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Lancaster County BZA approves variance to relocate Shell station sign for SCDOT road project
Summary
The Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-0 to grant a variance allowing a new, larger Shell station sign to be reconstructed outside a future SCDOT right-of-way at 9540 Charlotte Highway after staff said the relocation is required by an SCDOT intersection improvement.
The Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals voted to approve a variance allowing a new Shell station sign to be installed outside a future South Carolina Department of Transportation right-of-way at 9540 Charlotte Highway.
At its meeting, the board approved variance application 20251599 by a 4-0 roll-call vote after hearing staff testimony that the sign must move because of an SCDOT intersection improvement and that the proposed new sign would not meet current Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) signage standards without a variance. Allison Harden, Lancaster County development services director, told the board the sign is being moved due to a DOT right-of-way expansion and said, "staff in general does not oppose the variance."
Why it matters: The property at 9540 Charlotte Highway (0.93 acres) houses a long-standing gas station and currently has a nonconforming freestanding sign that exceeds Lancaster County's current monument-sign height and area limits. Granting the variance lets the owner reconstruct a similar sign outside the new right-of-way rather than requiring a redesigned monument-style sign that would meet the UDO.
Harden described the nonconformities: the current and proposed sign would stand about 23 feet tall, exceeding the 10-foot height limit for monument signs in the UDO; and the existing sign area totals roughly 92 square feet, larger than the UDO's 40-square-foot maximum (or the alternative linear-foot allowance). Harden said the relocation request was prompted by the SCDOT project at Marvin Road and Highway 521 and characterized the impact as an external condition beyond the applicant's control.
Applicant Harry Stethopoulos spoke for the property owners and described the case as the result of a DOT condemnation negotiation that began in 2021. He said the DOT settlement funds are being used to pay for on-site improvements and relocation work and that the project will include paving and other upgrades to the site. "All the monies that are coming from DOT are helping to pay for what's being done on the site," Stethopoulos said.
Board deliberations and vote: The board reviewed the four statutory variance criteria in separate roll-call votes. All members agreed the property has extraordinary and exceptional conditions and that the conditions do not generally apply to other properties nearby. The board split 3-1 on the criterion that applying the ordinance would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict use (one member disagreed), but then voted 4-0 that granting the variance would not be a substantial detriment to adjacent properties or the public good. With all four criteria satisfied by majority vote, the board approved the variance by a 4-0 roll call: Mark Boland — approve; Aaron Fender — approve; James Fockenberry — approve; Chairman Deese — approve.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to approve the meeting agenda as written — approved unanimously (4-0).
- Motion to approve minutes of the July 1 meeting as written — approved (3-1); the minutes from that prior meeting recorded one absentee.
- Variance 20251599 (Shell station sign, 9540 Charlotte Highway) — motion to approve variance criteria and the variance: passed 4-0 (roll call recorded above). An order approving the variance will be prepared, notarized and provided to the applicant after signature, county staff said.
Implementation notes and next steps: Harden said county staff cannot administratively approve the relocated sign without a variance and that the board of zoning appeals is the appropriate venue for this remedy when a DOT project forces a relocation. Harden also told the board an approval order will be prepared and provided to the applicant once signed. The applicant indicated site work and a new, identical sign will be installed rather than a redesigned monument sign required under current UDO rules if the variance were denied.
Speakers and attribution in this report are drawn from the meeting record: Allison Harden (Lancaster County development services director); Harry Stethopoulos (applicant/representative); Chairman Deese; board members Mark Boland, Aaron Fender and James Fockenberry.
