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Tulsa Board of Adjustment approves sign variances for Riverside Kum & Go despite neighbor objections
Summary
The City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment approved multiple variances allowing new Maverick-brand signage, including a 50-foot pole sign and one dynamic display, at a Kum & Go site on South Riverside Parkway after public comment and board debate over the River Development Overlay (RDO) intent.
At a meeting of the City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment, the board approved several variances for signage at the Kum & Go site at 10010 South Riverside Parkway, allowing larger and non‑monument freestanding signs and one dynamic display while denying a separate request to enlarge dynamic-display area beyond city limits.
The variances matter because the site sits inside the River Development Overlay (RDO) north of the Arkansas River, a zoning overlay intended to limit signage and other development that could detract from riverfront character.
Applicant Pete Webb told the board he reduced his earlier request after public concerns and that Maverick‑brand signs had already been installed on the building and canopy. “We made a little bit of a change since our last visit here,” Webb said, adding the proposal now would retain existing structures while replacing some oval “come and go” elements with Maverick rectangular brand cabinets.
A nearby property owner, Steve Easley, said he owns land adjoining the site and urged the board to hold to the RDO’s intent. “The purpose of the RDO is very simple. It's to discourage use of the Arkansas River for things that do not beautify the Arkansas River,” Easley said, arguing the 50‑foot pole sign should be removed rather than formally permitted.
Board members debated whether the site’s history and proximity to the highway constituted a hardship that justified relief from the RDO rules. The Chair noted the location’s visibility constraints from the travel lanes and observed that the business is a preexisting use. “Dynamic display sign is needed to improve the pricing box, I think it's bordering on ridiculous not to allow them to have that; it's a gas station,” the Chair said in explaining support for at least one dynamic pricing display.
On votes: the board first voted to deny the variance to increase the total dynamic display area (the item that would have authorized roughly 164.6 square feet of dynamic display) and then approved the remaining variances. The approved relief allows: (1) a freestanding sign that is not monument style, (2) increases in maximum heights (monument sign up to 17 feet and pole sign up to 50 feet), (3) one dynamic display sign on the lot (limited to the shorter monument sign as proposed), and (4) a dynamic display within 50 feet of the driving surface at a signalized intersection per the conceptual plans. Board votes on the final package were recorded as aye votes by Miss Stauffer, Miss Williams and the Chair.
Board members and staff clarified technical details: a dynamic display under Tulsa code is an electronic message that can change every eight seconds; the applicant said the proposed monument pricing display would be about 45 square feet (under the 48‑square‑foot threshold) and that the taller 50‑foot pole sign was being made static rather than dynamic.
The Chair thanked the applicant for modifying the design and noted staff will produce the case report for the record and for permit follow up.
Outcome at a glance: BOA case 23877 — motion to deny the larger dynamic display area passed; motion to approve the other variances passed. Staff noted any permitting and right‑of‑way work remains subject to standard city review.
