Board grants variance for projecting signs at Hardisty Press building on East 11th Street

The City of Tulsa Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing an increase in the number of projecting signs and a reduction in the minimum spacing between those signs for the Hardisty Press building at 1317 East 11th Street South (BOA 23863).

Peter Jansen of Encino Signs told the board the proposed blade signs respond to a visibility problem caused by the building's close proximity to the street and the historic Route 66 context. "The main concern... is the proximity to the street. In 1921, traffic was much slower... The buildings are much closer to the street, and that makes visibility very challenging," Jansen said, adding that blade signs would give tenants better visibility for motorists passing the corridor.

The application asked to increase the allowed projecting signs on the lot from one to seven and to reduce the required separation between projecting signs from 30 feet to as little as 15 feet. Applicants said each tenant would have a blade sign and that a Route 66 collective sign also serves the center.

Planning staff explained that the Route 66 overlay adjusts allowable sign square footage in the corridor but did not change the allowed number of projecting signs; the variance was therefore requested only for sign number and spacing, not for overall sign area. Board members discussed the site's age, adjacency to Route 66 attractions, and the building's proximity to the right of way as the hardship supporting the variance.

A motion to approve the variance (for the conceptual plan in the agenda packet, pages 4.1–4.19) passed unanimously. The board's recorded motion cited the property's unique location and adjacency to historic Route 66, and the age and character of the neighborhood, as supporting facts; the motion included findings that literal enforcement would cause practical difficulties and that the variance would not alter the essential character of the neighborhood.

The applicant indicated the signs would pursue Route 66 neon grant funding and that the projection would be kept on the lot in this instance; staff noted some Route 66 overlay allowances can permit limited projection into the right of way subject to standards. The board also stated the variance would preclude pole signs and limit signage to the approved plan; final permitting and sign design remain subject to standard permitting review and any grant conditions for neon signage.