1.11 Variances to Design Standards
a. Request for Variance to Specifications/Standards.
1) Variances to specifications or standards may be requested as outlined below.
2) It is to be noted that if the requested variance involves public safety, the City will rule in favor of safety.
3) It is the responsibility of the design engineer to submit a written request for any proposed deviations or variances from City standards. Failure by the City to detect a deviation or required variance during drawing review does not constitute a default approval of said variance, unless the variance was requested in writing as outlined below and approved by the Director.
b. Variance Process.
1) Submittal.
a) Requests for variance shall be submitted on the required form with any fees included to the Director. This written request shall state the desired variance, the reason for the request and a comparison between the specification/standard and the variance as far as performance, etc.
b) Any variance of these Standards should be documented and referenced to a nationally accepted specification/standard. The use thereof shall not compromise public safety or intent of the City's Standards.
2) City's Review.
a) The variance request shall be reviewed by the Director who shall make one of the following decisions:
(1) Approve as is,
(2) Approve with changes, or
(3) Deny with an explanation.
b) Approval of a request shall not constitute a precedent.
3) Appeal.
a) Applicant may appeal the Director's decision to the City Manager on required form with any fees included.
c. Criteria for Variance of Specification Standards.
1) The Director may grant a variance to the adopted specifications or Standards when all of the following conditions are met:
a) Topography, right-of-way or other geographic conditions impose a hardship on the applicant and an equivalent alternative which can accomplish the same intent is proposed. Variances to self-imposed hardships shall not be allowed. The variance requested shall be the minimum variance which alleviates the hardship.
b) A minor change to a specification or standard is required to address a specific design or construction problem which, if not enacted, will result in an undue hardship.
c) An alternative design is proposed which will provide a plan equal or superior to these Standards. In considering the alternative, the City Engineer shall consider appearance, durability, cost of maintenance, public safety and other appropriate factors.