and
intent of the Overlay District, not injurious to the neighborhood
or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare, and is not of substantial
detriment to water quality; and
(5)
Reasonable and appropriate conditions are imposed which will
prevent the variance request from causing a degradation of water quality.
D.
If the Board cannot make the required findings or refuses to grant
the variance, the Board shall return the request for a variance together
with the water quality impact assessment and the written findings
and rationale for the decision to the applicant.
E.
F.
Variances to § 175-22.10 may be made provided that the findings noted in § 175-22.50C(1) through (3) are made.
If the Administrator shall find that any provisions of this
article, including violations of the terms and conditions of any plans,
permits or approvals granted pursuant to this article, the Administrator
shall have all of the enforcement powers delegated pursuant to Article
20 of this chapter and relevant provisions of Titles 15.2 and 10.1
of the Code of Virginia, including but not limited to the right to
seek criminal enforcement, an award of civil penalties and injunctive
relief in accordance with law.
