Planning commission approves SPUD to allow digital billboard at Stony Brook and North Interstate

The Norman Planning Commission on an evening meeting approved a rezoning from C-1 Local Commercial to a Simple Planned Unit Development to allow a digital billboard on a 0.1-acre portion of a vacant parcel at the southwest corner of Stony Brook Drive and North Interstate Drive.

The rezoning was requested to limit development entitlements on the site to the billboard only; the motion to approve carried 5-0. The staff presentation described the parcel as vacant and showed the proposed sign location and orientation. Laura Hoggett, planning department staff, presented the item and answered technical questions from the commission.

Applicant representative David Box said the SPUD was limited to the billboard and that the application met required spacing rules. "We meet all state, and local spacing requirements as it relates to billboards," Box said during his presentation. He added the two faces of the digital sign were angled to reduce visual impacts: "The north face angles kind of north northeast and the south face angles south southeast." Sean Whistler, identified as the operator of the billboard, attended with Box but did not speak on the record.

A nearby resident, Leslie Bennett Webb of 3200 Regal Run Drive, who described herself as a neighbor to the west, spoke during the public-comment portion and asked two questions: "What will the billboard say?" and whether the applicant could provide "some kind of hint for the plans for the rest of that property?" Box offered to meet with Webb after the meeting to discuss future plans and to answer the content question privately; no billboard messaging was stated on the record.

Commissioners asked no additional questions and there was no written protest filed on the item. The commission approved the ordinance changing the zoning classification by voice vote; the clerk reported "it carries 5 to 0." The action was a rezoning to a SPUD limited to the billboard; no other development approvals or building permits were granted as part of this vote.

The approval leaves the underlying parcel designated for a single billboard under SPUD controls; any later development beyond the SPUD’s scope would require separate review. No timetable for sign construction or installation was presented at the meeting.

Meeting context: the item was heard as the non-consent item following the consent docket; the applicant and an adjacent neighbor spoke, and staff indicated they were available for follow-up. No formal conditions beyond the SPUD were stated on the record.