All districts
Cape Coral does not use a Board of Adjustment or Zoning Board of Appeals; variances and special exceptions are decided by a Hearing Examiner (Sec. 3.4.1 through 3.4.4). A variance may be sought from any bulk, area, or dimensional standard in Article 4 (Zoning Districts) or Article 5 (Development Standards), but never from a permitted-use restriction. The Hearing Examiner must find: special conditions peculiar to the property not shared by other land in the same district; the special conditions were not caused by the applicant; the variance grants no special privilege denied to similar properties; literal application of the code would deprive the applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by similar properties and cause unnecessary hardship; the variance is the minimum needed for reasonable use; the variance will not change the property's use; and the variance is in harmony with the code's intent and not injurious to the area (Sec. 3.4.3.B). An approved variance runs with the land. Special exception uses go through a separate standards-and-criteria review under Sec. 3.4.4, including comprehensive plan consistency and site suitability, and a special exception is deemed abandoned if unused for more than 1 year or never granted a certificate of zoning compliance (Sec. 3.4.4.A.3).