Environmental Variance

On occasion, a development application may have an extenuating site circumstance that creates a hardship in meeting a particular development standard. In such cases, it might be eligible for a variance from that development standard. Environmental variances pertain to those development standards that protect conservation or preservation features presented in Section 5-81, TLDC. In accordance with Conservation Policy 1.3.7 of the comprehensive plan, the Environmental Board shall not grant a variance that will impact more than 5% of such a feature. An applicant for an environmental variance could be anyone. In contrast, an applicant for a linear infrastructure variance must be a government.

Project Details

• Affected Citation from Tallahassee Land Development Code (TLDC) - If you apply for an environmental variance, that means that there is a specific environmental development standard that your project is unable to meet. Please be prepared to identify that standard by citing the specific TLDC section.
• Varied Terms of the TLDC - Now that you've cited the portion of the TLDC that you would like to vary, please indicate what the resulting alternate standard would be if your application is approved.

Submittal Requirements

• A Natural Features Inventory (NFI) and Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA) must be approved first.
• The EIA must evaluate other feasible alternatives and determine appropriate mitigation.

Review

Within 30 days of receiving an application, the Environmental Board must either approve, approve with conditions, deny, or continue the application.

Approval

The Environmental Board is responsible for reviewing and taking action on environmental variances.

Appeals

Per Sec. 5-127(c), TLDC, "The decisions of the environmental board shall be final; subject, however, to such legal remedy as any aggrieved party might have."

Information Sheets and Checklists

Document Submission Requirements and Naming Conventions